Prose
SCENES FROM 6,909′ by DERMOT LOUCHART
an artifact from jerusalem has been brought to mass. i am kneeling in front of it andcrying. i ask god why he made me bad so that he would not love me. my youth leader tells meafter that i should enter the seminary, with how my devotion moved me so quickly to...
MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED by DAVID STILLWAGON
Paul stood at the top of the porch stairs, peering at the two-lane highway. He stroked thecreases on his weathered face and yawned. Route forty was fifty steps from his mother’s house.He counted them when he was a boy. Each day, he tracked toward town dressed...
LETTERS OF CHANGE by ROBBIE BEACH
Dear Our Beloved Son, I noticed at dinner the other day you didn’t pray with us. You meekly did the sign of the cross and even snuck some bits of mashed potatoes before we prayed. As you know this is unacceptable behavior. I thought we made it very...
SISTERS I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE by GRAHAM CAMPBELL
I grew up enjoying my status as an only child in a family with just mom and dad. In the 1950’s, that was unusual even sort of frowned upon. I liked it. Lots of attention and much quieter. My friends all had little urchins running around making lots of noise and...
CHEMICAL COMPANY by MATTHIAS GLASS
It’s a freezing February night and I’m at my friend’s dorm. In contrast to the twenty-degree weather outside, the room is warm with body heat. My friend group is gathered for amovie night and we sit snuggled in blankets or in the arms of significant others....
THE ORANGE by CYNTHIA CHEN
Sitting in her office chair, hunched over the trash can, she tore into an orange, chilled from thefridge. She didn’t have long nails, but she had just enough to pierce through the skin of the fruit.She had to force her nail, cutting through layers of pith, before she...