Every night I wake up under the same crooked tree. An oak I think. With its ridged branches reaching out into the night. Claw like branch tips looking like they might snatch me up any minute. There’s a piece of broken rope tied to one of the branches, maybe from an old tire swing or something. But I’m not sure when the last time any children lived around these parts. This is a small town in the mi...

What’s there to say about Margo and I? Well you’d be surprised how frivolously we got along. Being as different as two stray cats who happened upon one another. Meowing, purring, fighting. No, not perfect. Not easy. Nervously laughing til the end. But jokes aside we weren’t meant to be the kind rolling down flower petal lined carpets together. Not that we were quitters. Just used to skating on thi...

I asked ma how she was doing

She told me she’s over the hill

What’s that mean to you, ma?

She said fountains of eternal youth

Are always bound to spill

I told her ma you’re doing great

You don’t look a day over 40

She told me her muscles felt like sting rays

seas of her memory turbulent and murky

I asked her Ma

What’s your favorite memory, I’d really love to hear it

She said swimming at th...

Acorn Jim, They called him

Always covering up a darkness within

A cap or umbrella, or scarf for show

Never leaving his home without a disguise in tote

And every year he grew a little bit more

Taller and lankier than the year before

Even in older years he steadily grew

Eventually went barefoot as he couldn’t fit in shoes

His toes were curled, ridged and brown

sounded like leaves in the wind as he...

The ice crunched beneath my feet like Captain Crunch cereal. The blood in my mouth really rounded out the childhood memory re-surfacing to my mind. My mouth tasted like iron and metal. My lips were cold and swollen. I reached for the snow which was frozen to the touch and picked some up and padded it on my face. I looked at my hand and saw blood on the snow.

What happened?

A moment ago I was fl...