Queen of smoke, heaven’s daughter, you were never more than Apollo’s laughter anyway, a puff of gray, a miasmatic haze of burnt tobacco silver as solder, dangerous like motherhood. A hole in the ground for a church, Facilis descensus Averno, you muttered perched above the fuming fissure, mouth foaming, eyes shut, but just try hauling…

The day Natalie left for Charleston, Max sketched the scene on the sidewalk in chalk. He frowns as he waves goodbye, his arms arching over his head like weeping willow branches. The car is drawn small, as if it is far away. That night I was afraid of the dark, and I jumped at minute noises…

for Tracy Pellett, 24th President of Glenville State College I’ve been having the wasp dream again. First one, then several reddish-brown pests hover around my torso, land on my shirt. No problem. If I just stand still, They’ll leave me alone, lose interest, float away. More come. Panic sets in. I remain…

Hedda wakes with a start, her head on Løvborg’s shoulder. The same rhythmic clack that lulled her to sleep pulls her out, her head bouncing slightly against the man’s sharp acromion. She looks up to see him gazing at the landscape beyond the train car window. She smiles a genuine smile…

We drove up Afton Mountain, Cloaked in fog, To say goodbye Before she left for Fife, The splendor of the Shenandoah Somewhere to our left. It was never right; I was always running after her. I thought about learning to walk on water, But I was tired. The Inn was…