City streets were empty. There was no bustle on the sidewalks. One lone street cleaner made it’s way down Clark Street. A cat hissed in an alleyway. Water slapped Kathy Osterman Beach. Storm clouds filled the midnight sky. He just sat watching. Out on the backyard stoop was a man drinking a beer. As he […]
The chainsaw kept going all day long. Cutting tree limbs up and down the boulevard. Placing them in a wood chipper attached to a truck. Neighborhood improvements, the city called it. Another boy got shot last night; priorities. Kids played in the park up until dusk. They knew when to go home; knew when momma […]
There was all kinds of talk about her. When people don’t know, they make up stories. Tall tales of her promiscuity, desires, habits. Most of em made up by men who couldn’t have her. Some stories told by women. Just jealous women. She worked at a massage joint out on highway 61 just past the […]
It was 3:30 in the morning when she heard gunshots go off in her neighborhood over by Harrison and Creighton. The older woman sat in the window watching cop cars with lights on and sirens blaring, make their way down nearby alleys which were wet from a morning rain. The sound of water pealing off […]
There was a yellow haze in the night. Streetlamps let off a glow. He sat in his chair at the window and looked on, taking in everything; blackness of early morning hours, rain thumping on windows, cars driving by on wet pavement, the sound of Coltrane running through his head. And, every once in awhile, […]
He looked at that blue light out there in the sky. Felt the carpet under his bare feet. Breathed in and breathed out. Thoughts were heavy in his mind. The light was on over the stove. A set of knives sat on the counter. He counted them. Never knew how many knives she had till […]
There was a quiet that night. He sat in the dark. A blue hue came from the lightpost outside. In the distance, a cat called out for a dance. He heard the hissing for a fight in the alleyway. It was that time of year; either fuck or fight. Spring does that to animals. He […]
She wondered what happened to him. He was with her one night and then gone. The young lady gave him her number. He never called. And he took off as soon as they were done making love. Said he had to get going. Had to get up early the next morning. Call me, she said, […]
They decided to meet down by the lake where they used to go as youngsters. The two thought it’d be best if they saw each other in the sunlight. When they were kids it was moon beams that shined down on em; swimming naked under starlight. He hadn’t seen her in years. The radio played […]
He talked to her on the phone as he drove through New Mexico at night; red clay mountains making it darker; a star guided him. She spoke of old times; memories from a past that wasn’t perfect; he wasn’t perfect. The brunette sat at the mirror, looking at herself as they talked. Do you remember […]
