Monthly Archives: April 2014

Facets (Middle)

Posted on April 16, 2014 by sputterpub

Most marriages were still arranged back then. Esther was determined to pair one of her sons with Millie, the daughter of her own best friend. According to Hersch’s comments, this was a practical as well as loving consideration on the … Continue reading →

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Facets (Beginning)

Posted on April 15, 2014 by sputterpub

You don’t see many twelve-sided diamonds around. They’re hard to cut, which is why the cut requires a hard stone, which is why the only twelve-sided gems are diamonds. A twelve needs a big stone or a really good cutter, … Continue reading →

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Screens

Posted on April 14, 2014 by sputterpub

Admitting the mosquitos won the war of open window, I have purchased screens. They come from factory instead of store. They look attractive but their presence means I won’t be reaching outside any more: my hand won’t touch the rain, … Continue reading →

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Okay

Posted on April 11, 2014 by sputterpub

I breakfasted on anger years ago. I took in news with coffee, always struck by crazy folks, surreal reports, a show of mob-bemused insanity. I’d buck at paragraphs that can’t be proven, know my mind and no one else’s, have … Continue reading →

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Copywrong (II of II)

Posted on April 10, 2014 by sputterpub

She read the poem to her next door neighbors. She adored Barbara and she despised Barry; she showed it to them both. She didn’t know whether she did that to add to her pride or her shame; she just couldn’t … Continue reading →

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Copywrong (I of II)

Posted on April 9, 2014 by sputterpub

Melanie composed her first poem when she was six. She’d been reading poetry with her father as long as she could remember, so it was natural for her first work to be metered and rhyming. She wasn’t exactly a girly … Continue reading →

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Death (Edited)

Posted on April 8, 2014 by sputterpub

Sarcastic death, ironic circumstance: the wit may be divine but it feels mean, undignified or futile, for the dance the reaper leads is not a noble scene. Or when it is, its rareness makes it so as much as principle … Continue reading →

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Training

Posted on April 7, 2014 by sputterpub

They deemed it sinister, not long ago, to let a child write without his right. They must have thought the student didn’t know which hand would work the best; they loathed the sight. We hear they forced the child from … Continue reading →

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Tanks

Posted on April 4, 2014 by sputterpub

Our transport is an armored war machine: a road unto itself in black and white. We wheel on inexorably between the contours of depression and delight. Anxiety and ecstasy and pain we know; we take the valley and the height, … Continue reading →

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Absentia (End)

Posted on April 3, 2014 by sputterpub

If the teacher noticed Melanie’s presence, she didn’t let on. She took attendance but didn’t remark about the one unresponsive student, and then she started the students at crayons. Susie made her usual drawing of a square house with symmetrical … Continue reading →

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