“Colors” Never Fade

When my grandmother died, I learned not only had I lost my family’s matriarchbut I had never been in the… Read more “Colors” Never Fade

I’m Glad I’m Not in Dixie

* sung to the tune of “(I Wish I Was in) Dixie’s Land” I’m glad I’m not in the land… Read more I’m Glad I’m Not in Dixie

Duty Bound to Hold It Down

I remember the day he leftand I became the man of the house.I was four and duty bound to hold… Read more Duty Bound to Hold It Down

Papa Don’t Take No Mess

his hands never leavethe filth of him crawls beneath her skinas feces stain the cuticlesof her thumbless handsshe gnaws around… Read more Papa Don’t Take No Mess

Accommodations

Anger roils within me, though I give it no surface. One dozen careers have I had, brief though some have… Read more Accommodations

Two

She was lovely, adorned in gold leaf, hand-painted, or perhaps handmade appliqué that matched her golden, Roman sandals. She wore… Read more Two

Inmigrante

I have my own theme music. Were it to play aloud, I’d be sued, most likely, by Led Zeppelin. Ah-ah-ah-AH…… Read more Inmigrante

A Song for Paterson

I watched the movie, Paterson, on a Sunday night. It was the story of Paterson, driver of the Paterson 23… Read more A Song for Paterson

Trattoria Italiana

table for one away from the kitchen back to the world not under the plants skylight’s too bright too much… Read more Trattoria Italiana

We Should Come Back

It has taken me years to find my writing voice, or, rather, to assimilate the myriad voices in my head… Read more We Should Come Back