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The Table Review

Fiction The Expatriates
by Gracie Schufreider

Pont Neuf, Paris (1872) by Auguste Renoir

Moira had thought about it, of course. She had never left the country before, had only been west of the Mississippi once for a cousin’s wedding in Denver. Traveling was one of the first things that it had occurred to her to do. But she’d needed, she realized, Kayleigh’s permission, assurance that her daughter would be fine without her near. She decided she would take a month. October first to early November.

Poetry Bare
by Syd Brewster

The Kiss (Le Baiser) (c. 1898/1902) by Auguste Rodin

But my chest doesn’t look like that, and you know it
doesn’t feel right. Tits, boobs, twins. Wanted so bad to be
like the boys on the beach, the surfing kind, the skating
kind, shirtless and flat.

Non-Fiction
The Vigil
by Tanner Cipriano

The Burial (Begrabnis) (1916) by Walter Gramatté

You are all preparing to stand in front of thousands of strangers, people who will pray the Rosary for your family. Because one week ago, your dad was murdered in a home invasion. Also, because your mom and your twin brother are still in comas, in the intensive care unit several miles away. Your mother has started to open her eyes, but her jaw is wired shut. Your twin, Sal, hasn’t woken up yet, and the doctors can’t say if he ever will.

Poetry Bad Faith
by Kale Hensley

Lucretia (1664) by Rembrandt van Rijn

First, from treason, for even loss belongs
to men; their fealty (just call it love)
to other men but older, thoroughly; pining
for a root obsolete, used much like
rhubarb to free rot from teeth.

Non-Fiction Unshed Tears
by Huina Zheng

Maternal Caress (1890-1891) by Mary Cassatt

I had already discussed love and marriage with my daughter when she was in the first grade. I told her she could fall in love, live with a partner, and even have children out of wedlock—but she shouldn’t marry unless she was absolutely sure. The law doesn’t protect women, and divorce isn’t easy. I’ve seen too many women trapped in unhappy marriages. Many of my female friends feel the same way. No wonder marriage and birth rates are declining in China.

Poetry On Rembrandt’s Isaac and Rebecca
by Mara Adamitz Scrupe

Isaac and Rebecca, Known as ‘The Jewish Bride’ (c.1665-c.1669) by Rembrandt van Rijn

I might have mentioned something classical
about myths & magic. I might have talked
of famous warriors crossing the Rubicon
or goddesses or even saints. (& no one else in my real life
would have known what it meant.)

Fiction
The Dancer Nagels

by Ed Walsh

Club Night (1907) by George Bellows

Over the space of the next two years, Frankie Nagels had fifteen fights and won them all, eight on unanimous decisions, one split decision, and six stoppages. One thing we learned in that time, apart from the fact that I was very quick, was that I couldn't take a punch.

PoetryTwo Poems
by Sara Letourneau

Evocation of Roussel (c. 1912) by Odilon Redon

When Writing Poetry in the French Countryside
Missé, France

When writing poetry in the French countryside,
remember to go out for a walk if you’re visiting
in the middle of June. The sunflowers
at the neighboring farm won’t have bloomed yet,
though their stiff, bristly bodies will stand
as tall as you...

Fiction Let the Child
by G.W. Currier

The Swing (c. 1775/1780) by Jean Honoré Fragonard

In the evenings, I imagined some way of connecting with my girls on the weekends they stayed with me—games to play, meals to cook, something, anything—and sketched out a design for a swing set. They’d been growing quieter, more distant and said they didn’t like the way my place smelled—Like farts and old potato chips, Briar said—and complained there was nothing to do.