Migrations

Waitresses, cashiers, and factory jobs: Malcolm’s hard-working family history was authored by the city. His parents used determination to propel themselves upward like a pole vault, landing atop the soft cushion of suburbia.

But after college, Malcolm confused relatives by swimming back to the old neighborhood like a salmon. He hung out on street corners and in strip clubs with Tavian and Jamaal. He jerry-rigged a life with his two new roommates, streetwise guys who peddled weed and ran hustles. They were like brothers until one caught the other bedding his girlfriend. Out came the gun.

Fully loaded. Malcolm moved.

 

 

 

Adrian S. Potter writes poetry and short fiction. He is the author of the fiction chapbook Survival Notes (Červená Barva Press, 2008) and winner of the 2010 Southern Illinois Writers Guild Poetry Contest. Some publication credits include North American Review, Jet Fuel Review, Obsidian and Kansas City Voices. He blogs, sometimes, at adrianspotter.com.