Author Archives: Bill Fitzsimons

A Perfect Storm

For days the ocean has unleashed its ire, a frenzy born of elemental spite – winds have raged that will not cease or tire till all’s consumed in endless, blackest night. The waves break fiercely on the rocks, and spray … Continue reading

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Before the Fall

Child bending over flowers: a perfect picture of Pre-Lapsarian innocence; the product of a painter’s palette and a yearning for the simplicities of life before the long fall from grace. Oh, child—you do not know, nor should you, that you, … Continue reading

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Bad Moon Rising

With apologies to Credance Clearwater Revival I am loup garou, shape – changer, werewolf. When the full moon silvers the earth, my bones begin to warp, ligaments crack and lengthen and my skin furs over. My jaw twists and groans, … Continue reading

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Glider

A very free translation from the Irish. I drive north into hill country, the hard breast of the hills; the car straining over the slopes, yielding to the inexorable authority of the gears. The way is difficult, the weather uncertain, … Continue reading

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Just Another Night

Just another night in the sleepless city. The call came in around midnight – cheap hotel, Lower East Side, dead female. The uniforms kept the other residents at bay, as me and my partner, Detective Gennaro, looked at the body … Continue reading

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Learning the Craft

Now who will free me from the chains of rhyme, so I may pick and play the notes I choose; throw off the shackles of the metric line and pen with liberty the words I use? Why be a slave … Continue reading

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Valerie

Summer-strolling in the park, my pal Keith and I; he, outwardly confident, brash; I, awkward and shy. Two fifteen-year olds, our adolescent hormones fueling us with teenage fantasies and indiscriminate lust. Mooching aimlessly, we ambled in hot sunlight along pathways, … Continue reading

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Domino

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” Oscar Wilde. Could it be, as Wilde suggests, that the mask endows the speaker with a cover behind … Continue reading

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A Satisfied Man

When errant breezes catch your hair, I watch it flow – a stream of golden fire – and my blood races with desire. Your skin, in early morning light, invites my touch, soft and warm – to your body’s hive … Continue reading

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A Walk in the Woods at Sunset

I sometimes walk at sunset through the long woods up beyond my house where the mournful owl swoops among the darkening trees. I pause and listen to the rustle and scurry of unseen feet, the various mutterings of the forest. … Continue reading

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