To save his marriage, he agreed to take her to the Capitol. But something happened along the way. They took Amtrak, but when they emerged from the tunnel, the world had changed. Things were askew. The sidewalks didn’t quite match up with any concept of parallels, and every day at four there was a short but violent thunderstorm. It was in The Museum of Unfortunate Seats when he began to take notice. He moved into the room where there was a recreation of the president’s row from the Ford Theatre, and before you could say John Wilkes Booth, he noticed his wife was growing younger. Her hair was longer; her dimple looked fetching for the first time in years. Later that day, after a short stop at The Museum for Postage Stamps of FBI Cases, he confronted her with this finding. “Seeing all these important things makes me feel like a little girl again,” she said. “Can we go to this tomorrow?” She handed him a brochure from the hotel rack: it was the grand opening of a show in the former emergency room of George Washington University Hospital—The Womb of the Unknown Soldier. He wasn’t thrilled by the idea, but her enthusiasm won him over. Besides, the pamphlet stated the 3-D surround sound virtual reality show was “a life-changing experience.” The loud boom startled him and the pouring rain followed soon after. “Must be four,” he said, but when he checked his wrist, the watch was missing.
is a widely published poet, fiction writer, teacher, and former music journalist. He champions the underdog alongside melodic rhythms of obscure power pop. His two collections, Small Consolations (Aldrich Press) and Worth the Candle (Five Oaks Press), and a chapbook, Memory Marries Desire (Finishing Line Press), are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly from the publishers. He is hard at work on a new collection.
