norman

you wanted to dismiss my expressions as gibberish until gossip reached you she understood me enough to publish me inside her folds for all the world to see i didn't have to rely on brilliance to acknowledge the difference between chaos and the woods was not to in such a hurry cut down nature for one's own burning need for resources esp. perfect jewels

norman

it was so easy to think of her by her markings i forgot to listen to her by how she sailed over the sheets poetically reading the markings children had made inside her trailer when they were growing up empty handed for the most part looking out a parked car as men came to put their hands on the glass looking for their mother i am told by her before i offer her safe passage on my voyage

norman

you thnik you can raed this corectly bcause you r use to halving your way yet you egg nor the fact i believe you are basically dishonest with your self realizations absent from your point of view taking on what you don't recognize about yourself can get you hit by a car in your driveway crossing your path while you're talking about correcting attractiveness as you're right

Pam

At the Beach, Jeté Finds Faith: 2 POVs

On the day she was strangled, Jeté drank agave, quit smoking, beaded her hair, gave her Datsun to the church and floated on the night ocean. Except for the zygote she and the preacher had made, drowning as it swam for harbor in her womb, her new tattoo told us everything.

Her soul was ready. I often light a candle in the tequila jar. Women walk over to it, barefoot on the sand.

Patricia

Scratch. Rising from the warmth into the chilly air, mom emerges to let the dog, then dogs, out. Another plunge between the covers before a more muffled scratch. Foggy headed, mom lets in one, waits, lets in two more, then the fourth. Slumbering again, she awakens to … scratch.
Breakfast is kibble & canned. The groggy mom, after years of the routine, has added something special. “Rest in peace my lovelies”.

norman

i've shopped for friends i see they come cheap these days on sale for a minimal discount job if I would just employ them beyond a salary they don't have the brains to support outside of my substantial resources in cheaper labor elsewhere i have all the friends i need to take care of me while i hold their money for safe keeping warm at night behind my partner ignoring who i'm doing in the market i'm not alone

norman

Intellectuals have never been a more pure breed than when they've had far too many drinks esp. of their own making each other sick of look good through a haze of formulas i drove one of them home watching through my rear view mirror i thought i could out run the police or at least make a good case i was too i paired to be competent to stand trial let alone their experiments in sobriety of course arrested development

norman

To get a new lease on life he bought a cemetery plot for his wife he bought a life insurance policy his mother a separate home from their children he learned not to fight over toys he could have when they were gone

norman

the two of you skins here beat this out with a jewish agony no different than hurting indian friend lit up inside temple so you would gather our repertoire from rock singers slave hyms mendelssohn did someone say a cage of beer sweat and mose's son was coming with a german philosopher before 1945 ok play six bars of that to a down beat blues man in new orleans and see if you don't get your keys kicked up

Kathleen

I was sixteen. The house filled with people there for their own reasons; to weep, to party, eat food, get laid, because they were forced or ashamed not to. It was awful and wonderful. So many filled my bedroom that the beds, chairs, and floor places were taken and we were sitting in the closet, each with a beer and cigarette, where we got them a blessing and a curse, waiting for the wake to pay my respect to death.

Kathleen

The house was filled with people there for many reasons; to be there to weep, to party, to eat the food, because their wives made them or because they were ashamed not to. It was awful and wonderful. So many were crowded into my bedroom that the beds and all the chairs and the sitting places were taken and we were sitting in the closet, each with a beer and cigarette, where we got them was a blessing and a curse.

Martha

Never one to challenge authority, Tom watched as the ship sailed off the edge of the earth. Really now, how could anyone question Tom’s decision? His job was to row, to sweep, to cook. Who was he to question the navigator? And beyond--maybe hope, maybe light, maybe freedom. The stalwart ship might defy rules of society. But those rules Tom abided by, Tom worshipped. What would be, would be on this crystal-clear sea.

Stalin

It was cold, we were late, rushing, we stopped, the smell of winter, she says “Papa! Look Old Man Winter has come” why did those words stick? “Old Man Winter” who was Old Man Winter? the inches of snow accumulated 6” 12” 24”, just as everything seemed to melt 6” 12” 24” it would not stop. It was cold, we were late, rushing, we stopped, the smell of spring, she says “Papa! Look Old Man Winter does not want to leave”

David

I told the princess to save herself and went to play darts in the tavern instead. Why save a damsel that keeps getting kidnapped? Besides, the job does not pay. My last dart hit the cork when the princess trudged in, she must have taken my advice. I knew I was in trouble. "You scoundrel," she yelled. "How dare you leave me to fend for myself?" All eyes on me. "My dear," I said. "Have you not heard chivalry is dead?"

Bryan

Maria slumped down in the train. The rocking rumble was soothing. She could sit now, maybe even sleep. A couple stood nearby. His stare penetrated her eyes; her gaze wrapped around his, yielding a little, grasping again. Hallesches Tor. Übergang zur U-Bahn Linie sechs. The couple broke into two people and disappeared. The train was no longer underground, but high above it. Maria was home, but she would not sleep.

norman

my daughters never wore veils i could see they were growing from their mother up to their own height beyond my reach except for the presence i gave them when they needed me to remind them of their boyfriends' stature one of them coming home with one of them feeling small enough to disarm though still standing for respect the porch lights come on when you least expect it is moon bright as the morning

norman

stews best are evaporated enough to gather crowd wanting to pour it over their face she intimated close to his ear enough for him to breath her intentions stirred oh a crowd he replied with one hand at her back and one at her lower back something like this all ten of my gentlemen with an eleventh one coming she pulled him from the back of his hair until his eyes saw the ceiling getting so far away he could drown

norman

crafting closure carpenter knelt as carpenters will their sculptures to pray removal will reveal their meaning from their marble carpenter as hard as he was shaping he was cut to measure he was shaving completion from creation to build structure in replacement his very own feature in the basement would have to do more than obtainment as he carved not for entertainment despite payment he would remove the rotten wood

Denise

The hole got bigger- Delia watched. Loose dirt circled the hole he stood neck deep in. Todd dug- not a word what for. He went inside, returned with a big plate of glass, set it over the hole, and gave Delia a hammer- it was February 14th. Delia gleamed as she took the hammer, bent over the clear surface, and swung the tool down- SMASH! This brought a smile to her face- and his as well. Her best Valentine gift ever.

norman

first the eyeglass case clams shut then new eyes go atop old ones now new breathable plastic vision acute the purpose of its system every distinction to remove magic by definition crystallize edges for standard detection the ability to create from known to unknown however unknowable it was before on occasion i enjoyed the blur i must now imagine solidity as wavy lines in highway heat to distance gaze incite vision