72 writers inspired by Pride …
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Ten-by-twelve front garden in a line of ten identical little boxes. Same opposite. Net curtains a priority. No room indoors to swing a cat. / from Widow’s Pique by Jan McCarthy
How does pride taste when you swallow it? / I have found it to be like salt-water-taffy— / from An Acquired Taste-Or Not by Elizabeth Buttimer
One last crow sauntered over to that same pile of frozen poop. He seemed to consider it for a moment like his brothers before him. / from Turd Burglar by Steve Cushman
“He’s the youngest person I’ve ever seen in my fifty years here. / Sits on his cushion tentpole straight like a veteran.” / from Coming of Age by Gerard Sarnat
UTI isn’t going away / have they disproven cranberry juice / how to get antibiotics / how much do antibiotics cost / how much does a pharmacist make / from Bathroom Reading by Emery Veilleux
Inside the house, every framed photo is missing a person, or perhaps a missing person. / from The Astronomy of Childhood by Len Kuntz
These editors talked and tirelessly tinkered / Once more doing the lion’s share of the work / from Reviewing the Situation by John Bost
it’s strangers acting / out my desires! Imagine that! Intruders / beating me to the punch in the quest for / hot sex / from With as Much Pride as I Can Muster by Ruth Sabath Rosenthal
Every day the ringing intrudes upon my listening pleasure, disturbs my equilibrium. The voice isn’t always Indian, sometimes it’s Chinese, or other east Asian accent. / from Bombay Calling by Eddy Knight
I have outlived my husband long enough / to discover the fountain of minerals. / from Vitamin D by Sarah Henry
Arms like outstretched wings, I sail out from the cliff ledge like a huge, heavy bird. I look down into the yawning chasm of space below me. / from Devil’s Drop by Mark Crimmins
and truly justifiable because / he was an innovator and / major leader in his field / from The “self-made” man by Marsha Mittman
‘The leg has to go.’ Not a decision I take lightly, but it might save him. / from Frontline Symphony by Henry Bladon
… he analyzed the stranger who gazed back. A clean slate. Younger. Sterile. / from The Beard by Joseph Stearman
Another year, I made myself a / homemade pirate suit. I had a cardboard / eye patch, and a plastic knife as part of / my costume. / from From Invincible to Invisible by Mark Hudson
Her breasts bulged out of the top of the bra, and her cleavage looked like the San Andreas fault. The color was a neon sign. / from Crimson by Cynthia Leslie-Bole
How does pride taste when you swallow it? / I have found it to be like salt-water-taffy— / from An Acquired Taste-Or Not by Elizabeth Buttimer
Hannah was a classic pear. She wore a shapeless grey Big W t-shirt that flapped loosely over her bike shorts. / from Exercising Retribution by Jo Hocking
Eileen concentrates on mixing a salad. “They are our friends, Don. Relax. It will be fine.” / from Chef’s Surprise by Jim Bell
“He’s the youngest person I’ve ever seen in my fifty years here. / Sits on his cushion tentpole straight like a veteran.” / from Coming of Age by Gerard Sarnat
UTI isn’t going away / have they disproven cranberry juice / how to get antibiotics / how much do antibiotics cost / how much does a pharmacist make / from Bathroom Reading by Emery Veilleux
It creates a crack in one’s self, I think, to admit that those one loved have lied, that the reality we took for granted is as solid as quicksand. / from The Recent History of the Sánchez Family Tragedies: Part VII by Guilie Castillo Oriard
A woman who I’ve recently met sits down, asks me for my phone number, then walks away blushing saying ‘Oh gosh, how embarrassing’ / from The variety of human voting by Piet Nieuwland
Not stopped by his people / he would have sunk the sun itself / in the outer seas / from Alexander by Dawid Juraszek
Now he was on familiar ground. For him, the original image – whether an acetate negative or a digital file – was only a starting point. / from Self-Exposure by Charles David Taylor
“All the letters in the alphabet are used,” Mom explains / as she checks the printed results for clarity, spacing and alignment / from Typing Lesson by Carl ‘Papa’ Palmer
Of course, he suffered an epic, empyrean / ass-whipping (or so the story goes) and, / as with all things, there were consequences. / from The Fall by Howard Brown
“Why do you even have a sign out front?” I said. “Is this a business or are you back here just having a laugh?” / from The Tyrant’s Garden by Aaron Retz
Center right knee, a gray polka dot / above my patella, pretty well masked / when I’m tanned, in shorts. / from Annual Physical at 55 by Karla Linn Merrifield
“Mildly pleasant,” she replied. “At times. On occasion.” After a pause, “On this occasion, I hope.” / from Victoria Seizes the Reins by Larry Lefkowitz
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