Beginnings and Ends
editor's note
Wine Tasting
When we're small, beginnings and ends are simple. We start with "Once upon a time" and end with "And they lived happily ever after." Unless, of course, one is the wicked witch skulking through the woods, in which case you are not promised a kingdom or the love of Prince Charming.
poetry
For Keeps
“May I keep it?” she asks,
brown eyes pleading
Contentment is Dangerous
brown eyes pleading
The last time I felt it
was sometime before the dishwasher
flooded the kitchen
Firsts and Lasts
was sometime before the dishwasher
flooded the kitchen
Grandma out in the backyard talking
Czech to Mrs.Novak, "How about a
little Wienerschnitzel for lunch?," then
a look at the miraculous lilacs
Jolie and the Bean Stake
Czech to Mrs.Novak, "How about a
little Wienerschnitzel for lunch?," then
a look at the miraculous lilacs
Her sisters, in the buns, they knew,
they brought her breakfast come May,
when the sprouts were long and
twisting up her burnt arms
From My Bed
they brought her breakfast come May,
when the sprouts were long and
twisting up her burnt arms
I know it is just the light
forcing patterns of leaves
to emerge from shadows
Chasing Rabbits
forcing patterns of leaves
to emerge from shadows
He lolls in tall grass, stretches his belly
against cool green earth, only eyes
and ear tips visible.
Pebble Round
against cool green earth, only eyes
and ear tips visible.
Dawn stretches and yawns
in yellow, poking fingers
through vertical blind slats
At the End of His Life
in yellow, poking fingers
through vertical blind slats
Filling with the darkness of heavy evening
and heavier drugs, he grows less restless.
Fall
and heavier drugs, he grows less restless.
Doubting her gloved hand,
she checked the lock twice before leaving.
But the Air Goes Clear
she checked the lock twice before leaving.
It’s so easy to
spell and so hard
to decide. I watched
as each layer was
pulled softly away –
sky poured through.
Items 1-3
spell and so hard
to decide. I watched
as each layer was
pulled softly away –
sky poured through.
Red, California grapes in bag from the local
grocery store, bought from the cashier, older
woman hair parted in the middle, French braid
On Preparations for the End of the World
grocery store, bought from the cashier, older
woman hair parted in the middle, French braid
The telly is off -
Or muted in sorrow.
Some need a distraction,
So bowls of mixed nuts
Sit close to its heat.
Horse in my Hand
Or muted in sorrow.
Some need a distraction,
So bowls of mixed nuts
Sit close to its heat.
among the first to disappear my new patent purse sister’s silk stockings
plates, forks, a sack of potatoes damp handkerchiefs waiting to be ironed
plates, forks, a sack of potatoes damp handkerchiefs waiting to be ironed
fiction
Ashes
I heard his mother’s one way conversation on the phone. The package would be arriving this afternoon. She spoke to them matter-of-factly about the details of its delivery. Someone would be home to sign for it, she assured them. I listened while I pretended to read a book.
A Permanent Resident
Chen did not tell any of them that he would be receiving his green card. None of the others had papers; it would only provoke envy. How was it that a 50-year-old Chink, who barely spoke English—a dirty restaurant worker—stood to receive one of these precious documents?
Roman, Explorer
If there’s anything I have learned in my years of travels and adventures, it’s that everyone is looking for something. Arturo was trying to make money off the crusty boat he inherited from his father. Joan was in it for the penguins. As for me, I enjoy the misadventures. The unexpected situations that allow one’s noble valor to shine bright.
Knitter's Corner
It started with the small things. Calico curtains by catalog—they could be bluebell or poppy or dandelion yellow, she found, and the primary colors swam in front of her so that she bit her lip as she pondered and then finally logged in to ask the ladies who quilted and crocheted as they read her blog. Would they divulge their color-wheel secrets, reveal the wholesome palette of country hues that might secure the happiness of her home?
Windows in the Deep Woods
Had it only been a week ago that Maeryn had seen Aunt Ethyl in that dream, from the dry comfort of her own bed at home? Ethyl had worn a calico dress and apron in shades of her signature periwinkle. She had looked straight into the gaze of Mae’s sleeping self, and then turned and pointed to the forested northeast, into the hills that rolled upward until they rolled right in among the mountains.
Wives
He used to do the same things to me—shift responsibility, like that business with the phone number in the car, or make me do things I didn’t want to do, or try to make me like things I didn’t like. Escargot, for example. He would order escargot for me, even though he knew I couldn’t stand them. “Once you get used to the idea,” he would say, “you’ll love them.” I never did learn to like escargot.
Moving On
Even before the Parkinson’s, Jack nightly wrestled demons that twisted him in his sheets and hurtled him out of bed grunting and shouting. At first the shouting scared her. She would start up, heart pounding, go upstairs and try to wake him.
Love, Jack
She’d gathered her enormous three-ring binders full of the notes she’d made since the day she discovered Jack had a girlfriend and organized them into six file storage boxes the day before, but had kept them at her bedside so that she could keep them out of the hands of her enemies. She’d factored in the time it would take her to carry them to her car when she’d set her alarm, but hadn’t considered that the effort would leave her breathless and sweaty, so the extra turn in the shower and the unexpected need for a dress change had bumped her up against the clock.
nonfiction
Beginnings and Ends
He lured me with his personals ad: "Rough diamond needs polish.” Six-feet tall, dark hair flecked with gray, eyes the color of tootsie-rolls, and a sweet smile he covered with a hand to hide crooked teeth. Paul drove a truck for a helicopter company and made good money for an eighth-grade dropout. He looked like a cross between Glenn Campbell and Burt Reynolds. I fell hard for this barrel-chested macho man who painted my toenails flaming red.
Lavender
I talked about my upcoming trip to the lavender fields across the border and I wonder now if she realized that it was her dying that I was running from. I said I would bring her back some sprigs, smuggled through security in my bra.
Sounds and Fury
On a summer-warm September morning, terrorists dampered the symphonic sounds of Manhattan and rewrote the score in a cacophony of chaos and fear. I was there. I heard them, sounds that silenced the fantasia of a monumental city.