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  • Alone Together

    Alone Together

    the day endedlong before the clock admitted it. I sit here now,gathering my thoughtslike dirty laundry—this stained journal,this dim bulb’s piss-yellow light,this bottlethat doesn’t judgehow many timesI pour it. there are dayswhen no familiar facebreaks the monotony—no voice that saysI know youand means it. oh, I’ve got people—somewhere.a sister in Phoenix,a friend in Denver,ghosts who…

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  • “Kyle vs. Zhivago”

    “Kyle vs. Zhivago”

    The phone convulsedlike a dying cockroach—“KYLE” flashing(or was it “KILL”?hard to tell afterthat second glassof cheap Cabernet). I was busywith Doctor Zhivago—page 52—pronouncing it Chivagothe way my mother didwhen she’d play that warpedsoundtrack record,back when I was a kidsprawled on shag carpet,nose two inchesfrom the speaker fabric,studying Julie Christie’s faceon the album coverlike it held…

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  • Dog-Eared

    Dog-Eared

    “Failures” The floor was litteredwith the pamphlets of his life—grease-stained,nicotine-yellowed,some with rust-colored pagesthat might’ve been bloodor last Tuesday’s spaghetti. He knew them allby heart: The Novella of Near-MissesBrochures of Bad Decisionsthat fat volumeRegrets: Collector’s Edition But the one he keptin his back pocket,worn soft as old money,was called Failures. Negative title.Positive readership. He could quote…

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  • Line 451

    Line 451

    she was a fleshing gal,okay—Ruebeneque,but I never met a RuebenI didn’t eat. she was different.her Sav-on mascara caked heavyon her upper left eyelid,open just a touch widerthan the right. her lip trembledwhen she asked me the time.“half past ate,” I said.she smiled like she understood.I looked down—respect, or maybe shame. she sat next to me.…

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  • Mr. Trump, Do You Play Chess?

    From a Rust Belt Worker to the President Sir—do you play chess?Ever checkmate a Russian?(I hear they’re good.)Or that young kid Fischerin some pre-arrangedElon-made Grok stew? Was Magnus tough?Did you unbox himlike flat-pack furniture—extra screws left over?(I know IKEA’s Swedish,but you get my meaning.) Did Big Blue foldwhen you played “bigly”?Your Cupertino pals—they set the…

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  • Eight Minutes Late to the Moon

    The dashboard clock read 6:38 when I pulled into the gravel lot. Eight minutes late – early by my standards, when considering Luna’s habitual tardiness, but for Luna, this might as well have been standing her up entirely. She leaned against her Honda, arms crossed, one foot tapping. Stein, her 110-pound mastiff mix, sat obediently…

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  • a tamed Husband

    a tamed Husband

    When it comes to the grand menagerie of pets, I’d argue the husband takes the crown—both as the best and, oh, the absolute worst. A tamed husband is a marvel, a domesticated beast of burden and delight, trotting faithfully at your side. He’ll fetch the groceries, scrub the dishes, and nod to your every whim…

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  • New Ink

    New Ink

    I’m done binding sorrows into books,stitching grief with every line.Let my pen learn lighter alphabets—words that rise like bread,ink that blooms like dawn on your skin. These hands, wrinkled as old manuscripts,will smooth into new stories.No more erasing what was lost;I’ll write forward,planting laughter like punctuationin fertile white spaces. You’re no longer a characterI conjure…

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  • Last call for the Living Dead

    The bartender polishes a glass that’ll never be clean – appropriate. I’m on my third bourbon, neat, the kind that burns like regret. Sully Erna’s growling through the speakers about devils and crossroads, which feels about right. Another night unraveling at the seams. You’d think by now I’d have learned – the world doesn’t give…

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  • Eye Surgery & the Price of Light

    April 2nd Mom had her eye fixed today. They carved out the cataracts—peeled back the fog so she can see clear again. Not that there’s much worth looking at these days. Now she won’t have an excuse when she ignores the dishes in the sink or the way my boots track mud over the linoleum.…

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