Flora Fiction

12/15/2024

In her first nightmare, he is a mouse, skittering between the towering trunks of chairs and tables, while his death is a famished cat watching him through cruel, green eyes. She is not there in the dream, or she is so far away that even his wide mouse-ears can’t hear her screaming at him that it’s coming, it’s just around the corner, it’s almost there!...

In her first nightmare, he is a mouse, skittering between the towering trunks of chairs and tables, while his death is a famished cat watching him through cruel, green eyes. She is not there in the dream, or she is so far away that even his wide mouse-ears can’t hear her screaming at him that […...

12/08/2024

I am the letters you avoidchoosing in a game of hangman guessing. I am the dirty dishes,overlooked until you can no longer stand the reek of it. I am the raisins in your bread.You hate raisins ever since your dad left. I am the almost empty shower bottlesyou fail to empty any further. I amtoo much…...

I am the letters you avoidchoosing in a game of hangman guessing. I am the dirty dishes,overlooked until you can no longer stand the reek of it. I am the raisins in your bread.You hate raisins ever since your dad left. I am the almost empty shower bottlesyou fail to empty any further. I amtoo […]

12/01/2024

Tell the poetsGrief is in the waiting roomA cold hand with visible veinsFingernails filled with dirt -Dirt of the dead where worms unwind andKnot and unwind and knot.It is in the broken skin of a child’s kneeIt is the seconds before the cry -The realization everything burns more than usual How in that moment, it feels like you can’t go back Everything breaks above you, unwinds and knots Unwinds and knots....

11/24/2024

gray closet walls surrounda bag filled with Hallmark cardssimply sitting in the corner lighting wicks of sweet wordsa flame glows towardsforgotten memories faded relationshipsreappear in colliding colorsthey blend into wistfully warm huesi love you’s in harmony withi’m proud of you’s sing softly on the cardstock the sensitive smilemouthing these messagesis entranced by handwritten love…...

gray closet walls surrounda bag filled with Hallmark cardssimply sitting in the corner lighting wicks of sweet wordsa flame glows towardsforgotten memories faded relationshipsreappear in colliding colorsthey blend into wistfully warm huesi love you’s in harmony withi’m proud of you’s sing soft...

11/21/2024

On the drive in from Cheney, he tuned to classical music. Brahms, the readout informed him. A new taste, and he didn’t know why. Maybe that he read classical music was soothing. The engine noise seemed to have fixed itself, or, maybe, the tick-ticking had been his imagination. This was no time for auto repairs, but he was better off than some guys....

On the drive in from Cheney, he tuned to classical music. Brahms, the readout informed him. A new taste, and he didn’t know why. Maybe that he read classical music was soothing. The engine noise seemed to have fixed itself, or, maybe, the tick-ticking had been his imagination. This was no time for...

11/17/2024

The man climbed the sedge grass hill, treading a path cut into the hillside by thirty years passage of his boots. He owned the land beneath his boot soles, insomuch as any man can claim ownership of a piece of this earth. His land and his name; Karl Nilsson.He wore a duck canvas jacket over a denim shirt, both buttoned to the neck to keep out the fog....

The man climbed the sedge grass hill, treading a path cut into the hillside by thirty years passage of his boots. He owned the land beneath his boot soles, insomuch as any man can claim ownership of a piece of this earth. His land and his name; Karl Nilsson.He wore a duck canvas jacket over […]

11/17/2024

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11/10/2024

In shadows of yesteryear, she dances alone. A silhouette of pain, a spectre etched in moonlight’s shadow;wearied by the turbulence of a heart’s distress, of cascading sorrows veiled in tears. A labyrinth of longing, entwined in a chilling mist she wavers. Once a portrait of grace, now weathered oak scarred by the hunter’s axe;her canvas frayed against relentless storms,...

In shadows of yesteryear, she dances alone. A silhouette of pain, a spectre etched in moonlight’s shadow;wearied by the turbulence of a heart’s distress, of cascading sorrows veiled in tears. A labyrinth of longing, entwined in a chilling mist she wavers. Once a portrait of grace, now weathered ...

11/03/2024

His dialect, a legacy fraught,Of poets mad, in chaos caught.Born of blood, from newborn's birth, Under wedlock's absence, a curse on Earth. Counterclockwise, their deeds unholy, Quiet neighborhoods, on rampages trolly.Mercy fled, their hatred reigns,Irrevocable, in twisted veins. Once blood, of Pacific's waters,Carried love, like ocean's daughters. Yet, from compassion's grace, a light, His words took flight, in freedom's might....

His dialect, a legacy fraught,Of poets mad, in chaos caught.Born of blood, from newborn’s birth, Under wedlock’s absence, a curse on Earth. Counterclockwise, their deeds unholy, Quiet neighborhoods, on rampages trolly.Mercy fled, their hatred reigns,Irrevocable, in twisted veins. Once blood, of ...

10/31/2024

It’s another topic I’ve come to hateAnother argument I need to debateI can’t fight the waves despite the restraintIt’s hard to find the strength to replace I move through the seasons with a thorn in my chestI move through the aisles with the ash where I treadYou will never see the cards I carry in my hand…...

It’s another topic I’ve come to hateAnother argument I need to debateI can’t fight the waves despite the restraintIt’s hard to find the strength to replace I move through the seasons with a thorn in my chestI move through the aisles with the ash where I treadYou will never see the cards I ca...

10/27/2024

She wanted to believe he was different than the man he turned out to be. “A man who puts his hands around your throat is lethal. Even if he lets go. Even if it isn’t a full squeeze. Even if he promises never to do it again,” the speaker explained. “Whatever else happens next, those fingers around your neck mean you’re at greater risk of being murdered....

She wanted to believe he was different than the man he turned out to be. “A man who puts his hands around your throat is lethal. Even if he lets go. Even if it isn’t a full squeeze. Even if he promises never to do it again,” the speaker explained. “Whatever else happens next, […]

10/20/2024

While acquitting the performance of an impatient day When indulgence reaches a willing simmer Somehow my skewed estrade seems vividerAlthough I know, near retreating, this is the way I’m lost in the limits of my terraza patio I write a few lines I think then I unthink Soon after the fourth martini I can only blinkOr juggle illusions of olives in a magic show…...

While acquitting the performance of an impatient day When indulgence reaches a willing simmer Somehow my skewed estrade seems vividerAlthough I know, near retreating, this is the way I’m lost in the limits of my terraza patio I write a few lines I think then I unthink Soon after the fourth martini...

10/13/2024

how old when you first noticedthe quiet clock in the room’s shadow?it hides there from room to roomquietly clicking its lips as ifwhispering subliminal thought the children press their skin outward emerging into adult forms the inches are minutes what is perpetual anywaydust may line its lidweight it down with agebut its iron hands swing…...

how old when you first noticedthe quiet clock in the room’s shadow?it hides there from room to roomquietly clicking its lips as ifwhispering subliminal thought the children press their skin outward emerging into adult forms the inches are minutes what is perpetual anywaydust may line its lidweight...

10/06/2024

As I’d been completely mystified and happily amazed during my recent discussions with my friend Gustav concerning Roberto Suarez (see “The Black Swallowtail Butterfly Is Falling,” Flora Fiction, October 2023), I was looking forward to my next dinner with him. We sat at our usual table at The Radish Café, and he said, “I enjoyed your account of The Black Swallowtail Butterfly....

As I’d been completely mystified and happily amazed during my recent discussions with my friend Gustav concerning Roberto Suarez (see “The Black Swallowtail Butterfly Is Falling,” Flora Fiction, October 2023), I was looking forward to my next dinner with him. We sat at our usual table at The R...

10/03/2024

I.I know you’re up there.I can see theshadow of your boat, itssilhouette amonument of broken promiseshanging above me,blotting out that melancholy light called the“day star.”The light which would illuminate therocks and mud, themoss and algae, thesnakes and snails and salamanders who have becometoofamiliar,were it not for the…...

I.I know you’re up there.I can see theshadow of your boat, itssilhouette amonument of broken promiseshanging above me,blotting out that melancholy light called the“day star.”The light which would illuminate therocks and mud, themoss and algae, thesnakes and snails and salamanders who have beco...

09/29/2024

Forever etched in my heart,Is the memory of my first love,A love that was pure and true,Sent to me from up above. With eyes like sparkling stars,And a smile that lit up my world,She captured my heart completely,And her love, I gladly unfurled. But fate had other plans,And she was taken away,Leaving me with a heartache,...

Forever etched in my heart,Is the memory of my first love,A love that was pure and true,Sent to me from up above. With eyes like sparkling stars,And a smile that lit up my world,She captured my heart completely,And her love, I gladly unfurled. But fate had other plans,And she was taken away,Leaving....

09/26/2024

They call me Chuckie - at least that's what I respond to. That name's served me well since the day I arrived here about a year ago. They had me wrapped in a blanket, and a good thing it was, for it was cold outside. My hair was very short, as you can imagine - precious little protection from the cold....

They call me Chuckie – at least that’s what I respond to. That name’s served me well since the day I arrived here about a year ago. They had me wrapped in a blanket, and a good thing it was, for it was cold outside. My hair was very short, as you can imagine – […]

09/22/2024

‘Love’s life is long, when even ardor’s spent,’Sayeth he, to the green-eyed lady; ‘lovesNot stiff enough to cling, nor linens rent,Urge passion rest its bonds like anger does.’Sayeth she, dear, dark lady, ‘in your eyes,Not mine;’ ‘time heals,’ sayeth he; ‘as its tears,’Sayeth she, ‘leaves in trail a scar then dies.’What time doth pain usurp when heartbreak bears…...

‘Love’s life is long, when even ardor’s spent,’Sayeth he, to the green-eyed lady; ‘lovesNot stiff enough to cling, nor linens rent,Urge passion rest its bonds like anger does.’Sayeth she, dear, dark lady, ‘in your eyes,Not mine;’ ‘time heals,’ sayeth he; ‘as its tears,’Sayeth...