Author Archives: sputterpub

Springing

Posted on April 27, 2015 by sputterpub

The season of awakening is here. The hyacinths are up, magnolias bud in violet to cream, and greens appear a dynasty of tones. The winter mud produces tulip fodder, iris love, and everywhere life stretches toward the sky. The heavens … Continue reading →

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The Child’s New Clothes

Posted on April 24, 2015 by sputterpub

A child may be innocent and pure, with cheek unetched, all possibility, but I detested being one, for sure I had to note the mean conformity, the impotence, the greedy imperfection. The years elapse along with lapsing chance. Assuming power … Continue reading →

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Potiphar’s Wife (End)

Posted on April 23, 2015 by sputterpub

They only did it the one time. Jill told me she didn’t know why I always commented favorably about Mike in bed; she didn’t find him any great shakes. She went on to other guys and I tried not to … Continue reading →

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Potiphar’s Wife (Middle)

Posted on April 22, 2015 by sputterpub

Jill was an excellent house guest. She was helpful and considerate and appreciative. She got along with my husband and she was great with our son. She was also into a nonsexual cycle, so even when she drank (not much, … Continue reading →

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Potiphar’s Wife (Beginning)

Posted on April 21, 2015 by sputterpub

I tell you, these people are crazy. I’m surrounded by dysfunction, and I’m not going to take it wordlessly any more. I have tried to suspend judgment. I have concluded that people read one another, and I’ve ceased harboring negative … Continue reading →

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Pedestrian Peering

Posted on April 20, 2015 by sputterpub

She’s wearing Tevas over cotton socks beneath a shapeless skirt and peasant blouse. As if a barrel chose to wear a box, an aging Berkeley matron leaves her house to walk her pets, with passive mate in tow, apparently agreeable … Continue reading →

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Ceres

Posted on April 17, 2015 by sputterpub

When I was pregnant I became divine – a minor goddess of fertility – no sooner touched a plant than it was mine to root and put forth shoots abundantly. I cultivated marijuana seeds, conversed with birds, and looked in … Continue reading →

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The Sad Way to Break a Bad Habit (3 of 3)

Posted on April 16, 2015 by sputterpub

Annie saw the periodontist again a month ago. He poked and scraped, knocked and gouged, and then sat back and said, “Will you consider a nightguard?” She felt sardonic. “Probably not,” she replied. “Why?” “Your teeth show signs of the … Continue reading →

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The Sad Way to Break a Bad Habit (2 of 3)

Posted on April 15, 2015 by sputterpub

As she got older Annie became self-conscious about the activity and its traces. Of course she tried to break the habit, and sometimes – in a vacation environment – she’d leave her hands alone long enough to see healing, to … Continue reading →

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The Sad Way to Break a Bad Habit (1 of 3)

Posted on April 14, 2015 by sputterpub

And it came to pass that Annie learned to leave her fingertips alone. She was 65. She had started snacking on her own skin before she was 12. A mere half century or so. She wasn’t born with the habit. … Continue reading →

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