Category: The Pocket Muse
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A Good Complication
As soon as I was pulling it out of the oven, my heart sank. The characteristic smell I’ve come to rely on was absent – the first indication that something was wrong. I removed the cloth covering the two filled bowls and hestitated, confused at the sight and cautious hope filling me. But, I stuck…
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Why shouldn’t your tools be beautiful?
“Nicholas, pass me the tack, please?” Gregory called to his son from the top of his ladder, a handful of finishing nails strewn across the small platform in front of him. His attention focused on these beautiful nails, and he began pushing them around with the back of his finger as if something soft would…
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The Missing Chair
Yesterday was the Sunday of a 4-day long weekend, and Michelle, like millions of Americans, perhaps like billions across the globe, had been experiencing dread and despair at the idea of returning to work the following day: the Sunday Scaries. What had she even been working on? This was the thought accompanying her to bed…
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Invent an Opposite
A lie is the opposite of a kiss because a kiss is a mutual promise of adoration. A lie is self-serving. It takes away trust, love, and everything else whereas a kiss gives. If green conjures images of growing life, then depression is green’s opposite. You may think brown would be a more accurate opposite…
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In the voice of a fifty-two-year-old man
I could have avoided all that trouble if only I had remembered to ask for help. But I didn’t, and look what it cost me: a brief hospital stay, weeks of physical therapy, and people doting on me as if were infirm. Not to mention the bills. All this because I coudn’t swallow my pride…
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Until the Lentils Are Ready
I must sit here until the lentils are ready, so says my book of prompts: 45 minutes I am consigned to this chair, which is approximately how long it takes for my lentils to cook. Well, not just lentils. The dish quintessentially mine: Lentils, barley, vegetables of choice (think: onion, potatos, carrots, broccoli, corn), and…
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10 sentences using 10 random letters
F, A, T, C, K, R, G, E, D, L Far away, there came Karen racing, growing ever-deeper lonely. “Fuck Adam!” Tammy chuckled, kayaking rhythmically. “Get even, dear Lord!” Frodo attacked the cherry keg, rapidly guzzling each drop languidly. From atop the cliff, Kris regretted getting engaged despite love. Fortunately, and though crabs knit roughly,…
The AM Intrigue 