and then…

she came home.
beatdown #2: complete.
may beatdown #3 be a hangnail.
and may you never hear about any of this nonsense again.

flor de calabaza

“i think you’re wrong,” lydia said to me
the other morning, after the first night of leanne
being back in the hospital.
“about what?”
“about mommy coming home,” she said.
“no, i’m right,” i said. “she’s coming home.”
it’s been days now and she’s not getting better.
in fact, people are starting to get worried.
and so it’s me and liddy, together at [...]

doubletake

so many things tell me this is a dream.
there’s the orderly with the very, very long hair, pushing
a cart.  the valets joking in the parking lot, kicking the slush,
but most of all it’s the man in the waiting room
running around behind tables and chairs and couches
stacked with faux-italian leather purses.
there are neon green ones with [...]