Tag Archives: grief

BOB THURBER: My Father’s Mechanical Solution for Grieving

Submissions, Touching, , ,

He described the contraption as a hand-cranked device, sort of like a pinwheel mounted with glass prisms. Except, instead of light, the prisms reflected joyful memories. He claimed it worked like a dream, an absolute dream, revealing us all together, all alive, running around the backyard, leaping puddles, hopping rainbows.

Over the years Bob Thurber’s work has received a long list of awards and prizes. His most recent book is a collection of brief stories titled “Nothing But Trouble”. Visit BobThurber.net.

DAN CAMPBELL: Grief

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

Grief is a cowgirl. She is beautiful. She rides me, pulling on the bridle, telling me when to kneel and weep. Her long fingers guide tears down my cheeks.

She was here all last month; she’s with me today. I’m afraid to ask how much longer she’s going to stay.

Dan Campbell wrote this story.

CONSTANCE CHAN: Shiftless

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Bottles, half-alive mounds of clothing, sauce-stained plates, and dead cigarettes groan in a growing sea of torment. His children scream eerily, tearing round. Insane frenzy.

(Neighbors whisper. Shiftless.)

Blue eyes vacant, he sits in the wreckage, thinking of how she looked like a blooming tea rose before the casket shut.

Constance is addicted to writing, getting her inspiration from abandoned houses, panthers, and peanut butter.

Once Upon a Midnight Madness

Artistic, , , , , ,

As the hot sun descended, frightened by the rising of the cold blue moon, I stumbled on a root and fell headlong into nightmare.

Within myself, I chased and fled, pursuing sanity and evading madness.

I grasped sanity’s skirt. She pulled away, saying, “Your daughter is dead.”

Madness ensnared me.

This story was based on a title suggested by @KittyCatalyst.