There always has to be a girl at the endEven if she’s something like a broke wing birdWho lived out the best part of the storyJust before the lights went downAnd there has to be someoneWho’s going to love her...

Lately she’s been borrowing things out of his apartment. She never returns them, but he never considers them stolen. She just forgets until he needs something back and brings it up. He only has himself to blame since his door...

Mary Alice is at the sink washing cups in the double-wide that used to be the snack stand. Her dark hair is up and she’s wearing a white button-down of Gaines’. She’s surrounded by morning light but even so there’s...

Elaine is standing in the wide open door of the barn looking across the empty space at a spot a few feet away from Turner. She’s backlit, wearing a summer dress with her face half in shade since the lamp...

I have seen her here beforeAlways on that stool by the windowPerched and fine as laceWearing summer dresses that leaveher shoulders bare as silkHair wild and dark as midnightFalling around her face like surreptitious whispersLooking out on the streetOblivious to...

“I swear if you say your name I’m outta here. I’ll leave you here with your dick hanging out.”She had bad skin but the kind of face that formed a small constellation of perfections. Sculpted cheekbones. Strong yet graceful curve of...