Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis

Lake Nokomis, Minneapolis

Runner1928 via Wikimedia Commons. License:CC BY-SA 3.0 Photo: Runner1928, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons I have no words for the strangeness I sawthat day in the lake or the monstroussadness it rose in me. What I know is after Iheard the sigh of a splash, two...
Empire State

Empire State

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 1.Every bodypersists in its stateof rest or somnambulantmotion unless awakenedby a force.Only in the clinch instant, the fluttering lids,the unexpected reversal,a life is jerked awake. 2.At the level of...
Self Portrait at Touchstone Wildlife Museum

Self Portrait at Touchstone Wildlife Museum

Photo: “Touchstone Wildlife and Art Museum, Haughton” by Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau is licensed under CC BY 2.0 It’s hard to remember not to coo at the babies,the soft swirls of the raccoon kits’ fur, the little white teethlining the lion...
On a Boat to Kalijai

On a Boat to Kalijai

Photo: Aruni Nayak, CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons Look how the lake licks the boaton the edges. The soft meanderof a candy in a toothless mouth.A host of white-bellied sea eagles tease the lake and touch her face—half-flying, half-floating—suspended between water...
Sister Cities (Thành Phố Chị Em)

Sister Cities (Thành Phố Chị Em)

Photo: Wonju Train Station, South Korea –  Trainholic via Wikimedia Commons. License:CC BY-SA 4.0 Chanlee Luu is a Vietnamese-Chinese American writer from southern Virginia. She received her MFA in creative writing at Hollins University and BS in chemical...
A Summer Inquisition

A Summer Inquisition

Photo: “view along Campbell Avenue in Roanoke, Virginia” by Kipp Teague. License: CC BY-NC 2.0 In the Rusted Downtown, an Auntielooks for a spot to park. It is confusing—the Laws of Space: paying to place a Metal Pieceon a Monopoly Board: The City Grid....