(A work in progress) This story is about a family. A father, mother, and three children. Now father and mother, before they were father and mother, were simple jíbaros in a simple land. But ghosts of earth and blood tormented them and so they fled from their homes to a distant land. It is inContinue reading “Tales from the Glory Man #1”
Category Archives: Prose
Jíbaro’s Procession
With the first light of dawn and the rooster’s call to rise, a jíbaro makes his way across the sacred ground. A breeze shakes the trees of their morning dew and he tips his head up to accept their blessing. Following behind the incense of hibiscus, heliconia, fern and beehive ginger burned the day before,Continue reading “Jíbaro’s Procession”
Jíbaro’s Communion
Under the gaze of ceiba trees a jíbaro works. The slap as the hoe sinks into the moist earth. The punch as it meets resistance. Subtle signs that he is effective in his work. The ceibas notice and the mountain records his skill. In his thirst he drinks from the river flowing down the mountain,Continue reading “Jíbaro’s Communion”
Memories I Keep (2)
A Field in San German After I graduated college, my parents took me on a trip to Puerto Rico. For two weeks we’d bounce around the island, first with Mom’s family, then with Dad’s. The whole trip was a bit of sensory overload for me as it was the first time I’d been to PuertoContinue reading “Memories I Keep (2)”
Memories I Keep (1)
Laundry Day As a child, I remember early mornings being something of a mystery. I hadn’t quite grasped time and its finer concepts of early and late yet, and so to me, early morning was a separate reality I hadn’t earned the right to step into yet. It didn’t help that I would often goContinue reading “Memories I Keep (1)”
The Ambush
The restaurant is a chaotically organized orchestra of background noise, but between these two, the institutional merriment of the Tex-Mex chain is silenced. They sit across from another, the center piece flare dulling in the tension between them, the hands of one resting on the table and the other with arms crossed. “Why would aContinue reading “The Ambush”
Pilgrim
What a time to be alive. To be making this journey now. I see other families around me and the mixture of excitement, fear, doubt, and absolute certainty for what lies at our destination. A millennium ago another ambitious group set out on this very same journey; three ships funded by three governments on aContinue reading “Pilgrim”
The Table contd.
(Part 2 of many) With a few minutes to the hour, Hector remarks that Mars may actually pull off being late this time, and I hear a rattle as the latch on the fence is handled and Mars walks in, carrying a metal folding chair and a look of resigned disappointment. The first thing thatContinue reading “The Table contd.”
The Table
(Part 1 of many; an excerpt from a story I am working on) It is a large table. A table for holding court, thick column legs sunken into the earth. The surface smoothed and pitted where many hands rested, pressed, tapped, and slammed. I am used to being invited to backyard barbecues and birthday parties.Continue reading “The Table”
My Box of Unfinished Projects 