Wedding Speech for Khaki
Well, it may not be for me to try to speak about your wedding, Beyond 'congratulations,' or some mildly sexy teasing. And it may not be the ragnarok it might be for some people (I'll not name them but to say June once was theirs and is no...
There's a Place in the Great Pack for You
"Welp, here they are, then," said Dad. Paul's bags were packed. He'd done that before sunrise. Wallet and ID. Toothbrush, toothpaste. Utility knife with pliers, screwdriver, and can opener. Scarf he'd knitted, wool he'd sheared himself, that year he'd...
Afterword by Ted V.
Some say it was all folklore, of the sort civilizations Will sprout like fungus from the leaking seams as they grow senile. That those who live like wolves among the ruins may find comfort In tales that make the wolves out in the wastelands to seem...
Part XVIII - And With That, I Close the Door
There was no particular celebration, that night at the cabin. No fanfare. No triumphal parade. Nik asked Will a few polite questions about how the shoot had gone and from there the conversation meandered into methods of constructing climate-resistant...
Part XVII - They Can’t Sell That House So Empty It Stays
Sam dropped them both off at the rest stop closest to where route 93 turned off the interstate. According to Chase this 'shoot' came with a van better equipped to handle potholes and washout, they'd ride out in that. "Which," Sam grumbled, "is fine by...
Part XVI - Still as the Silence Round About His Lair
It wasn't usually the director of photography's job, on these shoots, to do this kind of groundwork. Finding sources for local legends, or the locals who could tell them, was something the writers/hosts/directors/producers had always handled. And yes,...
King of Pentacles Takes Knave of Diamonds
Had there been opportunity to ask them, locals would have said the old ruin back in the woods was considered haunted. But a fugitive seldom has time to appreciate colorful local folklore. This one saw only a place to hide, to let pursuit pass by, to...
Haiku on the Collapse
Fiddling while Rome burns, If a fiddle's all you have, Is hardly a sin.
If You Are Reading These They May Be About You
Husbands beside me Breathe loud in the darkness Just before sunrise. I ought to sleep more, But all my dreams were passion And I am too roused. All my dreams have turned To smoldering near-erections And poems half-remembered. Poems to...
We Regret to Inform You of a Funeral Cancellation
Well a couple mourners gathered, and a bunch more came to stare. Course all the casual killers came, who'd left him lying there. They bought a discount casket and a requiem was said For the funeral was scheduled, for burying the dead. Well the...
Blank Verse Essay On the Treachery of Hope
You must learn how to live and not to hope For hope will be a luxury ere long. For hope can be both manacle and chain. For hope can keep you too spellbound to run Until the waters rise too high, and boil. You would not be the first. In ages...
Initial Survey of Quaisholm Cave Paintings, Origin Unknown, presumed Upper Mesolithic
The sunset lit the hills behind him. The breeze lifted the trees over him. And the path stretched out before him. Others of his tribe, maybe, would have said there was no one else there. Sana knew better. Not quite twelve days ago, one of the young...