The Sill of the World

This covers the week of 7/12/20 - 7/18/20. barbering The barber works outdoors on a path by the lake. At his station: a chair, a radio, a ca...

This covers the week of 3/1/20 - 3/7/20. coughing I'm starting to look at snifflers and coughers suspiciously. Like the young guy sittin...

This covers the week of 10/20/19 - 10/26/19. campus Her campus is embedded into a hillside. She leads us up and down flights of stairs an...

This covers the week of 9/15/19 - 9/21/19 . bears She likes being read to while she's being fed. And she likes repeated readings. Thi...

betrayal More schools handing out high grades based on low standards. They lull students into a complacency that's shattered by failed ...

aquatics They've booked a room next to an indoor swimming pool. During each pause in the lecture, we hear splashing and giggles. biza...

culinary The kitchen is dingy, and the cook keeps her phone and keys on the counter among spatters of sauce and grease. But the soup is pre...

autumn I love the green and gold of early autumn, the faint chill, the lingering summer. benevolence It's beautiful to give and rece...

clunking The rhythm of our conversations is two people kicking a ball around aimlessly. encompassing Her shawl has rippling shades of bl...

interjections His comments continue to twang like out-of-tune piano keys. orders She comes across a stranger's dog tied to a bike ra...

courtly He tips his hat and wishes me a good afternoon. It's sunny out, and he's serene. It really is a good afternoon. dab Fing...

Paper Tigers is a documentary set in a school known for high rates of delinquent student behavior and academic failure. It explores the bac...

carping Today, I'm an eyebrow that isn't properly tweezed. Tomorrow, I'll be a forehead pimple. By which blemish will I be asse...

battleship They're all in flames except for the destroyers. He hunts for mine, and I for his, across the war-torn grids. exactitude ...

deportment As children they're learning the art of wearing different masks: the politely engaged one with their teachers, the unruffled...

aseptically First impression of the school corridors: bulletin boards, artwork, and the reek of disinfectants. deliberate I pace in the ...

Title: After Rosa Parks Author: Janet Desaulniers Where I Read It: Breaking Into Print Since her divorce, Ellie has become more cautious ...

empty I work with words, I depend on them, but I can't find the right ones sometimes, not when I need them badly. glossing They'...

brevity Head fogged with a light fever, I open the door and hope that, for once, she'll say nothing and leave quickly. etiolated His...

210 absorbed He drinks in picture books. busywork I doubt the teacher will care what she writes. The requirements are a neatly typed p...