Month: June 2025

Swamped

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Excerpt

that he had truly learned how to cook. Jonathan and Logan cleaned
up the table, took the dishes to the sink and rinsed them, and Alex
loaded them in the dishwasher, while Eteo went to his office to make
a few phone calls to inform more clients about the new Target Resources
company and the shares he recommended for them. Meanwhile
Jonathan sat down at the family room table and did some
homework while Logan went out to meet his new flame, as he called
his new girlfriend, and Alexander got busy with his play station.

Next day Eteo arrived in the office at 6:10, well before Helena, but almost
as soon as he turned his computer on, Logan walked in. Herbert
was not far behind, smiling and chuckling.
“Let’s look at the opening orders” he said to Eteo and stood behind
him. Eteo went to the page that showed the buying and selling
orders for Platinum Properties. Pointing to two orders from Pacific
Trends, he confirmed to Herbert that they were both his orders.
“Could I buy a few more shares, Eteo, before these two orders?”
“We bought you some yesterday morning, remember?”
“Yes, I know, and here is my cheque, by the way.” Herbert handed
Eteo a cheque for yesterday’s purchase and what he was planning to
buy today. “For another 30,000 shares,” he explained.
Eteo wrote the buying order and turned to his client.
“I should go to the trading desk to instruct the head trader in
person about who’s first and who’s second. I’ll be right back.”
He needed to get to the trading desk quickly. It was almost time
for the opening bell. By the time he got back to his office, trading had
begun and a beaming Herbert had his extra 30,000 shares. With that,
the always smiling investor walked out, though not before promising
to keep Eteo in the loop.
The rest of the morning unfolded like any other trading day.
Eteo’s other orders were in line, and he steadily picked up more shares
of Platinum Properties and allocated them to the six clients he had
selected while keeping a steady eye on the price of the stock, which
moved up slightly into the low forties.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WP3LMPX

Still Waters

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Excerpt

Chapter Four
Weary after her busy day, Tyne lay in bed, her new Bible propped
open on her knees. Although her eyes were on the page in front of
her, she was not reading. Too many images chased each other through
her weary mind, and she could not exorcise them. One moment she
saw Jeannette Aubert clutching her rosary; the next moment Adeline
Koffer’s family intertwined with the image of old Mrs. Forsyth fighting
for every breath beneath the oxygen mask that covered her nose
and mouth.
And, interposed between those pictures, the handsome face of
Cameron Tournquist flashed unbidden and unwelcome. She had
spoken to him for only a minute before leaving the ward at the end
of her shift. Why should his face be almost constantly before her
now?
She recognized that her turbulent thoughts did not come only
from Cameron or the patients on her ward. Her roommate, Carol
Ann, was also having an unsettling effect on Tyne. She had seen
again the distress in Curly’s eyes when the three girls met in their
room shortly after three o’clock. When Maureen began to tease the
curly-haired girl about her attachment to the operating room, Carol
Ann answered her sharply and stormed out, slamming the door behind
her.
Maureen’s obvious hurt prompted Tyne to say gently, “Leave her
alone, Moe. There’s something bothering her.”
“Sorry.” Moe had looked repentant. “But I always thought she
loved being kidded about the OR. I’ve never known her to react like
that.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763068

Übermensch

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Promise

And we promised never to deny Him, not even

for a night or day, not for a single moment, even

when He spoke to the fallen tree or to those ancient

ghosts that often passed through our minds.

Endless famine of our race, queen of our bellies,

slowly crawled on wet cobblestones like our childish

innocence, and we asked Him to continue His teaching

and He liked us because we chose to be scattered

into innumerable pieces that the wind may blow us

to the opposite shore. He liked us, because

we disdained everything, even the secret, for our

sacrifice. Übermensch smiled and said,

‘it was all good.’

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGFRGLVH

Αλέξανδρος Ίσαρης, Μες στο χώμα καληνύχτα

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Αλέξανδρος Ίσαρης, Μες στο χώμα καληνύχτα

Jazz with Ella

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Excerpt

If he pushed his face right into the window, he could just see the edge of the canal where Gennadi often waited for him to begin their sociable walk to work together. Gennadi was younger than Volodya, 22 years old to Volodya’s 31, and his taste in music was abominable, Vlad thought, but still, he was a friendly, loyal fellow and Volodya really needed support this morning.
Their job was a dull one, though it required a certain amount of mechanical aptitude. The firm they worked for serviced automatic machines: the water vending machines located on every street corner and several other types that sold carbonated fruit juices. They replenished them, cleaned them, oiled them and fixed them when they broke down, which happened frequently. It was not the profession he would have chosen, nor why he had received such a comprehensive university education at the state’s expense. In fact, he loathed it. But he was thankful it was not an office job. At least this way, he moved around the city regularly, and it was easy to take an hour here and there for a break or to practice his music. As a job it moved along like a square wheel, and this is what had sparked his current problem with his commissar, a petty, stupid man with bad teeth, who would have him disciplined for breathing. Volodya cursed a little but not too loudly.Each day, he would arrive at work more or less on time, though his punctuality was always subject to the taunts of the administrative clerk, Ivana the Terrible as they called her, she who stamped their work orders and doled out their pitiful tools. After the morning check-in with officialdom, they were on their own. Sometimes he and Gennadi went out on foot together, sometimes they caught a lift to their destination in the service vehicle. That was why he suffered this miserable job. It was in that time, away from official eyes, that Volodya could indulge his passion for jazz music by visiting a musician friend who allowed him to use his piano.
He had always been good at finding a piano when he needed one. He had been raised in Leningrad just after the war by his mother and his aunt, and the two women had denied him nothing. In a time of excruciating hardship, they made sure he had his share of toys, candy, as nutritious food as was available, and his own little bed in their tiny, grim apartment. They discerned that he was a musical child at an early age when he would drum and tap on the tabletop, his bed, anything that would make a percussive noise with interesting rhythms. They bought him a toy drum which he adored, though it nearly drove

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763246

The Circle

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Excerpt

with Hakim the next morning or early afternoon. The Admiral, who is also ready
to go, stands up. Matthew escorts them to their limo, which has been parked in
the street, and shakes hands with Ibrahim.
“Thank you very much for coming over. I hope everything turns out well
with your tests. I look forward to seeing you again soon.” Then turning to the
Admiral, he adds, “I’ll see you Monday, Bevan. Thank you for coming over.”
“See you on Monday, Matt. Thanks for everything.”
Night arrives with her dark colors to replace the light of day and to inspire
the poet’s stanzas once again. Helena wants to go; she has a few things to do
before going out on Saturday night, and she wants Talal to take her home.
Peter and Rose have already gone. Hakim would like to go as well; however,
Jennifer keeps him for a while as her mom starts cleaning up from the party.
Matthew is eager to talk to Emily again about Hakim and he can’t wait until
everyone is gone. Talal has enjoyed the commotion of the party and exchanges
looks with Emily, who is still in seventh heaven just having him around her all
afternoon and evening.
Talal sits next to Hakim for a while in the living room when Hakim says to him,
“You won’t believe what my uncle told me.”
“What?”
“You know the company I work for. A year and a half ago he put up the
money and we bought shares when the company did a small financing. The
shares trade these days at more than ten times the investment. When I
mentioned the value of the stock to him, he said I can do whatever I want with
the money. He says all the money is mine. He wants me to keep it for myself.”
Talal looks deep in Hakim’s eyes and says, “You don’t even know half of what
Uncle Ibrahim has for you. I have a small number of the same shares and
Ibrahim paid for them as well. How do you think I pay my bills without a job? I
sell shares here and there to get by.”
It’s not that Hakim has never thought of what would happen to Ibrahim’s
money when he dies. He has thought of it a number of times because he knows
Ibrahim and Auntie Mara have no children of their own. He knows his uncle is
worth a lot of money, and now he has confirmation even from his buddy, Talal.
But today’s news has still caught him by surprise, and suddenly he realizes he’s
not a poor man anymore, but a millionaire.
“What else does Ibrahim have; what do you mean?”
“What is important is that you take care of yourself here in the United States
and make sure you get ready to take over for him when the time comes. Never
forget where we come from and where our loyalty lies—to Ibrahim, to our
homeland, to our people, to our future. Everything will fall into place sooner or

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978186524

Entropy

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The Extra
You were always there
although times you weren’t
film created by someone else’s hand
and I a passing extra
I have nothing else to love
descendant of utopia
with my short life and without baggage
I loved the fleeting moment
the imperceptible undulation of dawn
perhaps you have been there all the time
tied to the escape
the secret of truth, the end of the mistake
emigrates crossing parallel roads
when I sailed to the Colchis of the sky
shaking off a border I escaped unseen
you showed me
siren of the blood
on the many lives, I must march
pushed by the force of the wave
to hear the true history of the sea.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPCRLJC6

Arrows

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Excerpt

“I’ll talk because the time for our farewells is near,” I said, “and I
don’t want us parting like this.”
“Try me.”
He turned to look at the ship. His aftershave aroma of lavender
and storax, mixed with our sweat, filled my nostrils and sharpened
my senses. Watching him reminded me of my own looks, a sort of
discovery. Over the years, although he was four years older,
Bartolomé and I had become more alike, despite the inequality in
weight and his hooked nose. The main difference was the ripple of
his strong muscles visible under his shirt. Sometimes it was like
watching the movements of a powerful horse.
When I had come to board the ship, we were shocked to see each
other again. We always wrote and knew everything about the other,
but six years had passed since our last encounter. He took me by the
shoulders and looked me over from head to toe. Apparently
satisfied with my growing into manhood, he patted me on the
shoulder and grabbed my tonsure, shaking me softly before
squashing me in a bear hug.
Now we would soon be taking our leave of each other, and only
God knew when we would be reunited. I realized I was staring at
him and turned to face the sea.
Illuminated by the rising moon, the ship swayed, two lanterns
glowing on the castle decks. I watched the white spume of the waves
breaking, their hissing claim on the beach. The breeze carried the
voices of the men still sitting around the fire.
“Why the hell did you flog yourself?” Bartolomé asked.
“To purify my heart.”
“Purify your heart? Salvador, you haven’t done a bad thing in
your life!”
I snorted, shaking my head and reaching back to pull at my habit
and detach it from my wounds.
“I beat him,” I said. “I beat Pánfilo. He was having his way with a
girl. She wanted to resist. I don’t know what came over me. I
couldn’t believe my eyes, and before I knew it I was beating him up.
I didn’t mean to.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0981073522

Liquid Labyrinth

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Circular letter
Körlevél
Don’t answer, – the circular letter is knocking now,
I’ll put empty words to work for a buck

  • the blood plows me through with a hot plow,
    and in bad ears the sound gets stuck.
    My red star face breaks down into a lesson,
  • now the big secret is budding to remain
    my holy message penetrates to the bone heaven,
    and my dead heart will love again.
    I carved the mirage from poems’ dream space,
    you act on the edges of the new laws’ way,
  • gallop after it then practice the race
  • you, too can succeed one day.
    The thought struck me a few times,
  • I put on a deadly mask, how I look,
    like a yellowed vagrant skeleton, it lies,
    it kicked the threshold with half a foot.
    Some lines melt into the minute,
    my pocket is loaded with bold pulse,
  • the title invites you to take a walk in it,
    which I sprinkle with noble gold dust.
    It was a colorful drama that kept me in good condition,
    pagan December brings a mission,
    the voice squealed in my waistline,
    and my circular also reached the finish line for the seventh time.

Marginal

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Catherine
Unforgiving invincible sparkle
dances inside your rose with
its heavy, sinful petals
and a loathing desire
still lurks behind
the undulating tempest
nothing is left but the husk
of your last wish and
a crying forlornness

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1771715987