Steven Herrick

I'm glad she left me the kids. I'd be lost without them. Lost and bitter. With them here, I'm only bitter.

It was a good apple too. A good apple, picked by a madman on a full moon night.

Nobody in school is stronger than me. But when Sally Holmes kissed me, I never felt so weak in all my life.

I tell him about ... Jack and Annabel, smart and ready and I'm wondering where all that smart comes from and I figure some from parents, some from school, and some from a place inside you.

Pretty girls kissed me on victory day, their lips soft red petals brushing my face.

And I feel like a real Dad when I read to her at night. She won't sleep without one story, at least.

So, we skipped Annabel, and discussed condoms. I said I liked the orange ones, and we ended our talk in laughter.

and I'm thinking as our bodies meet that I'll remember this forever, and i just hope it's for all the right reasons.

I__ alone with the ghost of the swamp, somewhere near the weeping willows.