Then I worked for an old lady in El Paso
took down her storms put up her screens
painted her fence
she kept finding new jobs
said I resembled the boy she’d lost
insisted I sleep in his bed
the walls covered with posters
X-Men The Gladiator Kate Moss
clippings about boxing matches Continue reading
There are 568 miles between Sacramento and Las Vegas. Google Maps tells me if I don’t hit any traffic, I can expect to make the trip in 9 hours and 3 minutes. I pack an overnight bag, throw my checkbook in, and yank the zipper up. I leave a dish of kibble for the cat. At the gas station where I fill my tank, I buy a large black coffee and a candy bar. It is one p.m., six hours since I received Sean’s call, when I head east on the 80. Continue reading
All night she watched
the sky bloom with stars.
Now it is morning.
Purple lilies, orange sunrise,
yellow sun. Continue reading
My ventures from the room became more frequent and it was generally the same route. The nurse walked alongside me as I haltingly put one foot in front of the other moving down the hall past the other residents lying in their beds so much worse off than me. The guy with the metal halo around his head and casts on both arms and legs, the mummy with the bandages covering every inch of his or her skin, and the boy who looked okay, just asleep, but wasn’t either. Continue reading
