I went to the Platt Street Bridge today and looked across the Genesee gorge at the spot where Sam Patch plummeted nearly a hundred feet to his death. By my…
Magic Realism
Furnace Boy, I Am Speaking!
The Roof came down, and he was angry. There were more powerful gods in the house, MAAA chief among them. But MAAA rarely took enough form to interact with the…
to wait as if waiting for the rising moon
I canter across the field, legs pumping, the awkward rhythm extending and extending, my calves burning, throat catching, until the rush floods in and it is her running. Lilja’s ears,…
Steven Sherril: Flash Fiction
Nine-Ball When I take my drowned brother to the pool hall, we always get a table. Nobody likes to get dripped on. Not the Thursday night frat boys, with their…
The Imaginary Friends Come Home for a Funeral
The sky is too bright for late November. The glare of the sun is garish, almost enough to sear one’s skin. A dark spot moves along the ground, fast, and…
Messiah in America: Act V
The same scene. The two Messiahs are preparing for the fight. Menachem’s Messiah is saying prayers. Menachem, Flossie and Jack are gathered around him. Flossie: (Chews gum.) Jackie: Do you…
Poems from “The Shipping on the Styx”
KEEPING THE WINDOW CLOSED The last time I opened the window the moon got in, streaked through between the sill and sash and plunged into the mirror. It stuck there.…
Messiah in America: Act IV
Scene One At the side show. It’s still early, there are no spectators yet. Charlie is helping Zip into his outfit. Zip: Can it really be? Has Menachem’s gang really…
After Hours in Bohemia
Early Morning in July The morning to be came up Monday, and there you were,huddled between your shouldersover coffee. The toast was of the consistencyof dried steel wool. I smelled…
The Night Parade
The noises woke me up a little past midnight. I lay in bed for at least an hour after that, staring at the ceiling and tossing around underneath the covers.…