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Trash Day by Michael Haeflinger
Rainfall, a broken piece of floor, linoleum,
recycling to the rim with beer cans,
two neighbor girls off to school,
someplace behind the pull of sky,
a line of buildings dark all day.
Chuy and Friends by Daniel Rahe
It was clear the instant they drove into the campground that this would not be the kind of camping adventure warmly recalled years later. The site itself was faultless — a shady valley divided by a creek that emptied into a mountain lake. For the two young couples crammed into a Subaru that would still smell like a new car if not for the can of beer that had spilled on the carpet, who had driven across the entirety of a state to be here, a dream was about to be dashed. And what a beautiful dream: old friends huddled beside a popping-hot fire under the stars, drinking from a small bar lovingly packed into an old Samsonite briefcase — a night of karaoke without a soundtrack, half-true stories, shit-shooting, blowing off steam. Laughing. When do we ever laugh as hard as we do when we are camping and drinking?
Approval Rating By Titus Burley
Jerry ushered the aide and intern into his office gesturing for them to sit in the two leather chairs that had been placed in front of his mahogany desk. He hated afternoon meetings but his chief of staff had been adamant that he block fifteen minutes for these two. He appraised them as they moved to the seats, his eyes roving from the shorter young man with his Caesar cut bangs and lingering on the slim-waisted blonde in the teal mid-thigh skirt that accentuated her impossibly long legs. If it had been a morning meeting, he would have held court formally, ensconcing himself behind the desk in his throne-like, though surprisingly ergonomic, chair. Instead he moved aside a family photo and sat casually on the edge of the desk, the lip of the desk deep enough that had he wanted he could have kicked his feet like a small child on a swing set waiting to be pushed into motion.
A Letter to Sekani Isaac by Judy Cuellar
This morning I woke up from dreaming or it was more like a visitation to another timeline of another version of my life. Somehow, I found myself lucid dreaming. I was telling you how I thought I should share about our abortion story. Funny thing… how the Divine eases us into the deep murky waters of the places we’ve convinced ourselves were a closed chapter.
Extinction by Erik Carlsen
Nobody will ever tell you
How your voice sounds like a Passenger pigeon
Or that your legs are long like a Javan lapwing
(That’s) What Friends Are For by Joshua Swainston
It wasn’t until he scratched his nose and said, “I’m getting outa here,” that Reggie knew Lou was holding out. The nose thing was a tell, a learned behavior from years of dedicated opiate use. Red faded lines scored across his nostrils, inflamed with each rake of nail on skin.
The living room curtains had been drawn days ago, in an attempt to curse the sun, as well as entire straight world that thrived in its rays. The only remaining notion of time blinked from the DVD/VCR combination, but even in sobriety the neon numbers were held suspect. OxyContin metered the days at irregular intervals that suffered mania, desperation and beautiful, beautiful nothing.
The Faithful Wife by Lory French
“I told you I wasn’t ever going to go into sordid details,” Olivia sighed, tired of the drawn out conversation. Dave could be such a little bitch when he wanted to be. She was tired and knew that tomorrow morning was only going to bring a long march of more whining from the kids she’d be chaperoning up to Everett for a field trip on some whale watching boat. She ran her hand longingly over her empty pillow.
“I need to know now. I know I said I was ok with it, but I just …. I can’t take looking at every guy we know and wondering ‘Is it him? Did he know I gave permission? Is he laugh…”
Thomas Wins the Lottery by David Rempe
Thomas is a thirty-something year-old man who is down on his luck. When he cashes a lottery ticket, he wonders if good fortune is finally coming his way. This piece investigates the reality of the one-in-a-million chance to have it all we all dream of.
Adjust by Nick Stokes
Drink coffee. Pack food, gear, shingles, propane, feed, a mattress, rebar, a box of cookies and whiskey, mail, nails. Drink coffee. Bullshit. Wrap. Eat a ham-and-cheese sandwich. Feed. Fix tack, build ropes, bullshit. Knock a rock from a shoe. Dunk in the river. Long. Drink beer. Eat. Read. Stop.
A Touch of Shade by Lorna McGinnis
Clouds cast shadows like hawk’s wings,
Breathing down my neck when the wind turns cold.
The gloom elongates, stretching up the brick walls,
Dimming them so their flushed redness fades to gray.
A Haunting by Tiffany Aldrich MacBain
Beyond the golden years of trick-or-treating, Halloween morphs into a high-pressure holiday, like New Year’s Eve or the 4th of July, when you feel like you must have plans or else endure a long night of loneliness and self-loathing, a night pierced by the cackling laughter of fun-havers outside your window, a night most unhallowed. If you happen to have plans, your suffering is of another sort: weeks in advance of the party, you have to figure out what you’re going to “be.” And then you must buy and assemble components of a costume, and then you have to wear it all.
Knock Knock by Gregg Sapp
Sick of waiting patiently and tired of being taken for granted, Molly decided that when Leon finally showed up, she was going to ream him a brand new one. She was beyond fed up with his lame excuses, followed by dubious promises to do better and cloying declarations of his love for her. Lately, she saw more of him on Instagram and YouTube than she did at home, in the flesh with her.
The Yellow House by John Maki
Coming from apartments, the yellow house felt huge. The left split descended into a kitchen, dining room, and roughed-in area with plenty of room to play. The right ascended to the living room, bathroom, bedrooms, and a deck overlooking a lumpy dirt yard. The middle landing opened onto a small garage that would hold everything male: cars, bikes, lawn equipment, and later my father’s grief.
Frank Does Not Fall by Cherie Lynae Suski
An Angel arrives on Frank’s back porch, but this Vietnam Vet and Tacoma native isn't easily impressed. When Frank asks the Angel why he’s there, the answer is: your son “didn't want you to answer that door by yourself.” The doorbell rings and Frank is faced with news he never expected to receive.
Advice From My Father by Erik Carlsen
Only paint when the weather is just like this,
Don’t bother remembering their names because
They will always tell you, everything in your hands
Is a hammer, no part of any animal should go to waste
Victorious by Jonny Eberle
“Victorious,” was written in response to Steve LaBerge’s installation, “Touching Down in Tacoma,” on display at the Pantages Theatre as part of the 2nd annual Tacoma Light Trail. Learn more about the artists and the project at www.tacomalighttrail.org
Good Intentions by Layla Ormbrek
You could say that I frequented the cemetery. Its green, manicured stillness steadied me, and I made it a regular stop. It was the perfect place to wander around during lock-down, being the only outdoor space that was never crowded.
A Glorious Darkness by Bill Fay
color pots of fairies
spilled
at November’s end
toward the certainty
of winter
ochre of oak leaves
rattling the teeth
of the breeze
exhales
farms and forests
An Act of Arson by Trevor Williams
The air
creates sparks from friction
with the earth.
The salt in our sweat
transmutates into nitroglycerin
while we lay on a funeral pyre
piled up against a red dawn backdrop.