Sammywolf

I offered Satan a piggy-back ride today. So up he hopped, and away we went for a walk, and I asked him all the questions I could think of. For how cruel is it to burden the Heavens with all my queries? There must be someone else to talk to. I speak with the Devil. He's bound to have some interesting stories. I ask, “What is love?” And he says “The blood of roses and thorns.” I ask, “Why is the sky blue?” And he says “Because its sadness is infinite.” I ask “Why did the chicken cross the road?” And he says “The crosswalk was painted only in its mind.” I continue to

when i ask who you are, stray ghost, do not tell me you are mentally exhausted. it shows through death, anywhere— the dismal cold is muted by lustrously sharp water in folds of the moor, thrashing is it applause? a shudder curds with sudden sleet, low pulse of winter. how raw trees snap into full body apparitions is slow, beyond motion and heavy like abandoned bodies. this cold ranges from mountain forests to stranded hangings, giving frailty when it can't be refused. between these pines i lie taunting you torpidly walk into me.

 Swamp was almost empty that night. A few people were sitting alone on the couches, or reading a book and smoking a cigarette while enjoying coffee or a nice glass of red wine. I could see the tips light up orange in the dim room as the tobacco burnt silently. I thought about walking up to one of them and asking for a smoke.   A woman was dancing clumsily beneath the red spotlights near the stage with a glass in her hand. She was lifting her other skinny arm over her head in a waving motion, in sync with the rhythm of the soft saxophone, then she ran it down her body, snaking it provocatively along her yellow dress. The poorly bleached hair

THE GIRL On the porch, she felt safer. The warm light high on the wall, next to the rocking chair that was cradling her seemed to tell her so, with its golden reassurance. Inside, though... Imustnotthinkthat, she repeated in her head, pressing her eyelids shut. Daddy will be good, hepromisedhepromised. She'll be all right. She hugged her legs as a scream and a bark came from inside the house, making her flinch. Daddy? "Daddy?" she called out, already forgetting that he had asked her not to make noise. The silence extended until she could no longer stand it. She stepped down from the rocking chair and went inside the house, walking slowly,