coming home for the census

by Adelina Rose Gowans issue 75           sure, we went bloat-eyed and buzzy when the neighbors down rawl road waged      war with each other—christened their property           line the two-way gates of heaven and built  that barbed-wire fence to keep each other out,                                        but that’s old news.           the iga’s stocking dairy-free yogurt      now. dogs and […]

What a Good Place Now

by Alex Lemon issue 75 Anymore, there is no need To push it, to become a shadow Beneath the hurtling Sky. The mister in me Has undergone a long Treatment of quieting—I am so Gentle now, groomed to offend No mink-vest sensibility. I am nothing if not a good little Learner: the best skin stretches […]

Night, This River

by Khanh Ha Winner of the James Knudsen Prize for Fiction issue 75 1. They came to a river town. After she brought the boat to a dock, she went up the cement steps, onto a narrow street, and into a shop shaded by a yellow awning. The boy stood up in the boat, looking […]

10 Ways to Watch a Train

by Ysobel Gallo issue 75 1. The compressed air horn shatters the air by the waiting traffic. My blind brother leans against the metal fence, holding his sound recorder just over the edge, extended. His whole body is taut, his face lifted, listening. The rattle of rails and the clank of chained cars. The whoosh and […]