A Bare Fist of Snow
Winter’s history, the lion never showed, the skin took the brunt of numbing.
Read MoreDaffodils
(in memory of Patricia Lewis Smith, 1953-2005) Time may absolve us of some things we’ve done, If only by its vast indifference; More problematic is the nagging sense Of possibilities forever gone. Bright daffodils on February’s lawn Brim with regrets, for all their innocence— Arrangements that were never sent. Years hence, They will loom large as living comes undone: Soft chalices of golden winter light, Champagne flutes where the wounded may not drink. Try as we may, we never get loss right: It stuns to speechlessness just when we think The future will be bearable, if not...
Read MoreA Note About the Archives
From the founding of Wild Violet in October 2001 until the beginning of the weekly format in 2012, issues came out on a quarterly, and later, a semiannual basis. Links to all of the issues published with the old numbering format (Vol. I through X) can be found in the “Issue Archives” category, under the “Content” tab. All of the more recent, weekly issues are designated as “Featured: Week of [Date]” and also appear under the “Issue Archives” category. You can also use our Google custom search to look for individual pieces.
Read MoreFeatured: Week of Jan. 28 (Families)
This week, our contributors take a look at families, of all sorts. Christina Ginfrida’s short story, “Opere Roma,” tells a story of an orphaned boy who gets placed with a very unusual foster family. Alizabeth Rasmussen’s essay, “The Art of Goodbye,” depicts a divorced mom coping with shared custody. Sam Grieve’s short story, “The Heartbreak of Long Division,” follows two sisters as they deal with grief over two continents. Raud Kennedy’s short story, “Strays,” is a tale of two lost souls who find each...
Read MoreStrays
It was a good day to fleece treats off the customers coming out of the 7-Eleven. The hot weather brought them in for beer and chips, and I sat outside pretending to be someone’s pet dog by sitting calmly and looking like I was waiting for my master to return from inside the store with a six-pack for him and a bone for me. Pet dogs were safe to feed. Moms didn’t have to worry about their kids trying to talk them into bringing home the stray. “Don’t feed the stray,” they’d say. “He’ll follow us home.” I’d heard that one a lot. So I put on my act of belonging...
Read MoreThe Heartbreak of Long Division
Sam Grieve was born in Cape Town and lived in Paris and London prior to settling down in Connecticut. She has a BA from Brown University and an MA from King’s College London. She has worked as a writer, librarian, bookseller and antiquarian book dealer, and consequently has never found a home with enough bookshelves. She is published in the current issue of A cappella Zoo and has work forthcoming in Grey Sparrow. She is married, has two sons and a dog, and an extended family who live far away over the sea. ~~~ Our father was dead. A month before, he had suffered a heart...
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