David Ebenbach
This Happened To Me
It was one of those days in March
where I just wore a light jacket because
I didn’t mind being a little cold and
optimistic, and then it turned out I
didn’t even need the jacket. Outside
people were at outdoor tables, metal
outdoor chairs, leaning into them like
into cushions. The forecasters
were predicting a half a foot overnight,
but during this day dogs were at the
distant ends of their leashes, dogs
everywhere. The lights changed
and people rambled into crosswalks.
We opened shop doors, windows.
We were just going to have to
close them up again later, but it was
fine. I’m telling you, this happened
to me. Other things, too, but let’s
start with this.
David Ebenbach is the author of the poetry collection We Were the People Who Moved (Tebot Bach, winner of the Patricia Bibby Prize) a non-fiction guide to the creative process, and three short story collections and a novel (winners of the Drue Heinz Prize, Juniper Prize, Orison Fiction Prize, and the Washington Writers’ Publishing House Fiction Prize). He has a PhD in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MFA in writing from Vermont College, and he teaches creative writing at Georgetown University. Find out more at www.davidebenbach.com.
Return to September 2016 Edition
It was one of those days in March
where I just wore a light jacket because
I didn’t mind being a little cold and
optimistic, and then it turned out I
didn’t even need the jacket. Outside
people were at outdoor tables, metal
outdoor chairs, leaning into them like
into cushions. The forecasters
were predicting a half a foot overnight,
but during this day dogs were at the
distant ends of their leashes, dogs
everywhere. The lights changed
and people rambled into crosswalks.
We opened shop doors, windows.
We were just going to have to
close them up again later, but it was
fine. I’m telling you, this happened
to me. Other things, too, but let’s
start with this.
David Ebenbach is the author of the poetry collection We Were the People Who Moved (Tebot Bach, winner of the Patricia Bibby Prize) a non-fiction guide to the creative process, and three short story collections and a novel (winners of the Drue Heinz Prize, Juniper Prize, Orison Fiction Prize, and the Washington Writers’ Publishing House Fiction Prize). He has a PhD in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MFA in writing from Vermont College, and he teaches creative writing at Georgetown University. Find out more at www.davidebenbach.com.
Return to September 2016 Edition