A New Kind of Literary Pulse

The girl's tears are soakers. They never flow enough to nourish me but that is not part of our bargain. She confides the secrets no one else can learn. I help her as much as one can by listening ... [+]

When you are a competent old man who lives alone, you can eat what you want for breakfast. This morning I had noodles, or rather noodle soup, a favorite of mine for colder weather. Broth with ... [+]

When you first open your eyes, all you can see is the brightness. You don’t know what it is, but you feel your stubby fingers reach for that light. Pale clouds of cream dot your vision as you ... [+]

Her shoes glare at me as I wait on the couch for him to pour the wine. Though she is absent her shoes fill the room with her presence. Jay and Marina’s apartment is quiet, and lushly decorated with ... [+]

I live in a train. I have food, warmth, a place to sleep.
I feel certain that I am its sole occupant, for if there were anyone else on it I would know by now, as I have lived in this train my ... [+]

I quickly walk into the Amal School for Children, with my mother’s words on repeat in my head, “The quicker you get inside the school, Zahara, the better.” I make my way to the back row of ... [+]

I didn’t feel any older today, but I was. The fading yellowed calendar hung from a bent nail on the wall, flipped to the month of July. The red circle around the number nine, like a bullseye, drew ... [+]

The bell rang to end third period on the first day of school. I had one class left, English with Mr. Thorne. I met up with my friend Jeremy on the way to his room.
“Hey Stuart, are you going ... [+]

The liftoff is like an elevator.
You know that feeling you get when you're going up? Like your stomach is getting left behind? It feels like that. Remember when we were kids and we were staying ... [+]

She stepped out onto the porch and shut the door behind her in a quick yank. A whoosh of air smacked her back like a wide plank of wood. She slightly lurched forward in a jerk of surprise. A dense ... [+]

With nary a customer in the store, the woman leaned her butt against the sales counter, folded her arms across her chest and stared into the distance, bored by the insipid banter emanating from the ... [+]

There's nothing I love more than eating. Mmm, yes. Fat Boy loves a good meal. I enjoy the crunch, the squish, even the quietest sizzles as I grind every little particle between my molars. I cherish ... [+]

The yard adjacent to his porch reeked of ragweed with every step he took. Gnats would alight from the prickled stems. He shook his head at the imprint his foot left.
“Growing fast this ... [+]

Of the over 5,000 numbers in the English language, it is the number 14 alone that has come to hold a special place in my heart. I'm not a superstitious woman, or a woman at all for that matter. I am ... [+]

Juniper’s pudgy limbs army crawled through the soggy mulch and rolled under the Palmerton playground’s dinky bridge to join Nellie, who was too busy sucking out all the jelly from her Uncrustable ... [+]

She opened the inside door cautiously. The old man stood on the stoop, in the unseasonable warmth and clamor of the November afternoon. Lean and unbent, he looked like an ancient villager in a ... [+]

The garbage can is full again. I drag it inside and empty it over the floor, adding to the foot of water already standing in the house. The bathtub and the sinks have been running nonstop fo ... [+]

I am a balloon. I am born without anything inside-Ideas, opinions, choice. As years progress I am inflated with more. I soar the more I am filled with knowledge. Eventually I am off the ground. I am ... [+]