Writing is an act of resistance
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Diet Margarita
By Terry Sanville Douglas climbed the outside stairs two at a time to his second-floor apartment over Tuck’s Liquor. He keyed the front door and slipped inside. Fugem dropped onto the carpet from her window perch and yowled, then purred when he filled her bowl with kibble. Outside, the noise died back, only a…
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Notes from an Epicenter
By John Linstrom Sixteen Oaks Grove, Queens, NY Sixteen oaks in two rows planted down an island in the street: school is closed, kids transplanted, benches here are empty, clean and neat. Auto shops still rollicking with laughter, a boy walks by, dribbles his ball alone. A bird keeps trilling, and will…
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Dispatch from the Holding Tank
By Nancy Dunlop It is my first day in— what are they calling it? Self-quarantine? Social distancing? Shelter-in-place? I suppose, for me, it’s isolation. But unlike many others my age, I’ve been in isolation for almost a decade, due to a disability. Today is really no different than any other day for me. Except…
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Heretic Hymn from the Pandemic
By D.A. Gray One morning the cats who once Crept up to our doors – stopped. For a time the bird’s voices grew louder Then they, too, disappeared. We prayed on command. We were sure The symbols would save us. Leaving the church we made stops At every store that promised A cure –…
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A Modern Fable
By David Laks We’re all going to die. It’s just a question of when. That is my job—to figure out when you will die. Well, not you specifically, but you as a representative of you. The digital model of you. I am a data analyst at John Adams Life Insurance Company and my job…
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Six Feet Is All We Need
By Robert Knox Generally speaking, I’m pretty good at keeping my distance In fact, for days on end I’m practically sheltering in place, possibly even self-quarantining, though I’m not sure where one of these nonce phrases leaves off, and the other begins. I did, however, break solitude to stroll with my bestie to the…
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Grace in the Time of the Virus
By Melanie Bell Take this time For yourself. Everyone around you Is doing the same, Snatching the last eggs from air. You start, you care A little too much, Don’t finish the chapter You intended to write. Everybody’s chapters Are unfinished, now, Some cut off mid-sentence, The foot suspended midair, The period still to come.…
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Whiteness in Bloom
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To Face Ourselves
By Claudia Wair Most people keep their masks in a kitchen drawer or hang them up on a rack next to their keys. The masks are then easily accessible in case of visitors and when you’re on the way out of the house. My mother is different, though. She keeps hers in the top…