Chatat

Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age. —Genesis 6:9 Who can say when evil begins? Perhaps it starts with sibilant whispers, reptilian suggestion, something… More

Sabrina

Sabrina is a waxy, white-complected woman of 27 years. If we are to live together in an 8 x 11-foot jail cell, she feels that it would be only… More

The Blessing of Jebidiah Goodytake

That damned Bernie! One night, without invitation or provocation, he just burst into my room and began tapping my pillow—thump thump thumpity thump—as if he were jabbering off some… More

Monster in the Playground

This story is dedicated to all the children in this world who suffer abuse in whatever form, and to my step-mom, Dorothy. Dorothy’s prayerful hopes for me gave me… More

Walk Like a Man

Who’s Your Daddy? My birth mother’s name was Lula Mae. After her death my two sisters, three brothers, and I were taken in by various relatives. Melvin, the… More

The Ring

Adoption is a cold, sterile thing. No pomp. No ceremony. A child is born, a paper is signed, and lives are changed forever. Sixteen years ago, in police… More

A Fine, Fine Day

I It was too late for the Avenue so I headed downtown to the corner of Jones and Eddy. There, the sidewalk is stain’d with the lives of the… More

The Years In Between

The tall gray wall encircles fifty-five acres of land. Spired towers with narrow steel doors, loophole windows, and floodlights straddle the wall, like spines on a fearsome dragon. Rolling… More

Criminal Injustice

Many important lessons were taught by Hurricane Katrina, which demolished a large area along the gulf coast and killed more than one thousand people in Louisiana and Mississippi in… More