Making Paper
Sheltered from the sea, in dusky brambles in a hedgerow unkept, a wood lean-to shed warped and worn and greyed near a live oak. This year again, a wasp queen untucks herself from winter and begins to chew and spit the ledger board.wasp nest
papering the walls
in the nursery
The Thief
I’ve seen their kind before — middle-school boys on the cusp of puberty — who roam the neighborhood, tearing up picket fences, hogging the road on their e-bikes, and flipping off anyone who crosses their path. Now six of them swagger up the street in their baggy shorts and flip-flops, heading to the park. One, a big kid in a Godzilla T-shirt, steps away from the group. He walks up to a house with a neatly tended flower bed, then reaches into his pocket. I brace myself for trouble. Suddenly he pulls out a cellphone, drops to one knee — and steals a photo.
hospice room
a picture of a rose
out of focus.