The scream startled me awake

And I jerked.

“You okay?” he said,

And he rolled toward me.

“Silly nightmare”, I said

But he curled into ne.

“The usual one?”

“Yes. The usual one.”

He sighed and kissed me,

“You’re safe you know.”

“I know. It’s just that….”

My voice fell away.

“No more tonight. You’re safe.”

He snored in minutes.

I lay there, my heart still racing,

The scream echoing in my head

And I ...

I ran out the door

Unmindful of weather

And the rain soaked my hair,

Running down my back.

I felt nothing.

I saw nothing.

I heard nothing.

My thoughts whirled and twirled

Your words making no sense

Because I knew the truth

And you are a liar....

I learned of the board when I was three

Jumping each step to the first floor.

“Listen, Mommy!” I shouted with glee

And of course stomped on it once more.

At sixteen I avoided that fifth step

Creeping out when the house was asleep.

Walking on the very edge made me very adept,

Just like the lies my sister promised to keep.

I still live in that house but I am old now

And slowly maneuver those old s...

I was the last of five.

The ending. The eternal baby.

Life set me up for the last

And has spun out that way.

A name clinched it

Even in kindergarten.

Zoe Zefir. Last table.

Last desk and last in line.

The last shall be first

A total lie it seemed.

Dancing class in middle school

Lined up alphabetically,

Coupled with the last boy

Who was always shorter

Than me and instantly

Hated my tall, lanky fr...

The cabin is a rental disaster.

The rain pounds on the tin roof

And seeps through cracked windows.

We hunker down on the lumpy couch

With the century old quilt on us,

Drinking hot toddies with graham crackers.

You pull up an ancient playlist

And suddenly there it is .

The forgotten song, the old memories.

“Oh no,” I say. “Please! No ear worms!”

You laugh and turn up the volume

And suddenly it’s wa...

He is sitting at his desk, book open.

“I love you,” I say, kissing him on the cheek.

He grunts, turns a page, and I laugh.

“I’m headed to the store,” I say,

And head down to the garage.

I start the car and smile

At the full tank of gas and a clean windshield.

He comes up to bed and slips in.

I roll over, and curl up against him.

“You smell good,” I mumble.

He wraps his arm around me,

Kisses my h...

I check the calendar as I always do

Checking that it is a Tuesday,

Not that I didn’t know that already

But the days run together.

I wend my way up the stairs

Avoiding the one with the creak

That I really should get fixed,

But there is a strange comfort

In such a well-known sound.

In the bedroom I pull out jeans

And the underwear you laughed at,

The cotton granny pants, the bra

With the one small ...

I know her well.

How many years known her?

Should I tell?

No, no, not in detail.

She was my friend.

That’s the beginning

And even the end.

Her face changed,

She lived so many times

So many places;

Different towns and climes.

Men came and went

And she changed for them.

Still I remained

Always there unnamed.

I know her well.

Don’t I?...

Luanne dragged herself up to the door and pushed the button. The big doors of the clinic swooshed open, and she cautiously made her way in. The receptionist (what was her name?) waved and Luanne plopped heavily into the nearest chair to catch her breath.

“Mrs. Dawson, please check in. You’ll need your ID and insurance card. Sorry. New system”.

The woman smiled at her and her name popped into L...

When days shorten

As happens this season

Then darkness comes so quickly

And the night stretches

To great lengths

And seems endless

As we hunker down with

Books and warm soups

And the flannel sheets

From the chest

Where they have slept

For months un-thought of

Sweaters appear and knit caps

And the barely worn wools

We venture out rarely

Into the black and the cold

Forgetting too often

That with t...