Nam Hoang Tran is a writer and visual artist based in Orlando, FL. His work appears or is forthcoming in Posit, Bending Genres, Midway Journal, BlazeVOX, New Delta Review, Diode, and elsewhere. Find him online at www.namhtran.com.Continue Reading

Uneven planks, calloused wood weathered by nor’easterslead over the Atlantic, sand sharks below graze for chumthe bar at the end of the pier is a centerpiece for Budweiser and Hank Williamswhile cloggers shimmy to “Mustang Sally” for the third time of the evening. Those who fish huddle near the benchesContinue Reading

All my life, I waited for lovelike pineapple. Sopping bites,hair bristling on skin, tangyand biting. I waited for the nibble on my tongue.It never came. You came,and you were oxygen. You were misting rain,not tidal waves. All my life,I watched my father hail,and I bent towards blue. How to knowContinue Reading

I hate myself for showing up to work. What a waste. I’ve danced four sets for worse than no one, just those who return my failing attempts at sensuality with a dehumanizing stare. I’m continually reminding myself that it’s not my fault that I’m not making money. Not helping though.Continue Reading

My earliest memoryI was maybe 2 or 3On a beach in MazatlánWith an assortment of family. A long stone staircaseThin and windingAscended the beachDisappeared in the city. At the top of the stairsWas an ice cream shopI longed to visitBut hated climbingThe myriad of steps. The trek was dauntingAnd IContinue Reading

Pipe cleaner ponies pokewinsome hooves above the stone stage. Conspiracies giggle from the nest of gniessand tree limb. There is no doubt that the fairies are involved withthe tricksy lighting and rustling stagecraft. The vireos and warblers suspend songand disbelief while ponies sprout wings and Pegasus promenades airily in,pastel feathersContinue Reading

I lash out at mother,She reclines at the far end of the sofa Her eyes are glued to the sweat and stale of a B-grade thriller.Yet her tongue is still laced, fiery and aware She fights backReminding me of all the times I failed in high school I rebut,Reminding herContinue Reading

Mathew awakes to a strange gapin his mouth, can still tastethe blood, but can’t find the toothno matter how many times his tonguecircles the landscape of his mouth.The tooth has been loose for days,wiggling and wobbling,but Mathew didn’t dare say anythingbecause his dad always talks abouttying loose teeth to aContinue Reading

When you are twoNo is your favorite wordand kisses are magic.The sky is always bluewith cotton cloudsWhen it rains, you singgo away, go awayand it does. I am lifted by yourbeliefthat all is well,or will be. Kissesmake it bettereven if it still hurts. You area child of lightfor such aContinue Reading

“You gotta sneak up on a crow,” the old man said. “They’s real smart. Crows are.”“Yes, sir,” the boy whispered and crouched low as they crept toward the cornfield. Although his grandfather was a tall man, he was bent in places where he had the “arthur-ritis” which afflicted him especiallyContinue Reading