Zero visibility possible,
you read aloud. The logic’s water-tight:
there’s always a good chance for lack of sight.
We left late. This valley’s crossable
on good days, but today, the signs are flashing
Dust storms may exist. Or they may not.
Mirages shimmer like our love, caught
somewhere out there just below being.
Is there nothing here to see, or can
nothing be seen?
So we drive on, enmeshed
in what may not exist, our baffled flesh
tumbling down this road that hope began.
In zero visibility, we gaze
into the hazy now and then and always.
—J. C. Scharl
Grandmother, What Big Teeth You Have
Many years ago, I wrote a piece for this magazine called “Grim Tales.” At the time, I…
Christie’s Compelling Criminals
In the latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Theodore Dalrymple joins…
Lethe
He thought he saw her in the orchid house / and all the flowers seemed to disappear...