Inheritance

Joshua Wann

The family farm had once grown cotton. The place is north of Interstate 20 and west of Texas state highway 277. The father couldn’t afford the upkeep of the crops and sold off the farming equipment and bought bourbon. His boy, Tyler, watched the last tractor get hauled off. His father’s bottle was at the boy’s eye level as the tow truck kicked dust and coughed exhaust. His father kept the land for hunting but left in the mornings, before Tyler was awake. With no tractor or knowledge of the game trails, Tyler made his own way. Now, the land housed Tyler’s trailer. Inside was grey smoke and crushed cold medicine. A new labor of sorts. Summers and sons grow hotter and more disappointing.


Joshua Wann lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his wife, son, and daughter. He teaches English and Creative Writing at Broken Arrow High School and has his MFA from Oklahoma City University’s Red Earth program. Pepper gardening, tree climbing, and campfire stories inform his writing.

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