I still miss those pajamas — my hospital pajamas — white with blue roses and thin stripes. My mother made the pajamas for me when I was seven. It was my first trip to the hospital to see if doctors could divine the odd sloshing rhythm that had made my heart unreliable since birth. Whatever … Read more
The iron treadles rock and doven in the flatiron shadows, pressed air and piece work. Hungry hands move like birds. Every week the girl who makes the least gets fired. You march arm and arm with women from the factory, a banner draped across your chest and you sing. Farbende I used to call you—the … Read more
Characters Antonio- Cheerful, 41 year old single Italian man looking for a long-term relationship.He feels numb when the subject of HIV status arises on his dates.He has been positive for eighteen years, and that fact is beginning to make him feel like an outsider in some social situations.He hates dating for this reason.He … Read more
Two Hawks Quarterly Issue 2 – Number 1 – Summer 2008 __________________________________________________ A Letter Not Sent Kristine Ong Muslim Are They Real? Virginia Silverman Avoiding Her Art Eugenie Theall BLOCK Darby Bailey Bread & Tablecloths Sergio Ortiz Childless Eugenie Theall Defeating the Forces of Café Amore Laurie Barton FAMILY OWNED R. Neal Bonser Forever 18 Casey Cohen Mulling Spices Jennifer Bradpiece ORBIT … Read more
for Lawrence King, 1992-2007 Teens bully deans, bash desks like Queens christen ships, graduation gowns break out in a gospel song, to heal neglected punched lips; boys grow … Read more
And it seemed that, just a little more—and the solution would be found, and then a new, beautiful life would begin; and it was clear to both of them that the end was still far off, and that the most complicated and difficult part was just beginning. Anton Chekhov The Lady with the Little Dog … Read more
My clarinet squeaked in a chorus of sick geese. No hope of migration. Ann-Marie was the princess. Spiky hair, holey jeans. Mickey Mouse bounced on her bosom-parade in the hall. Tara flanked her like a glossy-lipped guard dog. Keeping the riff-raff away. She tortured the school’s only Mexican girl. “Hey monkey-face, Is it true that … Read more
A little of this, a dab that, we dish out our frustrations through asthmatic breaths. Mine are served up lightly seared with mint garnish of leafy discontent in a raspberry coulisse of delicate rage. Yours boil and pop in a single constant earthen pot, simmering silently most of the time, now and then bubbling up … Read more
The echoes in Kolkata’s Albert Hall Cafe were vibrant and gloomy.As I sat at a table and read Tagore’s “The Living and the Dead,” the indiscreet murmur of the room settled into my head rather than Tagore’s words.I folded the top corner of the leaf and closed the book.I looked around the cafe, which seemed … Read more
Two Hawks Quarterly Issue 1 – Number 4 – Spring 2008 __________________________________________________ Between the Bells Gina Maria DiPonio Bugs Morgan W. Strauss Catch Diana Corbin Crawl, Toddle, Walk, Run Darby Bailey Dancing Zachary Ash Dead Man’s Nail Dennis Fulgoni Dichos, and the Things my Mother Told Me Philip C. Barragan II Dining Alone Darby Bailey … Read more
A Thousand Sad Pieces Golden light created a soft waterfall through the dense canopy of trees in the mountain village, filtering through the early morning mist rising from the valley below, falling sporadically on the roof of his adobe home. It crawled gently down the walls looking for the window … Read more
LOS ANGELES, CA – “I was a sniper,” he said. “But you’re out now?” “Yeah. I did six years but I’ll probably re-enlist.” “Why?” I asked. “He’s got kids,” Galley-man hollered from his post. I was charging my lap-top down in the galley and at the next stop in Chico, Sniper-man got off to smoke … Read more
Shielded from a westward sun that could burn Through ripply glass circa 1899 Mandy the puppy buried open, no urn Covered above in sweet pea vine The shadows of Cottonwood trickle and turn White soft stars of dandelion Fall in the shade of the big red barn Next to a Kern’s jar filled with turpentine … Read more
It was 13 years ago. I am 9 years old. It is a sweltering summer. The ocean breeze arrives right before sundown. The neighborhood children and I have gathered to play Flying Colors. We are choosing teams. A younger, filthy boy (resembling Pig Pen) walks up to me. “ Girls can’t do anything!” Hunter says … Read more
I was 21, living in Houston, and appearing in a play called Fire, when Robert Altman came to town to film BREWSTER MCLEOD, a now mostly-forgotten movie that was now mostly-forgotten actor Shelley Duval’s debut. Rumor had it Mr. Altman had plucked her from behind the cosmetics counter at Foley¹s department store. Well! I thought. … Read more
As a dandelion In Her Majesty’s lawn I cannot bow I was born erect My use a child’s butter chin game Whether Prince or gardener’s daughter My fate is of the ruler of the green In age I grow gray And shatter in the wind May my greens Taste good … Read more
I am scared to step over the edge of the pier I tell myself When I get there I will be happier When I get there I won’t remember feeling bad When I get there I’ll have more control I tell myself to not look back … Read more
Instead of thinking about Sonny, his traveling companion wishes she were in Spain. How far of a drive is it from Granada to Barcelona? Twenty miles south of Fresno a sign says Visalia 24 miles. Sonny pilots the car with dirty hands, a torn shirt, an unintentional beard, last … Read more
Two Hawks Quarterly Issue 1 – Number 3 – Winter 2008 __________________________________________________ Untitled Jacob Lasham I've Known Rivers Joseph McGonegal Incurring Telaina Morse Eriksen Finding Beautiful Karissa Chen Rain Season Loretta Williams Status Quo Eric Rydquist Hatchet Devin Galaudet happymeat.com Kim Hutchinson The Farm Fresh Egg Hunt Eileen Hodges The … Read more
I’d watch you cook with your manteca in your brown-tiled kitchen fuzzy chanclas, paisley-printed muumuu dress. *** We found that curly black wig in the hall closet You started crying We were just pretending. *** We’d sort the gravel from beans Eat potatoes, skin-on Raw and sandy We never talked. *** We didn’t need to. … Read more
