On the Other Side My father gave me one thing in this life: a brown-skinned Rainbow Brite doll. When I was a kid sometimes I would get jealous of the doll and pull out her black yarn hair in chunkfuls. Even a silly doll had more life to her hair than me. Still, I feel … Continue reading
Simone I’ve never tricked with a guy from a group home. I was compelled to press palms with the house manager, a beefy black dude decked out in Adidas, and he insisted that I articulate my promise to return Darren sober and unharmed by midnight. We get high before leaving the subdivision. The bedbugs and … Continue reading
Chain of Rocks “I swear I saw a sign for Chicago,” Ma said, holding the battered Esso map on her lap. “Sun’s going down fast,” said Pa, for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Then, for the first time, “Don’t know where we are.” The wooden spokes of the old Hudson vibrated on the rough … Continue reading
That You Were Meant for Great Things Today Margaret from Ascertain Awareness calls about helping her do all-natural teeth whitening at the LA County Fair. She says. “I’ll train you and you can make some money.” I tell her I’ll consider. I’m busy working on my Aunt May costume for the Spider-Man convention in … Continue reading
For issue 8, each editor selected their pieces based off of particular, meaningful themes. We’ve decided to publish these works as a folio in their specific genre so readers can feel how they interact and create a dialogue with each other. Get ready to read dangerously. Fiction:Abundance Guest Editor: Ryka Aoki 米. This … Continue reading
This is how it is every day. One small white pill. Two slightly larger yellow pills. Four syringes filled with clear liquid, drawn and depressed and redrawn to eliminate any air bubbles. Four pricks of the finger producing four drops of blood, plump, round and bright red. Cross your fingers and wait- Continue reading
A Quasi-Scientific Study of Women with No Mothers Every study starts with a feeling. To some scientists it reads as gut instinct, but in my case it was more like fierce joy. No, not joy. Solidarity. Self-recognition. Also steroids. Because the first time I met another woman with no mother, I felt myself grow a … Continue reading
My Grandson’s Feet I. My Army soldier son-in-law sent my daughter a short instant message on Facebook from Kandahar, Afghanistan one night, about how he had just seen a soldier’s feet blown off at the ankles in Afghanistan when the guy stepped in the wrong place at the wrong time. My son-in-law messaged that he … Continue reading
The First Gay Space: Getting Back to Reality After the Tragedy at Pulse From where I’m standing I can see the earth suspended thousands of miles away and it really is just as people who have seen it at this distance always describe it. Suddenly it seems unthinkable to have names for oceans, lines to … Continue reading
The Body Remembers, Tua-Back I remember this time in color and images with no sound. I remember my oversized multi-colored coat that I seem to be wearing in every picture. I am always dressed in my Sunday best, normally a skirt and a blouse, or a long dress. Clothes not meant to be played in, … Continue reading
