David Kirby __________ The Demimonde I’m not so much walking as tilting a little to the left and fallingforward and then tilting to the right by way of compensation …
Read MoreMake Up Forever Anu Kandikuppa __________ I haven’t broken completely with my sister, but we don’t get along well with each other. Actually we can barely speak one civil word to each other. She has a way of looking me up and down when we meet that makes me want…
Read MoreHan’s Solo Mark Blickley __________ Acadia Forest by Keith Goldstein I’ve had this recurring Bridge Dream for nearly fifteen years. It first appeared one night after being exhausted by cram studying for my Bar Mitzvah. In this initial fantasy I was a swaddled infant left on the very beginning of…
Read MoreTrying to Make the 2.5-Hour Drive to the Trailhead Before Rain Mary Ardery __________ I drive a group of women into the wet woods of the Pisgah Forest to dry out from booze, pills, and syringes. On the 20-mile stretch before we reach the interstate, one client says gas stations…
Read MoreMary Ardery __________ For A Moment The day you detoxed on the trail was alsothe day we found a monarch. It struggledat our feet as we sat eating lunch, tunayou couldn’t keep down. With your bile-chapped lips, you named the creatureAthena, and gently, you took her bodytwitching in your hand.…
Read MoreNo Sweeter Fat Jess E. Jelsma __________ I first discover I am pregnant in the grimy employee bathroom at Archibald’s Steakhouse. The room is so small that, sitting on the seat with my knees spread, I can reach out and lay my palms against all four cinder block walls. The…
Read MoreA Bad Seed A.I. Chow __________ Although Sarah had always gotten along with her mother, it wasn’t until her mother returned to China that they began to talk to each other like normal people. Which was to say, her mother stopped calling herself “Mommy.” It was okay in Chinese but…
Read MoreZoo (after Max Ritvo) Corey Purcell __________ __________ Corey Purcell is a collage artist and librarian from Somerville, Massachusetts. Their previously published artwork can be found in Window Cat Press and on Instagram. __________ << Back Next >> To learn more about submitting your work to Boudin or applying to…
Read MoreA Few Things Before Coffee Nicholas John-Francis Claro __________ Dear Marjorie, The world it seems has a smaller heart than I originally thought. I’m not sure what that means, but it sounds tragic and somehow a little beautiful, too. I thought I would share it with you. The line came…
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