The dirt-scratchers, sheep-watchers, camel-shit shovelers — how easily I awed them. I’d slowly pull on a cloak, blinding in its whiteness compared to their filthy rags. Brandish scrolls. Unfurl astrological charts. By the time I was done, they’d be elbowing… Continue Reading
Through the hazy watercolor of a child’s memory, those months stand out with clarity even into my ninth decade. They start with the bombs dropping in the village streets. Even a child couldn’t mistake the bone-shaking howl, the blinding flashes… Continue Reading
“One hundred days,” I say as the prime minister leafs through the contract I’d given him. He scans the pages through a pair of black rimmed spectacles held in front of his nose with a chubby white fist. He looked… Continue Reading
In that last hard winter of the war, the farmhouse looked almost like a cabin for the enjoyments of the season. Those gorgeous drifts of snow would have burned your toes to stumps, if you had no boots. No one… Continue Reading
If I had awoken in no man’s land after my own apparent death, I would cry out too. Maybe not for help, exactly. Maybe just to break the silence. We all agonized as we heard a new voice rise above… Continue Reading
Frieda reached down and grasped another stalk of white yarrow. She broke the stem and, with a sidelong glance at Erik, placed it with the others in the wicker basket. “You don’t have to pretend,” she said. “I know why… Continue Reading
Run with Ugga in search of meat. Many suns and many moons turn, and still run. Only stop is for to eat nuts and berries, sleep, or make shit. Not run so far ever in life. Say turn back but… Continue Reading
Scipio’s siege on our city will end today. We are all in agreement, even as Roman ballista balls and crossbow bolts continue to smash the last of the thatched roofs of our houses, to pound Numantia into dust. No more… Continue Reading
Arles, France. September, 1888. Dusk fades, but still some blue clings in the darkening sky in which the first stars seem to boil overhead. I like twilight. It is calming to me. Doctor L’Enfant says I should like calming things.… Continue Reading
Steve watched Ron kiss Anni goodbye. He acknowledged Steve with a nod, pulled his white jacket tight, then navigated through the throng swarming Hollywood Boulevard. It was cool in the Southland for a day so near summer, even in the… Continue Reading