Advance
"My parents used to argue ... about stupid things, you know?" Audrey poked at her breakfast. Scrambled eggs. Toast with strawberry jam. "I just ... I hated it," she whispered. "It was so ... I mean, I would listen to it, and I would think to myself,...
The Irish Hills
AUTHOR'S NOTE -- Just a character piece ... with my two favorite characters ... "Hardened by my suitcase, tryin' to find a warm place ... to spend the night," sang the soft, midnight voice on the FM radio. Coming out of Fort...
Mouse Poems
Author's Note: Something a bit different, I guess. Some story-poems, as it were. Field/Adelaide poems, all of them. Which means, thematically, they're laced with lots of romance/love. But I thought I would share just a few (three) of them. Hope they're...
Fireworks in the Trees
Glory, it's a morning! (In the mesh-metal trap I set last night.) Eyes like orange sun-fire, and a heart of hope. Pulsing 'neath the acorns' oaks. I feed it with re-heated, leftover dreams, but it does not bless the taste. Only...
Ever Onward
The deck slanted beneath her, nearly pitching her sideways, to the floor. But she somehow kept her balance. And put her paws between the barely-open ready room doors, prying them, prying them apart. The sensor mechanism hadn't been fixed yet. ...
Doxology
"Where'd you get that?" Emerson looked up. "In the, uh ... it survived the crash. In the wreckage," he replied, shyly, looking up from his reading. He had a Bible in his paws. The marmot smiled, standing. And gave a nod. "Well ... what're you...
... And No Word from You
" ... three months, and no word from you. Why won't you acknowledge me? That I'm here?" Field's paws held the letter. Blue-grey eyes squinted, scanning. Searching in the dim, dim light (on this, a young spring's night). "Let me know you're...
Gusto
From the comfy, dim living room, familiar, ever-changing sounds of the television. All the national parades being over with, and the football games starting (or about to start). All the pageantry and relaxation. All the sounds of chatter. The males...
The Changing Face of Evil
"But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O, my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my...
Trolley Hangover
Saturday night. And the trolley treacherously stalked. The new-wave guard trolley from Sheridan, Kentucky ... now slid down the cobbled streets of Sheridan, Indiana. The pavement. The occasional patch of brick. With a slight, slight click-clack of...
Withdrawal Symptoms
There was a quiet, restrained hum that, as always, permeated the air. Almost unnoticeable. Almost. But it was something tangible enough to be there. To be here. Be it from the engines, or from this, or from that. Whatever it was from, it was soothing....
Let's Go Twitching
PART FOUR OF FIVE "Didn't fancy you as a twitcher," the skunk called. Peregrine looked up. Sitting in the sun on a small hill overlooking part of the creek. Within easy walking distance of where the woods started. Near the barbed wire...