a taste of ‘Loss’

237 writers find themselves a little bereft …

 

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It still sits in our house in / The spot she loved so much … from The first loss by Melissa E. Wong

Good of you to come all this way from Down Under, visiting all of us long-lost family! from Trophy by GP Hyde

The dog gives a little grunt. / One of them farts. from All gone wrong by Brian Weston

A shadow of you stands by the sink of my house, / just there, rhythmically dipping and scrubbing / dishes. from Drop by Natalie Fry

At one point he announced, “I’m sick. And I’m going to die. Don’t tell your mom. My mom doesn’t know yet.” from Remembering Ira by Meryl Baer

A lump of clay placed in our hands / temporarily. / We twist it, mold it, and smooth it, / but we cannot complete it. from Growing Pain by Anthony Crutcher

Despite it being a combination of the homes I’ve lived in, I recognize it as his home. from Sixty Minutes by Gary Zenker

Heather lifts a blue glass bowl from the dressing table and underneath the pink and white check runner there’s £60 in ten-pound notes. She gives me half; it’s the second stash of money we’ve found. from Hidden Treasure by Jan Howcroft

I have seen enough / and don’t want to come across / more painful souvenirs online. from Since We Traveled to the Shore by Sarah Henry

Father waits, head down, shovelling / memories of my mother. from On Leaving Us Both by Gareth Culshaw

My father remembers one hundred years but not always clearly. Time is out of order. from My Father by Fran Blake

Ray didn’t take shit from anyone or anything. He held his own on some of the busiest urban streets in Boston alongside the four-wheelers. from Ghost Shark by Phillip Temples

I eventually went to a / Stop Smoking Clinic, and quit / smoking. from Puking by Mark Hudson

The scientists pack their tools and samples, the onlookers pocket their phones, and the undertakers arrive. from Captain on the Bridge by Niall Crowley

He had no idea what he had done wrong, then looked in the rear view mirror to see a tailback of at least a dozen cars. from Losing It by David Davies

There was no burial—what happened to the body is anyone’s guess … from Consolation Prize by Karen Mireau

Many of these cards reflect Western society’s traditional stance on the correct way to grieve, which is to move through stages, let go and move on … from The language of grief by Sandra Arnold

The pressure builds as I sink deeper / in a sea of bad news. from Catharsis by Betty Naegele Gundred

Philip’s customary perfectionism in hosting showed in his lack of patience and temperament. from The Memorial by Mary Ann Carrasco

The Gregory Peck Affair was typical of my father’s dedication. Gregory was a white gander who had outlived the flock and followed us everywhere. from A Man for All Seasons by Sarah Das Gupta

You say you miss me / having quickly learned kind adult lies. from It’s Been Too Long by Patrick Johnson

He got to know / the gray crust in his eyes / and the soft crust on his lips. from Laid Off by John David

I’m getting too technical for you now, I can see you glazing over and this isn’t really the point of my story. from Saturn in the First by Martha Rand

… his disordered thinking messed up his attempts to create a viable business even though he won prestigious awards for his work. from Rounded Edges by Joanne Jagoda

She, one of the last New Dealers, / This Rosie-the-Riveter on B-26s … from Nano and Pawpaw by Russell E. Willis

The police cadet and his mentor have been watching Anita for the last half an hour. from Anita goes shopping by Tony Warner

We sip our wine as she rests under her favorite tree: a two-trunked white birch with enough shade to keep her from overheating. from Before and After by Alison Morretta

Have you ever held the tiny foot / of a twenty-week premi through / the ope of an incubator? from The Heart of the Matter by Peter Clarke

dragonflies on the mirrored– / surface of our loss   and from / a screen memories draw us in … from reminder by Colleen Keating

He wonders if the waitresses / Gather in the kitchen or the employee washroom / And have themselves a high old time … from Dining Out by Remngton Murphy