Allen
When we first met, I thought that he was odd. Odd, but harmless. He and I were first-year master’s students in the English department; we were…
“To My Old Friend, C.K.,” “Custodes,” “Waiting for the Wounds,” and Other Poems
To My Old Friend, C.K. They never believe you; not in Vegas or Chicago. They laugh at you--- you with your white shoes and seersucker suit. They…
WatchingU
Jared reread the flyer: “WANTED: Test subject for new phone app. Generous salary. No fuss, fun, and educational. Students preferred.” Jared often…
The Girl at CVS
At 11 o’clock, I pulled into the almost empty CVS parking lot. I killed the engine. From my breast pocket, I pulled out the folded, yellow, sticky…
A Single Red Buick
I don't know if it's possible to be homesick while still living at home and in your hometown, but it happened to me twice. Both instances involved…
The Hunt
The hard knock on my door stopped me from wallowing in my self-pity any longer. Joe Dexter, my long-lost friend from college, stood in the doorway of…
Memoirs of an Execution; or, the Night Napalm Death Chickened Out
He did it. He killed my fucking ear. Right there where I was hiding in the garage. The house belonged to the neighbor who was never home, the ghost…
The Return Trip
West Park was as depressing as I remembered. The weathered park benches were still a sickly kind of brown. The spent remains of cigarettes and…
“Exile on Washington Street,” “Like Winter Into Spring,” “The Brotherhood of Night Drivers,” and “In the Valley of Zero”
Exile on Washington Street The collected mass bays for blood. “Kill him” and “Crucify him,” they sing through assorted smiles. This is no ordinary…
Reading Lovecraft on the Beach
I was eighteen and fresh out of high school. A group of us, about eight boys and six girls, went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for our "senior…
