Memory
by Ingrid
Write about an event you see differently now that a little time has passed. Perhaps you have grown in some way that makes you see the situation differently. Perhaps not. What and how do you see the situation now? Has the memory faded or is it still clear as daylight?
Perhaps the event is ....the time you called up an ex-boyfriend after 5 margaritas to tell him what you REALLY think about his new girlfriend, listening to gangster rap while at your grandmother's house, your wedding, a friend's wedding, birth, death, anything really goes here!
Swoon
by James Tate
One of Daniela's breasts fell out of her blouse
during dinner in our favorite restaurant. I liked
looking at it and didn't say anything. The waiter
liked looking at it, too, and just smiled. The other
diners tried not to stare, but some of the men couldn't
help themselves. Daniela takes a certain pride in her
breasts, so perhaps it wasn't an accident. I knew I
should say something to her, but i was also getting
really turned on. It was as if I had never met this
woman before. The public aspect of breast exposure
had a mystery to it that I couldn't name. I said,
"The fileto tre pepe was exceptionally good tonight."
I stared at her breast as if it were about to speak.
"The gnocchi was delicious," it said. "You're looking
especially beautiful tonight," I said. "It's good
to get out and see the people," it said. Daniela
had gone into a swoon or trance of some kind, and the
breast had taken over. When the waiter came for the
bill, he said to Daniela's breast, "Very nice to see you tonight."
The breast blushed, gently swaying in the candlelight.
Sleeper Wave
by Ingrid
The chill was damp, deep
in your bones
there simply was no
warming up.
Memorial Day at Dillon’s
Beach
was filled with grey
hues:
the sky darkening
sand cool to the touch
salt in the air,
everywhere
the sea a darker shade
than the sky,
the sea like a rabid dog
waves foaming at the
mouth along the shore.
My family members never
seemed to notice
the froth and intensity.
I ran up the beach
playing in the dunes.
They turned their backs
to her,
and she raged, higher and
higher in the sky
The water was a wall
coming toward us.
I screamed “LOOK OUT”
but no one listened to a
5 year old
it overtook, swallowed
them like small fish.
I sucked in my cheeks
jumped up and down
held my breath
counted 1-2-3-4
they were all still
there, when the water receded.
Laughing. They were
laughing!
My mother with her head
swung all the way back,
her wild and free belly
laugh,
wobbling on the wet sand
like a drunkard.
Aunt & Uncle dripping
with the sea’s ravishing
act,
one helping the other up.
Missing-in-action,
my Father’s red and white
plastic flip-flop
the cheap kind from
Walgreens
eaten by the ferocious
jowls of an angry sea.
