Things I Inherit From My Mother
First published in Ayaskala Magazine’s “Life in Adornment” issue. When I birth our child, my husband gifts me a pair of small crystalline studs set in a subtle 14-karat gold backing, which I love because…
My Brother Should Have Been a Pine Tree
First published by Anti-Heroin Chic The forest was planted, not wild, perfectly seeded rows upon rows of pines that grew to thirty foot beanstalks disappearing into clouds, evenly lined aisles of sap-covered bark coats. You…
Letters From My Mother
First published by Cauldron Anthology in the Mother issue, Winter 2021 (not accessible via mobile devices) My daughter is two, and I think she needs a break from me, that she’s had too much of…
When the Lights Go Out
First published by Remington Review, Winter 2021 Issue The first time I went to a therapist, she asked me to write and send her a journal entry about my earliest childhood memory. After agonizing over…
my father keeps up mother’s garden after she dies
First published by Versification. My father still keeps up the garden surrounding the weathered planks of the front porch, his tomato plants towering six feet tall, feathery leaves weeping over the tops of mother’s old…
Lincoln Town Car vs African Elephant vs 125 lb Woman in Stilettos
First published by Roi Fainéant Press. At the hardwood flooring outlet, the sales rep is an older gentleman (although should we always assume gentleman just because of the older that precedes him?), and because I’m…
The Chesapeake’s Cornucopia
This piece was first published in the Winter 2021 edition of Capsule Stories – check out the full collection and order a copy here. In Baltimore, there are five seasons: winter, spring, summer, autumn, and…
My Mother and the Sea
“My Mother and the Sea” appears in the Autumn 2021 issue of The Phare: Coast. “You’ll have to go in,” he said. Up to this point, he has been soft, gentle, protective. And he still…
Of Advanced Maternal Age
I am forty years old. It’s the age when doctors designate a pregnancy as “geriatric” or refer to the mother as a woman “of advanced maternal age.” It’s the age when the older generation jokes…
Resurfacing
It’s the first heat wave of the year in Baltimore, where the humidity thickens the air like gravy, and every breath feels like you’re inhaling the city’s smog. But we’re not in the city this…