Coal City

Bukowski knew the guy from somewhere. / A big slob, red sweatshirt too short / Two Inches of pale belly showing...

David Wright, "On Skid Row, LA"

Walking inward, into silence...

Catherine Anderson, "Ember Days"

They made even the war seem funny...

Bill Bauer, "The Brothers"

My father would not have called himself a writer.

Laura Chalar, "A Portrait of my Father as a Writer"

I imagine how it will happen: / I'll be in the kitchen, making a sandwich...

Holly Day, "Have I Got The Strength"

I think of / mothers starting / to fade as their / daughters blossom...

Lyn Lifshin, "Like Falling Madly in Lust When Just Hearing a Death Sentence"

Death dates and birth dates--time worn smooth / by time...

Earl Reineman, "Cemetary Evening"

sunset / wine and music / after the quarrel...

Polly Swafford

It was better when I fished. / I always did return to the dock in my little boat, 'The Bad Penny'...

David Wright, "Darts and Dice"