Frank J. Tassone

Tag: publication

  • Miniature Train-Riding

    I almost can’t remember how the trains raced around the track. How Dad and I adjusted knobs and toggled twitches. How town lights turned on and off; how locomotives whirled out of the tunnel. I almost can’t remember how much I miss those times with him. Almost. train tableso much of his lovemade by his…

  • Such Summer Fun

    An old video, copied from an old film, shows me attempting to roller skate with the Sterino kids. I remember laughter, and perhaps some encouraging words from Debbie. She, with her long, thick brown hair and contagious smile, had taken me on as another kid brother. And I remember the feel of the driveway on…

  • Racehorse Dreams: my latest .@ImageCurve #haibun

    “It was one of his many ‘get rich quick’ schemes,” Mom says. She and Dad bought a racehorse with some thoroughbred blood in it. They hired a trainer and jockey, and rented stables. They planned to train the horse as a pacer for the trot car races: popular at Yonkers Raceway, Monticello and the like.…

  • First reading in Twenty Years: A #TBT #Haibun featuring my latest from .@ImageCurve

    Suffern Poetry hosts an Open Mic in the community room, on the top floor of Suffern’s Village Hall. Rows of chairs, separated by one aisle, lead to the “stage”—an open space at the front of the room, facing the audience. A counter separates the main room from a small kitchenette. Florescent lights in a soft…

  • Our first conversation, Lynn

    It’s Friday, July 18th. We start to say grace when my phone rings. Without looking, I know it’s you. My dish of penne remains in the microwave as I see your name on the incoming call. You ask about the weather, my writing, and work. I answer what I can. And savor the soft, resigned…

  • Big Wheel Stunts

    The rumbling of my Big Wheels on the blacktop. The pulled handle break, the spin out, and the way I face the way I’ve come. How fast could I ride down the hill of the driveway from the top? a blue jayperched on a Chinese maple …another skid stop Photo by felipe lopez first published in…

  • A Forgotten Sentry

    Deep emerald maple leaves blossom on my neighbor’s tree. The trunk—in shadow—looks almost black. It casts little shade over the aging, clubhouse-swing set that my neighbor worked so hard to erect. The one no one has played on in so long. empty backyardleaves flutter in a passingsummer breeze Photo by Yonan Farah first published in Image…

  • Bronx Zoo Visit, 7/16/14

    moving dinosaursthe animatronics thatbring battles to lifehis smile when T-Rexdowns triceratops The tiger lies on his side, eyes closed. Another one—the next enclosure over—at least lifts his head. As indifferently as the gorillas at the Congo Rain Forest: eating, gazing empty-eyed toward us, scratching buttocks before climbing trees. safari riddlefar too many deerfor Wild AsiaShe’s…