Raindog
Natalia wanted a Moringa tree. Moringa trees were the hot new thing. You could make tea from the leaves and they would cure what ails you. It was a…
Dreaming of a Hacienda
I’m not saying it was symbolic, but his address was 8704 W. Lazy Street. I slowed my cab in front of his pre-fabricated house. He was standing on the…
Bologna and Grasshopper Sandwiches
In Hermosillo, I get Natalia out of bed and up on her feet with her crutches, and we drive over to Alameda’s house. We try to talk everybody into…
“For the New Cab Driver After His First Shift,” “The Street Without a Name,” “237 North Oracle,” and “Rush Hour Fatality”
For the New Cab Driver After His First Shift Don’t get too excited when you make a little dough in the morning or whenever your shift starts because…
What Happened to Flowers?
I got out of bed around 10 and walked down to the gas station to buy a newspaper and a coffee. Remember newspapers? It was a cool, clear February…
The Will to a Smiling Soul
She breached her apartment doorway behind her aluminum walker, dragging a torpedo-shaped oxygen tank on wheels, with hoses that slithered up and into…
Stupid City
Ami Xochitl-Nigeria-Rubenstein-Ferrol wakes up on her futon and rolls her head around on her Chilean duck feather pillow. She smiles at the waft of…
“Blocked Again,” “A Note to the Utopians,” “Or Maybe it’s Already Ended,” and Other Poems
Blocked Again Scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed I see this “editor” bitching because some writer had the nerve to write her a letter……
6 to 6: Bear Hunting
The difficult thing about Mr. Cooper is the fact that he’s 98 years old. He’s five feet three and narrow as a bird in his gray cotton pants and blue…
6 to 6: The Rest of It
It’s a hot mid-afternoon and I stop my cab at Fry’s to buy a chocolate bar for my wife. She always asks me to buy her a chocolate bar and I usually…
