The Shaman in the Cave

Here in the silence, the smoldering dark, breathing the smoke of smothering, the odor of smoke and grave earth mingling, he moves his ocher wand. The bull is earth and mind. His terror at what he makes is less than the joy, much less than who have just left mother above to find this bull … Continue reading The Shaman in the Cave →

Two Minds, Same House

She prays: “the rainbow— It's the full promise of god!” He sniffs the wet earth. In response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt word: petrichor. And the Word of the Day Challenge kin .

A Day Too Cold for Goat

Sometimes I wish I never opened that parcel that mom gave me for Halloween. So, I was glad to see the way it was on Sunday. It was gray and cold all day. The wind was cold. It shook the trailer and scratched the branch of the dead cottonwood back and forth across the window. … Continue reading A Day Too Cold for Goat →

First Snow: Haiku

Snowing. Grass stems bow the only sounds: hissing wind And last summer’s chime

Goat does not Go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance

The Saturday after Halloween is the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Its when the girls ask the guys out. It always starts with a big bonfire out at the River Park, and people throw dolls and stuff on it. The fire is just a excuse so nobody has to go pick anybody up for the date. Part … Continue reading Goat does not Go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance →

The Timelessness of Having Time

On Monday the wind blew from the North On Friday the wind blows from the South. Both are cold winds. I feel the chill taint of October or perhaps November.

The Blizzard Whines

The blizzard whines through willow, bends the whole thicket, but one last leaf fluttering loose

What the Goat Knows, Nobody Knows

Jody hated Halloween more than he hated girls. Actually, he had recently discovered he was only mildly uncomfortable with girls. But Halloween was still the shits. His mother figured kids loved Halloween, kids loved Christmas, kids loved Easter, kids love Fourth of July because there was candy, fireworks, and toys under the tree. For one, … Continue reading What the Goat Knows, Nobody Knows →

Haiku 8

To see hunter's moon slide door open and startle— deer shadows, gone.

Not Getting Older is Not in the Contract

“Lon?” Vera called. She craned her head and spoke into the rest of the house. She listened. “Lon, Eddie's here.” She cocked her head and listened again. She was a thin, tall woman with kind, brown eyes, and she always seemed to be smiling. Eddie believed it was genuine, but he wondered how she kept … Continue reading Not Getting Older is Not in the Contract →