Terrie Joplin Last Wishes 1. I know when my mom said, It’s time, my dad and sister drove her to the hospital to die that night— returning home, drinking coffee, waiting for the doctor’s call—just as she wanted,…
Browsing: MER VOX
Eve Packer phases/stages: Cycles of the Moon phase 1: new overheard: she’s sweet too bad she isn’t prettier phase 2: waxing crescent: the weapons h.s. sophomore: i remember thinking as i look in the orchard street store mirror…
Puma Perl Too Old to Live Pulling into the 11th Street Garage, Annie’s 1999 Honda SUV suddenly rolled back She pulled the emergency brake, nobody hurt Girls in street turned around and glared at her You’re too old…
Cammy Thomas The Little X I have to work so hard to click the little x that gets me out of there. It’s 1 a.m. and I could do, couldn’t I, just one more episode, only the one?…
Elizabeth Burk How I Mourn the limber body, smooth flesh +++strong bones, resilient spine, the moxie and verve of my younger self. The wish to haul that body from the graveyard +++of buried hope haunts me, stirs images…
Harriet Bailiss The Line We have, somehow, stumbling half-blind through the sleeplessness and the viruses and the heart-torque of fierce love muddled with fearful uncertainty, got here. We have got through twelve months, almost, and so it is time…
Caryn Cardello Normal Kids We were in the sandbox, during the normal time before Covid, and I was texting my partner about the possibility that our son might be profoundly gifted, when the child in question leaned over the…
Lisa Fogarty Frozen Spigots My twelve-year-old wants to do everything in her bedroom these days, but we put our foot down and say, “no meals.” Crumbs, bugs, we’re your family and you love us, remember? We compromise on snacks.…
Megan Hanlon Dear Wooden Swing Set, Steadfast and reliable, you have been my friend during these long short years. Together we’ve passed many damp mornings and long-shadowed afternoons: you, the sturdy fixture that invited my children to crawl on…
Jennifer Gay Summers Mothers Come First My husband and I stood in a hospital corridor, dressed in pink surgical scrubs, waiting to see our baby born. After six long years of miscarriages, in-vitro procedures, an adoption agency, and private…