Peyton Farquar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of Owl Creek Bridge. Slowly, a bit distracted, he would get up and move among his men, checking the perimeter, then at full dark he would return to his hole and watch the night and wonder … Continue reading
Author Archives: heatherjmacpherson
Black Lives Matter / discussion / Essay / Native American History / Protest: Action, Performance, History, Literature / reading / Sadness
Instead, I never want to use the word “and” again: Racism in America
For several days now I have wanted to write something, but I am often angry and speechless. The murder of George Floyd on May 25th, 2020; the murder of Breonna Taylor on March 13th, 2020; the murder of Ahmaud Arbery on February 23, 2020; and Riah Milton and Dominique “Rem’Mie” Fells, two Black trans women … Continue reading
When Next We See Each Other
for F.B. We will have potatoes on Sunday, peeled, cut, and roasted with salt and pepper, rosemary and olive oil. We will sit at the table, drink lots of wine; laugh with the window wide open. We will hug each other’s bodies, share the warmth of blush cheeks and wide smiles. When next we see … Continue reading
Interview with Julija Sukys
In 2018 I had a wonderful opportunity to interview writer, Julija Šukys (Siberian Exile: Blood, War, and a Granddaughter’s Reckoning; Epistolophelia:Writing the Life of Ona Šimaite; and Silence is Death: The Life and Death of Tahar Djaout)for the Ocean State Review. You can find the interview link below—thank you for checking it out! A Conversation With … Continue reading
Counting / Experimental / Letter L / Sleep
L,n.
The bend at the elbow not on the el train twelfth l-etter not before k, but after it. Now, … Continue reading
A Study in Scarlet
It is not mine, but I wear it often: bright red floral dress with three-quarter sleeves, a little too long, but I feel good wearing it, especially with black tights and black chunky heels. Then I am near costume, flowing and transformed. That particular dress often provokes a need for scent, so I spritz just … Continue reading
Anxiety Attack.
Unable to focus; multi-sensory overload becomes a strategy: layers of sound: ocean waves beneath Pink Floyd under Ms. Pacman eating dots while chasing ghosts because Tetris couldn’t stabilize you this time and tab after tab after tab remains open to another then another and without no end to exhausting … Continue reading
Essay / poetry / reading / Uncategorized
Following Discovery: Considering Self-Acknowledgement After Reading “The Answer” by Agnes Lee
After much searching I found what I was looking for, but now that I have I don’t know what to do. I messaged a dear friend; she said talk to friends, talk to your therapist. She said, I love you. I said, I love you too. In times of unknowing I also turn to literature. … Continue reading
Essay / Lovers / Sadness / Uncategorized
On Tomorrowness
I am skipping the next thousand moments in favor of belonging to the next day. I have decided that the next day is permanent and shall remain that one day for the rest of my life. If I wish it to be so it must be so. I place a mental check mark next to … Continue reading
Revisiting the Hermitage: Questions & Answers After Reading “Sanctuary” by Jean Valentine
Past midnight; the gravitational pull inside the hour pushing into the next day. I am tired; knees buckle. I cannot say that I am trapped in the “Sanctuary” , a poem by Jean Valentine because I can straighten myself up and walk forward and away. But the address of “you” is too inviting and I am drawn … Continue reading
scribblehysteria 