Observed Phenomena in Domestic Weather
Dominic Preziosi
One storm would pass, only to be followed by another,
like our house was one of those remote rocky islands at the bottom of the globe,
forever under the assault of nature, continuously scoured and strafed by the
elements. One day, alone after school, I counted twenty-seven heel-and toe-shaped
holes in the walls of the upstairs hallway.
Body of Christ
Frank DiPalermo
A big invisible hand slid between me and the diving board, pulled me into the sky, sort of like a kid scooping a pollywog out of a stream. Not my body. Just some invisible me-ness rushing upward. Was I dying? I honestly didn’t care.
Father Figure
Simon A. Smith
“We ruin everything,” Hazel said. “That was a perfectly regular family with a beautiful dog. We should leave,” she said. “ We should get out of here. We’re awful. We’re poison.”
My Wife is Trying to Kill Me
Eric Weber
Sometimes I think that when we married, we struck an unarticulated deal:
she gives me sex, I give her money. Only now, with Miranda bringing in more
money than I, how does that affect the contract?
Candidate of the Third Eye
Patty Somlo
The one he worked hardest on was the policy that would eventually
transform him from an unknown candidate without a chance in hell of becoming
governor to the frontrunner. That was the Third Eye Policy on Right Living.
Or Else I'll Cry
Dana Verdino
I wanted to tell him how sorry I was for ruining his evening.
But you hear things about lost dreams and you see the unraveling of marriages,
and you think there's so little time, I shouldn't waste it.
Two Birds, One Stone
Dick Bentley
I hadn’t seen my wife for five years, and suddenly there she was: she sat at a table no more than twenty feet away.
Whiskey Meets Rock & Roll
Mike Dennis
He glimpsed the people around the piano, and spotted Flo Jones immediately to his right. Her eyes showed lots of hunger, covering him with their heat.
Understanding the Other Side of the Bar
Paul William Jacob
Maybe it was my unconventional little league skills that eventually led me to embrace the karmic ever-changing nature of Indian spirituality with their thousands of odd deities.
Send comments to: editor (at) slowtrains (dot) com.
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Rave On
July 29, 2010
Welcome to Slow Trains, where the postcards never stop.
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Slow Trains in print & Best Online Journals, guest-edited by Pam Houston
A Peruvian/ New York Love Story
John Bredin
Around the time I began dating Jennifer, a sweet and pretty
nanny from Peru, I also started the Love Project, a series of open
discussions about love that took place in downtown cafes like
Theee Coffee Chamber on Bleeker.
sophistication pales
against
the rhythm
of slow trains
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Upstairs at the Van Dyke
Paul William Jacob
He told me that one Australian millionaire whom he had sailed around the world with used to have Miguel make him homemade Belgian waffles topped with broiled shrimp and chocolate sauce every Tuesday night.
The Celebrities
Karl S. Monroe
Otters don’t actually reside at Juanita Bay, and if they did,
they are so ravenous that a single pair would deplete the food supply
of most of the creatures that do live here. It makes you wonder just where
the otters live.
Hats Off to the Cap
Joe Crowley
This accomplished cap will be the top hat of tomorrow /
to be worn, bill backward, to inaugural balls /
formal banquets, opera openings, Oscar nights
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The Greatest Almost Game Ever Played
Jeffrey Carl Jefferis
He was not thinking
about the game. Not thinking about his next pitch. Not even thinking
about how much he wished his father could have been sitting in the
stands. How proud his father would have been. Tommy Trumane was
thinking about...breakfast.
Our continuing section on peace & politics during these critical times
"True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice."
--
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Côte d'Azur
James Anderson
i mouth the words to your favorite song / wait for my thoughts to be discarded /
each one a leaf that brushes your arm
On the Back Porch After an Argument
Rebecca Schumejda
We listen to stars /
jazz trumpets, reverberating in night air /
like fog horns /
warning a boat’s approaching
Fishing Season Begins
Helen R. Peterson
The fish they mutter under the shadow /
wondering to each other who gets up /
at 4 am leaving his wife snoring softly /
in the dark
Toward Dark
Cathy A. Kodra
hugging her now /
the embrace of a delicate bird /
all hollow bones and feathery hair /
my hands hardly know where /
to put themselves
My War on Terror
Lee Marc Stein
Look away from this portrait /
ashen face a scream, hands in fists /
I duck behind my wife /
The pigeons are coming for me
Poems
Steve Dossey
her left breast tumbled / from her unbuttoned blouse / Ah, the Deep South
High Drifting Alarm
Steve De France
Watching his dot of color /
fade & disappear, I think of /
the many people staring /
right now at someone else /
wishing it were possible /
to become them
Kissing
Susan Alkaitis
My kiss is too hard /
you told me once /
Now, when I watch /
you close your eyes
Beyond Sirius
Michael Schein
Dust off the impressionist half-smile /
the magical realism, the nudes /
If you look closely you might see /
the pentimento of my heart /
like a stone under water
Why Are Things So Hard?
Jim Morrison at Père Lachaise
Bob Bradshaw
I sit at a piano, running /
my fingers along its keys /
You suck, Bradshaw. The critic /
in me is unforgiving
Baseball Logic: The Perfecto Game
Mary Campbell
A so-called perfect game is a rare species of no-hitter.
Perhaps you are unaware that more people have orbited the moon
than have pitched a perfect game.
Ace Of Diamonds
Ed Markowski
At the point of release, a small white moth fluttered out from the palm of Father Joseph' s left hand. The moth rose up, dipped down, skimmed the peaks of the infield grass, spiraled up again, then merged with a crow and a cardinal.
Stealing Home
John Richmond
It had not been on the official schedule of promotions—nobody knew that
they were going to do it. After the fireworks were over and
the smoke was beginning to clear, they announced
that they were letting the fans come out onto the field.
Books from Slow Trains writers
All material in Slow Trains is copyrighted to the original authors and may not be reproduced without permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
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