Outside, the night sky is / writhing with spirits

New fiction from the author: “After the third bucket, Burt Hammer finally explained he was trying to harvest methane from the cow patties as an energy source.”

But / it was the breath / that kept coming back

“The next day Nixon steered Soviet Premier Khrushchev over to the Pepsi kiosk.”

“The ship came as though out of a dream—not mine: the water’s and the night’s.”

“that iconic neck, existing / purely for beauty’s sake— / until you take your picnic”

“As I lay there bleeding, she methodically checked each and every frame of film for scratches.”

Installation photography by Norwegian artist Rune Guneriussen.

I have one breath left and I’m learning / how to say it all at once.

A farmer or baker could have served just as well. / There are many figures of speech.

When daylight breaks and enters cracks / open a window with the sheer force

Photographs by Lori Nix.

“I was concerned about her love, because Lydia smelled so strongly of blood and cervelat.”

“I am inspired by things in general. Old things, especially. Weird things. Abnormal things.”

Three winters and a spring / hung in little flags above his bed.

“Husband! she yells, I want to have sex! and gets out of the shower.”

Suppose a woman is truth / and truth a mirror

“It is the first time my cell has ever dialed 911. By the time the ambulance comes a crowd has gathered.”

Best to remain unannounced / to rest nestled against his large shoulder.

“I felt like a prisoner stuck between its walls. Cast away like a punished, naughty child.”