My mother told me I should never date a guy who didn't have his own car. She said that it set some bad precedent, mixed up the lines between provider and provided-for. There's nothing more ladylike ...  [+]

Every morning when I wake up, I lean out my window to say hello to Mom. She doesn't reply, but that's okay. She never was a good listener, even before she was buried in our backyard.

My brothe ...  [+]

She lies down, stretching out across the trunk of a walnut tree cut during the spring.

All that's left of its bark are a few shreds, gradually withering away. 

With her back resting between ...  [+]