Lost Balloon

Dream you’re watching Liza wrap up a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. Dream of a powerhouse performance of New York, New York. Dream there’s a post-show party at the Mocambo. Dream the Mocambo didn’t close down back in 1958. Dream Liza asks you for a ride. Dream Liza can’t drive on account of her two hip replacements make it difficult. Dream telling Liza you’d be hon...

The jury summons arrives in the mail while I’m at my twenty-week scan, watching the curve of my boy’s spine.

I show up Monday, expecting to be excused. The judge disagrees. Six months’ postponement would only mean showing up with a newborn “on the outside.”

When I’m called to the box, I push my belly out as I sit, exaggerating the effort.

“Please state yo...

Here is a memory. Our feet had the floor in a bar lavatory. Sean and me in the locked stall. My bare calves hugged the toilet base as I sat. He stood before me. His white, untied sneakers faced my scuffed brown cowboy boots inside a bunched blue jean. Our moans stifled.

Here is early Sunday afternoon in the park. The grass is trammeled. An elderly couple practices sals...