once, wandering a half-dressed, bare street—lithe and light, she led me to a bench. and forever we sat in the warm dusk, before I had the...

they didn’t they lied the sun would burn brighter and mornings would sail along like a great enveloping soul they said that nights would...

Hemingway could not grab a shotgun and shoot himself. He lacked the arms to do so. His namesake would be horrified at the circumstances....

Heartbreak in All Forms Heartbreak is more than just a lover. It comes in many shapes and sizes. Once from a favorite plate shattered in...

After the precondition A history of seedless planning resolved itself      in purple sheets for local consul swaddling; the council...

Lost in the Forest Corsage curated for your chest, I am wearing emerald to match your eyes as we go in the forest for a walk. I point to...

Home Feeling I woke up to rain and pain in my stomach eagles chittering and a barge blare staring outside at the devouring grey bleeding...

Grief of Hands Burned to Dust I just thought about how I won’t hold your hand again the wrinkles all over each knuckle you’ve been using...

Marriage Counseling Over a Game of Go There are 391 points on this Go board for us to position where we feel our most confident. Where we...

INHERITED MEMORY: BACK FROM THE MIKVEH Setting: penumbra of lamplight, clothed in warm flannel, back from the mikveh, my bleeding done....

ANNIVERSARY I stick my thumb out and demand a ride. It’s our anniversary. Of the day we died in our last lives. I want to celebrate with...

So I’ve been wandering sodden streets, crossing narrow bridges. It shouldn't be any great surprise that I’m lost in Venice. It’s the...

The Resounding Silence The silence was resounding— Stifling as it crept into my every thought. The silence was all consuming— Reshaping...

fisherman he is only seen in flashes, gold thrashes on the line, reeling it was not he who was found, so cold to the touch, that sallow...

Whimsy The day I saw the life-like parrot swaying on a string in front of your kitchen window I knew you had made a pivot in the cage...

Disney’s recycled animations It’s been said that Woolie Reitherman had the cels of those scenes drawn over each other because it had...

Plumb or Plum? There, just outside my living room window, are six standard issue, old school mailboxes fixed on top of six wooden posts...

Novel in the Making The story is short, and not very novel. A man and a woman, both brisk as cloud breaks: The woman is not bad, but...

Both a cartoonist and writer, Berin Aptoula holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Adelphi University, where she also teaches. If you’re...

Her Name is Grace She sits on top of a mountain, crosses her legs and bounces a free foot in the air, fields are barren in the valley...