Author Archives: sputterpub

Lava Lamp

Posted on September 2, 2015 by sputterpub

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

Posted on September 1, 2015 by sputterpub

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)

Posted on August 31, 2015 by sputterpub

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

Posted on August 28, 2015 by sputterpub

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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Stickiness

Posted on August 27, 2015 by sputterpub

Arrested in the spider’s sticky strings, a butterfly appeared suspended where the web was hung; she worked her fairy wings of gold and black against the autumn air like eyelids blinking in a sudden light. But sails of vibrant dust … Continue reading →

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Penny

Posted on August 26, 2015 by sputterpub

Her parents had no clue how inappropriate it was to name her Penelope. It was her mother’s idea, because she liked the sound, and her father agreed. At first they called her their little Pen, then Penny-pen and even Penny … Continue reading →

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Writing Project

Posted on August 25, 2015 by sputterpub

If I, for fifteen minutes every day, assign myself to write a bit of prose, I think I’ll find I have some things to say, for doing leads to noting. I’ll compose a quarter hour worth of text a night, … Continue reading →

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Colors

Posted on August 24, 2015 by sputterpub

The color leaves of sycamore become before they fall – the hue of wild grass that dries to hay beneath the August sun – these tones describe my dog. From coal to brass her aging coat now whitens at her … Continue reading →

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Mattress Time

Posted on August 22, 2015 by sputterpub

It’s mattress time again – the season when the sidewalks draw the sleeping pads outside. As if attractive law induces men to harken to some kind of pavement tide, they must assist their mattresses to move, to rest on edge … Continue reading →

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Polymath

Posted on August 21, 2015 by sputterpub

I used to read voraciously, and all of it was fictional, but lately I’m attracted to the study of the small details of hormones, and the marks of time on islands, and the history of thought. I don’t know what’s … Continue reading →

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