Author Archives: sputterpub

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

Deliberately Dana

Posted on April 27, 2016 by sputterpub

Zell thinks no one she knows reads her blog, but that’s not exactly true. Dana has the site bookmarked on her home computer, and sometimes she checks it out. She never comments or even clicks “like.” She doesn’t have a … Continue reading →

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Lunacy

Posted on April 26, 2016 by sputterpub

A coin of platinum lit the sky that night, and didn’t seem to move. The moon hung full and cast on clouds a blood-tinged silver light, exerting its extraordinary pull. It made me send a friend provoking verse. It snuck … Continue reading →

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Richmond Trip

Posted on April 25, 2016 by sputterpub

I studied faces on a weekend jaunt across the country for a cousin’s fete. I rarely think of them – they never haunt my dreams or memories, but it was sweet to look on them, to see those faces lined … Continue reading →

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School Lesson

Posted on April 22, 2016 by sputterpub

Don’t blame the school. It makes you seem a fool, and caps you as a foil and a dunce. That place was neither enemy nor tool for ripening – observe it right for once. Don’t search for good in your … Continue reading →

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To Let

Posted on April 21, 2016 by sputterpub

If three’s the charm, then let this morning’s fit effect relief and constitute the end of ranting bad behavior absent wit or wisdom. Let me leave my son to tend to his responsibilities without my intervention, fury or abuse. Let … Continue reading →

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