THE CAPTIVES By Shivani Mehta In 1438 the dying were buried before they were dead, thirty seconds before their eyes closed. To look at the faces of the dead was thought to bring a lifetime of bad luck. The family of the soon-to-be deceased stood by the freshly dug grave, waited to catch their loved one’s … [Read more…]
THE DRESS-MAKER By Shivani Mehta When my twin sister and I were young our mother was a dress-maker. Beautiful dresses were all around us, dresses we weren’t allowed to touch, dresses made of crepe, cambric, calamanco, faille. At night we wore nightgowns mother sewed us from sack-cloth and imagined how those other dresses might feel in … [Read more…]
T. MONK’S MAMA’S PHOTO I.D. by Mark Jackley Monk, Barbara, cleaner, stares, framed by creases, stains, the semi- accusing ink of fingerprint— no angularity to her gaze, nineteen- forty, smart blouse, eyes open wide. ============================================================================ Mark Jackley is the author of several chapbooks, most recently Every Green Word (Finishing Line Press), and a full-length collection, There … [Read more…]
THE RUSTLING By Judith Skillman You who are my wind, the hole in the fabric of an afternoon, the winding place where dresses made from calico whisper on hangers— you who compose morning with spidery windows prism-cast, with lengths of webbing and incarcerated droplets . . . * There, the scattered choir of chimes, crows … [Read more…]
READING IN THE CAR AT A PARKING LOT AT DAWN by Mark Jackley Because there is silence. Every word is bright in the baroque instrument of the ear inside my skull. I attend. In the sun the dew is crowning flowers, setting fire to their heads. ============================================================================ Mark Jackley is the author of several chapbooks, most … [Read more…]