“Self Preservation” by Jamie Lyn Smith I moved back to my hometown in rural Ohio in the dead of winter, intent upon making the best of things at a time when only the worst things seemed to be happening. It was a dreadful February of oxygen tanks, life-thieving coughing fits, Read more…
“Clinton Lake” by Chloe Chun Seim Every time they got together, it was like this. The sister would go and visit the brother in their hometown, or the brother would come and see the sister in her college town. Almost always, it was the sister driving to meet the brother, Read more…
“ECH(O)-TERRORIST (5)” by Derek Graf O sleepless wives of Mount Sinai, do you fear your dangerous proximity to the sun? The last strip mall in Kansas closes down with little fanfare, and this October night’s unseasonal heat touches me deeply. When I die, spread my ashes over the landfills that Read more…
“ECH(O)-TERRORIST (4)” by Derek Graf In the dream I bury my father in the swamps of Florida, that empire of shithead tourists. In the dream he follows me to Kansas City, where we watch the rats gather at the river. Some day, I’ll take my hammer to the roots of Read more…
“ECH(O)-TERRORIST (3)” by Derek Graf O father, O hunter, bury me in the casket of your eye. Tonight I sleep against a pile of survey stakes in the glad tomb of a friend’s garage. Lover, rejoice with your shameless neighborhood, where all the front lawns are privatized and all the Read more…
“ECH(O)-TERRORIST (2)” by Derek Graf Zoning tape and timber ruins in a landscape: how pretty goes the night, how pretty go the stars like a thousand cigarettes thrown from the hand of a diesel truck driver speeding down one of America’s gutted highways. Rising floodwaters outside Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Bismarck, Read more…