Bereft

When the storms come, life falls from the sky. Drops merge and rivulets race. Puddles deepen, spill over. A stream resurrected, begins its disoriented crawl to the sea.

The storms come less frequently now. Our fields lie baked and burned, crumbling like old chalk.

“Got any work?”

Yen

In those days, between the megacanes, some of us would be sent out into the searing heat to inspect the panels and batten down whatever had broken loose. Something was always broken.

Crapulous

Jordan staggered away from the concert with the group, ears ringing, thirsty, and concentrating. Left foot forward. Right foot forward. Don’t ralph again.

Follow the dude in the yellow shirt, he told himself.

Failure

His hands tremble. “Our account is empty.”

A red F had been circled. The veins in her old man’s neck throbbed.

Circuitous

“I didn’t happen,” he said.

“Okay,” I replied.

“It wasn’t a cheese sandwich. Bernard doesn’t like cheese. Everybody forgets about Hazel. She wasn’t married to a guy named

Inchmeal

By appearances, the party was a huge success. Ned waited for his cocktail, taking advantage of the open bar.

“You said she’s new in town?” asked the black dress next to him.

Lambaste

“Are you kidding me?”

A woman’s voice blasts through my apartment window from below.

I shake my head. Whatever. They’ll move along.

Machu Picchu

Of stone on mountaintops did builders create their great city. Casting a record of the passage of their lives into a far-flung and uncertain destiny. Those people, the heart and life

Retrospective

I’d been dreading this moment for months. Ever since Mom had come into our kitchen, told me to turn off the TV, and made the announcement.

Popular

“Oh, c’mon. You have to go.” Marcie huffed.

Arjen licked his lips.

“The band is super popular. They’re lit. Everyone loves them.”

He sighed. “I’ve never heard of them.”

Marcie shook her hands in the air. “What’s