ON BEING SAFE His mantra starts out, “Warm, clean, comfortable.” He’s had his share of troubles — health, work, relationships. He’s never been consoled to hear, “Others have it so much worse.” Why would that make him feel better? How many people go hungry, combing dumpsters for food, or sleep in cardboard boxes in freezing weather? Others […]
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PHILOSOPHICAL DIFFERENCES The backseat driver sits by my side applying the brakes, cautioning, “There’s a car!” which, by the way, is ten car lengths ahead at a corner and I am already fully aware. “Here are the keys,” I offer, stopped at the roadside, “Would you prefer to drive?” But now, she is offended, says she just […]
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THE SAVIOR You ask me, “If the house were burning, what would you save?” Would it be my photo albums? Odd how printing pictures has all but stopped. I don’t own jewelry, though I imagine gold melting to nuggets in someone else’s fire. The cat can save itself with a leap when the door is opened. I’d […]
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DISAPPEARANCE 1. I considered the phoenix— into the fire, a quick release of gas, the efficacy of ash. But does one truly rise? Is it a spirit or a conscious recollection of the past? 2. Those who acknowledge nothing swim comfortably in the dark. The salt of their mother floats them. The mulch of their father awaits […]
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