Trains. Three in the morning and trains ran through town. Loud. Made that sound. A train whistle. A horn. It prevented him from sleeping. He never got used to it. Lived here all his life and never slept through the sound of trains coming through town. He got out of bed. Stumbled to the kitchen. […]

Poison ivy spread throughout the backyard. Over rocks and flower pots. Onto bricks that were laid to make a patio. Between cracks in the walking path from the back door to the garage. He took some kind of toxin to kill it. Make it turn brown and weather away. The old man spent hours in […]

Blinds were closed. Sun shined through through cracks. It cast a light on a table his parents gave him. Willed it to him. They died ’bout four years ago. Almost two months apart. She went before him. The old man always said she’d leave him. He was so resentful towards God when she died. Momma […]

He followed her down 8th Avenue. Past Circus World, the haunted museum, Port Authority, Pakistani porno shops, he walked in the crowd. She was about a half a block ahead of him. He kept his eyes on her red cap and long brunette hair. Did not let her out of his sight. He was locked […]

A bowl of melting ice cream sat on the kitchen counter. Chocolate with marshmallows and nuts. Some kind of rocky road all swirled into a gooey mess. The old man took a spoon and played with it for awhile. Lifting the mess into the air and then watching it fall from the spoon. It was […]

Snow in April. Tornados in March. Seemed like everything was backwards. Coyotes circled garbage cans. Knocked em over. Rummaged through trash. Half eaten food, beer bottles, old cans of Crisco, moldy white bread, plastic bags ripped open. A few black banana peels laid on the street next to the rusted out Charger parked in front […]

Ash trees and oaks. Hickory. Old dogwoods. Pines bright green. The forest covered in leftovers; dead leaves, trash left behind. A giant slurpee cup lies there, stepped on, the red straw still inside. A dead deer had been picked apart by wild pigs.Birds had swooped down and tasted the flesh. A gold cased buckshot sat […]

A lava lamp sat on the counter. Blues and yellows moved in a dance sequence. He picked up the lamp and examined it. Turned it upside down then upright again. A blot of red entered the lamp. It came from the bottom and worked its way towards the top before separating, glowing in two different […]

The old man was asleep in the recliner with the remote in his hand. Television was on with the sound turned down. It was Michael Landon mouthing words. Wearing a cowboy hat. Riding a horse. The TV was always on. Twenty-four hours a day. If he wasn’t watching it she was. Or, the kid. He […]

A light over the stove was on. Cats slept in the dark. Blinds closed. They were always closed. Sunlight never shined through. She wanted it dark. On the cream colored walls were old black and whites. Photographs of her man standing beside a ’57 Chevy, throwing a Frisbee on the beach, giving her a kiss […]