Author Archives: sputterpub

Battery

Posted on May 11, 2016 by sputterpub

“Do you want me to call the police? I saw the whole thing.” That was my first inkling. I’d missed the tussle because I was inside at the climactic moment. As I opened the casement window in my bathroom I … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Neighborhood | Leave a comment

After 15 Years

Posted on May 10, 2016 by sputterpub

I miss my husband. After 15 years divorced, I spent last Saturday with him and slipped into nostalgia. It appears I could have stuck it out – I sought a whim and built romantic castles in the air – except … Continue reading →

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Reparations

Posted on May 9, 2016 by sputterpub

So what’s it mean, she offering me speed? We haven’t shared cocaine for 40 years. And little brother’s Vicodin? I need it like another burden, it appears, yet eagerly do I partake. They owe me twice as much for their … Continue reading →

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Goosing the Muse

Posted on May 6, 2016 by sputterpub

I used to wait for inspiration’s nudge. The spirit moved me now and then to write, and what emerged was hard for me to judge because my type so rarely saw the light. Then I’d produce a poem or two … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Writing | Leave a comment

Cruise Amenities

Posted on May 5, 2016 by sputterpub

An orb of summer fruit, a perfect sphere of nectarine, red-orange flecked with gold, arrayed with plums and peaches, forms a tier of bounty in the galley. Someone sold us luxury and decadence indeed – for produce stocked a week … Continue reading →

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The Charlie Character

Posted on May 4, 2016 by sputterpub

Charlie hasn’t cried since he was 12 years old. His tear ducts worked perfectly when he was a baby and a child, but junior high harassment put a stop to that. Or maybe something else. He doesn’t know and doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Too Little Too Late

Posted on May 3, 2016 by sputterpub

We saved a little winter just for this – a week of cooler days and overcast; another chance to hear the tires kiss the asphalt slick before the rain has passed. It dashes purple petals to the ground. It weights … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Weather | Leave a comment

Sunday Bus Ride, 6 PM

Posted on May 2, 2016 by sputterpub

A minute till this bus departs from BART, an April Sunday almost summer hot. I had my wine and pizza – now we start to motor north on College, with a lot of ice-cream lovers, shoppers, drivers, pairs and passengers … Continue reading →

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Arson

Posted on April 29, 2016 by sputterpub

The wooden pieces, splinter sharp and bright with flame or gray with ember residue, drop riverward. The steel so hot it’s white as noon is plummeting to water, too, and hissing as it kisses through its path, or steaming as … Continue reading →

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HBD

Posted on April 28, 2016 by sputterpub

Long in the tooth? That’s part of the truth. Carve this for a totem: He’s long in the scrotum! The outside loses elasticity while all within are weary wearing out. The frame condenses and that gravity will conquer no one … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, Health, Poetry | Leave a comment