magpie's shiny things

Saturday Morning TV

lara — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Saturday Morning TVIn my dream, it is hot and damp,summer in Pittsburgh…I see the old green couch, broken downby years of roughhousing children,and there is Joe,9 years old in a set of red and black stripped footie pajamas,cereal bowl in his lap,a bit of garishly colored milk still in the bottom.He is intent on a …

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Torrent Salamander

lara — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 23:59:00 +0000

Torrent Salamander Rhyacotriton variegatusI marvel at the orange, polka-dotted skin of the salamanderwho suns on the river’s pebbled edge.He never goes too far from the waterthat gave him birth.His pale bellycarefully hugs the rocks;his thin skin all that separates his moist heartfrom disaster.His dear, damp, thrilling heart. Published on The Laundry Line, 24 February, 2026.

The Interview

lara — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 23:00:00 +0000

The Interview - after Vanity Fair - The Proust Questionnaire She asks, “What trait do you most deplore in yourself?” All I have are these dried roses and this lump of stolen amber.“On what occasion do you lie?” These black Ariat boots are the last thing he bought me. “What do you most value in …

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The River

lara — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 23:00:00 +0000

The River I haven’t smoked in more than 15 yearsthough some days, suddenly… I stop, wish for a drag,that first catch of smoke in my lungsand the rising hum of nicotine in my bloodthat brought words cascading from my brain.At 64, I’ve begun to miss those mornings,wearing my grandmother’s pale blue bathrobein the smoke saturated …

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Analog

lara — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 23:00:00 +0000

AnalogWe have swallows in our barn. A week ago I found three broken egg shells underneath one of the nests. My birthday was two days ago. All I can remember from my phone call with Joe is the silences.This morning, I heard the call of nestlings begging for food. The sound is a single note …

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Heat Haze

lara — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:39:49 +0000

Heat HazeI want salt’s tenderness and the taste of your flesh on my tongue. The softness of peaches in summer when the days are too long. I want oregano and lemons. The sweet bitterness of tonic and lime pulling the summer heat out of my skin.I want the musk of sun-warmed blackberries eaten while standing …

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Pariah Dog

lara — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Pariah Dog this rangy dog that you all assume is homeless is actually homeward boundat the end of the night.this pariah dog, known to me only as ‘dog” dog, sit dog, lie down dog, get away dog, do you want to come into the garden to sleep for in the sun for an hour?deep in …

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Sonnet, circa 2024.

lara — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Sonnet, circa 2024Hold a leaking pen over an inadequate notebook. Chew on the derivation of “grace” from the Latin gratis—meaning pleasing. Seek a place for “apostle” in description of a wren. Stand in a mist looking for a verb to describe the lightness of the raindrops. Break a line against the breath, carry on long …

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Resurrection

lara — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000

ResurrectionEven our own sun will, one day, leave its ordained round of the skyno longer crossing the Milky Way or shining only on the moon’s bright side.But wandering off into the weedsto lie down and rest,Say to us—no, no you go ahead.In the dark, waiting,time will tumble unstuck from the clock face.We will forgethow to …

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Catherine Wheel

lara — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000

Catherine WheelI live in a pyrotechnic universe garish with a bright mathematics that allows me to calculate how much it has cost meto buy Rita Hayworth’s second wedding dress,some purple fairy lights to hang from my umbrella,and a pair of ruby slippers that will take me anywhere but home.By 3am, I have lost my mother’s …

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