Author Archives: alicebarrett

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About alicebarrett

Small town writer

Grandma’s Friends

Posted on September 6, 2017 by alicebarrett

Maeve and Hugh came from the Old Country and didn’t smell very good. . My father hid behind a chair and popped up, “Are they gone?” while they were still in the doorway. Mom married him anyway. . With their … Continue reading →

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578 million, eight hundred eighty

Posted on July 20, 2017 by alicebarrett

  If a life were a quilt would I have 67 squares? or 720 for each hour in each month? Let’s see that would be 67 years times 12 months times 720. . Life is much longer than I’d previously … Continue reading →

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Ballad of a Needle

Posted on March 1, 2017 by alicebarrett

If I had an needle I’d sing you a song about a dress. It would be the pretty blue and white one Mom sent me out to play in. But, there were benches to climb on and railings to hang … Continue reading →

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What Is New to Me Now, at 68

Posted on October 20, 2016 by alicebarrett

(Annual Greenfield Word Festival 2016) . What is new to me now, (don’t bother me with cell phones, legalized weed), . What is new to me now is constant war with no intervals of peace, What is new to me … Continue reading →

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I Hate Autumn

Posted on September 22, 2016 by alicebarrett

I hate autumn. The colors, the wind, the chill, the wilted plants. Autumn is the drama queen of the year, Always in crisis, Flinging beauty about recklessly. . Autumn gets under your skin. Sneakier than winter, more glamorous than spring. … Continue reading →

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Philip

Posted on August 26, 2016 by alicebarrett

My restless, fitful cousin Punched a black patient in the hospital. At Thanksgiving dinner he offered advice he’d gotten From a prostitute the week before: “The best part of sex is right after the orgasm.” .. One eye had been … Continue reading →

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The Road Around the Hill

Posted on August 17, 2016 by alicebarrett

He insisted that the road wound around the hill all the way to the top with No stops. He lied. On purpose. .. On the first curve was an ice-cream truck. I passed it by. First test passed. On the … Continue reading →

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The News I Fear

Posted on July 28, 2016 by alicebarrett

Slugs are not much loved. Maybe God loves slugs, But who knows? .. One day in the garden, no slugs. Next day, slugs. .. The invisible destroyer becomes solid, Well, almost solid; It’s a slug. .. Rare is the animal … Continue reading →

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Many Doorsteps

Posted on May 7, 2016 by alicebarrett

That Doorstep That doorstep trips you up every time. Look down, the key is under the bucket. Look up, watch your head. Watch, don’t let the cat out. Look behind, or the screen door will hit you. Put your bag … Continue reading →

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Time Does Not Repeat Itself

Posted on March 22, 2016 by alicebarrett

Oh no, time does not repeat itself, It spirals, perhaps, one turn reverberating on the others, But time does not repeat.   Nature’s variation is endless, Orderly, yet endless.   Everything done will be undone.   Everything undone waits for … Continue reading →

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