Typetrigger

out of time

there is a tree scratching at the bedroom window, asking to be let in.

the silence must hold. once birds begin singing, it will be tomorrow. if i don't sleep by then, the charge in the morning will be murder.

sleep | night | birds

oars

the crocodile, he would like to eat you, and he will wait. he will wait for an hour while you work up the courage to flutter an oar in the water. to blink. to show him you know he is near and hungry. and then he will come for(more)

boat | crocodil... | hippopot...

foliage

i suspect a family of sloths has colonized the oak canopy that shades my front lawn. the suspicion runs against all ecological probability, but I can sense them peering at me when I take the car to work or retrieve my mail in slippers and PJs. My wife smiles(more)

sloth | tree | summer

lighthouse

oh Lord of all, deliver me
from death upon this rotten sea
and if my feet should find the shore
a-Whaling I will go no more

or if the curse of wind and wave (more)

whale | sea | prayer

need to retire

Some time after the War That Ended War, in the midst of the Pestilent Age, when Those On High smote Those Below with the Scourge Of Wrath Divine, a lone figure strolled the highways of the Holy City, now ruined. The rubble cracked beneath his bony tread. The Afflicted(more)

death | eternity | barber

scent of dog

The dog had surely been eating something dead. Only once before had Annie awoken to anything so foul, the morning after an ill-advised blind date which was now a more than distant memory.

Duke's hot breath, redolent of rot and plague, bathed her senses as he nuzzled her puffy(more)

dog | grieving | loyalty

for the animals

It is February, and a change has happened. In Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, the footpaths are silent and pristine, frosted by bitter lakefront wind. The razor-sharp click of a student's camera takes a thin slice of artic morning, leaving plenty for the next one who comes along.
(more)

chicago | wolves | zoo

on repeat

he was tired of the record, and of the bottle, but there was a long night that needed finishing in this manner. there was simply not another thing in the world worth doing, as far as he could determine.

once or twice his sainted mother stuck her old(more)

mother | blues | whiskey

maybe I should

In his idle moments, which were many, he considered fighting crime by night.

The odds were against his success. He had birdy legs and a voice unlikely to strike terror in any heart. On top of all that, ugly duckling superheroes were the kind of pop culture clich(more)

superher... | potentia... | crime

cynical strategy

All right, once the word comes down, we've got less than three minutes to clear the hot zone. Book says we review call signs once more, to prevent any confusion.

Forward assault team, you are "Operation Mincemeat."
Second wave, you will move up to fill all vacancies left(more)

military | chain of... | strategy

fire escape

i became a burrower to escape a deathly fear of fire.
in the bosom of the earth, nothing burns. except the great volcanoes, but they are the tools of the gods, and no concern of mine. i have no islands to make.

to learn the ways of a(more)

fire | water | fear

of the highway

the sun had already burned me through to the bone before i had sat an hour by the side of the road. it was still so directly overhead that i could not hide in the shadow of my truck's remains without lying directly under the vehicle. that might have(more)

highway | sun | stranded

numbers & letters

she kissed me behind the bus stop, where it was safe.
she promised to hold my hand in the dark, during the Friday slideshow in history class, as long as we could both sit in the back of the room.
she never passed me notes, but accepted all of(more)

code | love | school

digital harm

i had a dream you punched me so hard my pixels flew all over the place. they rattled on the floor like teeth. i tried scooping them back up but it was too late, pointless. they had burned out instantaneously, and anyway i was still reeling and wobbling from(more)

pixel | digital | violence

homecoming

she came into this world on the night of the big game. State's defensive line was a force to be reckoned with, and a pep rally wasn't going to cut it. so mama and daddy made a miracle, to give him strength and keep the town's pride safe. (more)

football | sex | homecomi...

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