Author Archives: sputterpub

Subjunctives

If I were but a mediocre poet and loved an existentialist like you, I’d find the words to make the whole world know it but as it is I’m not, so which is true? Am I in you discovering my … Continue reading

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Forensics

If I had died a dozen years ago, I could have taken fantasies intact with me into the earth, and never know the pain of my illusion meeting fact. I’d be remembered young by everyone who knew me long enough … Continue reading

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Deflection

I would have read a newsletter today while I unwilling willed myself to work, except the train-borne wind chased it away too fast for me to follow. With a jerk of final gusting strength, the funneled gale that blew before … Continue reading

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Pets

Of all the gifts my life bestows on me Ideas I value most. Computers treasure electricity, For software is a ghost That current-craves as we require blood, As sunshine is essential for the bud, But we, elaborate, are built to … Continue reading

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Husbandry

The gardener removes selected growth to clear a path or sensibly enhance a section of my yard. So I with both intent and memory address the plants that grow upon the acres in my mind. These berries are too thorny … Continue reading

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Flirtation

Delicious is the phase our friendship’s in that’s barely gone beyond acquaintance yet. We recognize each other with a grin, attend each word or nuance, and forget there’s any other rider on the bus. Adorable is how we take a … Continue reading

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Lava Lamp

Beware of Molly. She told the story of our June genesis in the present tense, because that seems to her more vivid and less decided. She says telling in the now encourages the hearer to have opinions. But present-tense narration … Continue reading

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Invite

I won’t rebut – go on and call me bitch. Accuse me of controlling tendency, and mention these when you recite your pitch: manipulation and effrontery. Insinuate black magic as a skill I’ve made my own; suggest that I’m a … Continue reading

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Washburn Point to Nevada Fall (and Back)

Hallucinating giant fallen trees across the road, she almost speaks to warn him of the obstacles ahead. She sees they drive on tracks above a void newborn of heated evening air; they hurtle west on shadow rails, and bottomless the … Continue reading

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Complaint

I sent a sonnet in an envelope, with reading fee, to some address back East, and with it in the mail I hosted hope for praise, encouragement, or at the least a helpful phrase or usable advice. Instead, I got … Continue reading

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