Powerless am I against the falling snow

when I know that I alone can’t clear it all.

Still it falls, a perfect pall, stamping out the way

that I lay by broken shovel, aching back....

One by one, we hung up

the jerseys, placed them under

the mantle like stockings,

allowed ourselves the childish hope

that they had some magic in them.

One by one, we set out tiger-striped

trinkets, put on our ball caps

and loud orange pants,

prayed for such little things as

completions, conversions, touchdowns.

Then one by one, the grown men

turned, stopped, splintered, broke:

became littl...

I worship these wild summers

with you, hold them like a treasure,

open my mouth and drink in

the lazy hours that uncoil like

gold ribbons, the peach tea sun.

But I want your fall, your first frost—

want to be there in the worst

of your winters. For you, I will

hold fast the doors, for you,

I will tend even the smallest fire

on even the coldest hearth.

And I will wait. Because

as much as I love...

“So that’s it?”

But he wouldn’t answer, and Garret couldn’t bring himself to ask the usual follow-ups. Can’t we talk about this? Can’t I have a chance to be better? Can’t you just say it—say it out loud—say that you don’t love me anymore?

Under normal circumstances, he would ask. He would push. Under normal circumstances, the guilt trips and veiled accusations would well up and spill out of his ...

Digging my hands through your words

I sift through all the things they could mean—

Finding truth nowhere among them...

Colorado is opening like a lotus when we leave it

San Juans snake by, and we tug our little trailer behind,

Jeep huffing like an ancient steam engine.

Provo trains a magnifying glass on us,

Boise gathers clouds like cotton balls, but

July chases us into corners and under trees.

Oregon leaves teethmarks in the 19-foot

Flagstaff trailer we put our last dollar into, and

Peter damn near quits on us. ...

And it is nothing like what he expects. Knuckle cracks against cheek bone, and the force of it splits through his body, like how lightning rends a tree. Instinctively, he extends his hands to catch the floor. He rests there for a moment, refuses to look back. He cannot believe that this man is his father.

He lifts his gaze to confirm this thing he cannot believe. The man steps closer, and Rory i...