The war rages on. The moon and stars are obscured by the Thick, black smoke. A rancid, gray haze, Like a cloak covering the forest floor. The riverbed is full of nature’s inhabitants, The river itself, rushing with the violence of the moment, Presenting a second, powerful danger. They are trapped, shaking, and terrified. The …
“It’s your shift, Olivia.” A droopy-eyed Olivia got out of the back seat of the car. Stretching slightly as she made her way to the driver's seat, she took a deep breath of fresh air. Streams of fog dissipated from her mouth. Her hands rubbed against each other to keep warm as she started the …
What I didn’t say was: Stop. What I didn’t say flew out of my palms like bats, dark words with wings and thirst. What I didn’t say drove up from my abdomen, filled my nose with bile, though they unzipped my gallbladder months ago. What I didn’t say was: No. Syllables much longer, cadences much …
Tap. Tap. Tap. The curtains, pulled tight on the front door of the small one-bedroom home, muffle the early morning knocking. Martha closes the lid on a bottle of hand sanitizer, returning it to the circular glass-topped end table beside her leather recliner—leather cracked from years of being massaged by her alcohol laden hands. Trailing …
Burnt Pine 