Atticus Books

In the adjacent room, Across the hall from the health care clinic, The old timer stares at his knees, gingerly raises his right hand, and blesses himself. His peers—fellow kidney disease patients—sit beside him, Blankly Many deep in thought, fraught with worries, massive and menial, Some minds kept in line by meds, Others flowing unevenly [...]

The launching of the final American space shuttle, Atlantis, this morning has held our attention here at Atticus Books all week long. First with our otherworldly issue of Atticus Review, and now with a poem from our publisher, we’re commemorating this momentous end of an era. While the final launch and closing of the book [...]

FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ (September 2005, post-Hurricane Katrina) ~ “The little shrimp Is eating ice cream,” She says, while playing With our Brittany Spaniel. “He’s been eating rocks – I’ve been watching him,” She says, Prying his mouth open To see if she can spot any. “OK, now I can pet you,” She says, forgivingly, As [...]

She lived alone with black and whites faded by half a century. Stood from a kitchen chair, leaving six empty – a complete set. House-shoes shuffled on green vinyl floors – she led me; and we would see him.

I’ve long loved you as the voice inside another time Making seal on the doctored whiskey’s wet lipped lie I’ve read: one laced bottle, two, or none. I’ve bent knees At all three markers, left strings, guitar picks, pennies Thumbed into dirt just to get that much closer to you My ethereal, black angel, the [...]

Tired of arguing over who wears the sadder fate, Persephone and Oedipus decide to get drunk. Oedipus knows this little Irish pub down the street, a basement place with rusty swords on the wall. He buys the first round, sips his Johnny Walker Black and hopes she doesn’t catch his wince. But Persephone is too [...]

You see this scene; it’s important: the man hosing the concrete in front of the Taller de Joyería Gary. Water rainbows to the pawnshop English school warehouse balloon shop wheelbarrows razor wire fruit crates and the man is sweeping now. Corrugated iron canopy steps telegraph wires green mangos diving swallows squeaking engines machete swings: a [...]