Since kindergarten Darius and Cla… have ridden the same bus to school from the city to way out in the su… They’re the only black kids in 8th… Their schoolmates have welcomed th…

Every morning before the sun comes up there’s a feral cat on our deck waiting for a can of Fancy Feast. It’s been that way for years.

In 1962 my father toiled in Quinc… two weeks, no more, and saw no blacks except for two young ladies who moved like swans

Used to be she’d tell him what to get at the grocery store and he always brought it back. Now she makes a list.

She’s been making quilts for half a century and he’s been making poems that long as well and every now and then he brings a chocolate shake to her place

Handsome is as handsome does, Jeanie always said, when Donald was away on business.

“If you don’t like the gun, my dea… I can exchange it for a negligee b… I’ve given you many negligees. I think a gun’s important to have around the house

Spread 'Em for Anyone Edna had always had trouble with men. It started in high school when Ed… big for her age, hosted the soccer… one by one, provided they won.

Thunder and lightning at first, as I understand it, and then the moon will split in half and disappear and the stars will go dark

Tommy is the only man for miles around who can knot a ti… Old farmers come to town on Satur… and wave from pickups with respect when they see Tommy on the street

The last visitor before I sleep is always the old priest puffing up the stairs to my door, a wine cask under each arm, a loaf of pumpernickel in his teet…

He lives at the edge of a forest and loves all the different trees. He comes to the city for food and basic necessities. He hates the long drive

He looks for you until you find him while you wonder if he’s there Donal Mahoney