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I held an iPad for Miguel as he lay in his hospital bed / so he could see his family sheltered at home. / He was suffocating, this man who at the worst of times / would only tell his loved ones, Me siento bien. / All around us the equipment of life / and death was buzzing, humming, beeping, / a stubborn choir of mockingbirds.
By Peter YoungDecember 2021Being in remission is like air: you only appreciate it when it’s gone. After four years of not appreciating it, I’m back on Vancouver Island, where I work at the university as a cafeteria dishwasher.
By Jason JobinDecember 2021December 2021Democracy disciplined and enlightened is the finest thing in the world. A democracy prejudiced, ignorant, superstitious will land itself in chaos and may be self-destroyed.
Mahatma Gandhi
A new feature in the magazine, A Thousand Words features photography so rich with narrative that it tells a story all on its own.
December 2021Smoking in the girls’ room, sneaking a drink, napping
By Our ReadersDecember 2021Soybeans look like a foot of water on the field in April / When you’re ready to plant and can’t get in
By Thomas Alan OrrDecember 2021From the moment Ashlee asked me to be a bridesmaid, / I understood what my wedding gift needed / to be. It wasn’t the set of tumblers / I shipped her from 14th Street, daffodils and dandelions / climbing the sides. It wasn’t helping her angel of a mother / practice her speech, making pencil marks for pauses / and every deep breath. No, my gift / to Ashlee started when she told me Cate from college / would be a bridesmaid, too.
By Emily SernakerDecember 2021My granddaughter barely speaks. Her name is Effie, which in Greek means “well-spoken.” Maybe in Greece she would be. Names aren’t expected to match the person. If they were, we’d be named upon our death, when someone would have a stab in the dark at getting it right.
By Douglas SilverDecember 2021Many of these ranchers — private and skeptical of strangers — did not have the time or interest to share their lives with me. What was I doing here, and why could I possibly be interested in them?
December 2021Personal, political, provocative writing delivered to your doorstep every month—without a single ad.
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