The moment shines upon the mirror ball Of memory, those little lights a part Of what was woven in our neural flows That build us into who we believe We…

FICTION

Walking to the Pehmin’s in a towel, I see a light coming through the glass sliding door. The Phemins are family friends who live in Little Rock, across the street from my grandparents. It is late — midnight, I think, it is so dark — but I go in, because they are asleep, but John is up, talking on the phone. I can see him through the glass sliding door, surrounded by our clothes, placed in piles around the room, ready to be washed. I walk in. John is talking to his girlfriend on the phone. …

Behold the Spring
The dewy rain
Makes voices sing
Befogs the brain

I was interviewed by Parrot Literary Corner on my poetry and on my novella, Hear the Screams of the Butterfly. You can get my novella here, and you can read a “response” to the story the narrator, Patric, tells here. In the meantime, these are the two poems I read in the video.

To Dance Among the Gods

The clouds have made a ladder to the moon. I must depart if I’m to get there soon — I hear the loon, the sound of sorrow sad Against the hoots and howls that make me glad I push against the fad that keeps me tied…

The classics have always created controversy, and today’s attacks on the classics are really nothing new, even if the focus on racism, sexism, Western culture, and so on are particularly intense nowadays. There are many who, regardless of these issues, don’t find the classics to be of any value whatsoever. Who cares about reading Shakespeare? What value is there in reading him? The language is archaic (Modern English, but early Modern English) and difficult, and how will learning Shakespeare help me to write business memos and reports?

One answer is that learning the classics helps us understand the very culture…

Subduction zones, where up and down’s the same,
Where land thrusts up, earthquakes leveling homes,
Where lava rises from volcanic domes,
Are where the Earth prefers to kill and maim.

…

FICTION

Gina slammed the door and immediately began stripping off her hotel uniform, throwing the scarf on the couch, next to Dan, as she stomped across the living room. “I am so fucking sick of that place. If one more whiny-ass motherfucker came through that door…” Her blouse was off as she entered the bedroom.

“Another bad day?” Dan asked,

“I’m sick of it. It’s fucking degrading’s what it is. I’ve got a goddamn degree in physics, for Christ’s sake!”

“So, do something with it,” Dan said.

Gina continued undressing in the bedroom. “You aren’t listening to me!”

“I am listening…

When it comes to a movie like I Care a Lot, there will inevitably be the claims that it’s a criticism of capitalism. And that is precisely what we see in many of the reviews of this — at best — mediocre movie. And this is no doubt why this poorly-written movie received Golden Globe nominations, and why Rosamund Pike (who plays the sociopathic protagonist Marla Grayson, a professional guardian who exploits the legal system) won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical (was it a comedy? it seemed to have a hard time making up…