Author Archives: Sigers Steele

Dus has this boy’s arm twisted behind his back and is grinding his cheek on the hot sidewalk. Dus’s sister Bea watches with satisfaction. Her hair hasn’t been combed in days. She had promised this boy that her brother would get him. Dus always makes good without asking why. He’s going to twist until he […]

This time it’s come down to a pack of cigarettes. His son is on the bare floor, coloring hard. A picture of a chicken. He looks at the dirt stuck on the boy’s chubby, rash-reddened leg and in his white hair. He sees the boy miss the page and make waxy yellow loops on the […]

Paloma, my brother’s wife, stomps her way down the aisles of the ShopTime Grocery, smoking a cigarette. So far, three male clerks have asked her to put it out. Paloma is tall like a man. Six feet easy. And she always wears high heels. Always. Her hair reminds me of a mink coat mama used […]

My older sister’s bedroom is mostly pink and white. A 16-year-old’s Barbie bedroom with a splash of school spirit. She has pictures on her dresser in white frames with hearts on them. One is me. My fourth grade picture. She likes it because she did my hair that day and it actually came out all […]