FLASH

Small but mighty, these short, incisive pieces cut to the core in a just a few words.
Junk

It was spring and the hills were irradient, like they had to get out all their green in one short burst before catching fire.

Damn Good Listener

I know you shouldn’t keep wild animals as pets, but I’ve had the same spider in my bathroom sink for over two weeks.

In Rare Cases…

You’re joking, I say, interrupting the steady bumping of the doctor’s bushy white mustache.

Athena, the Octopus, Solves a Puzzle

The new octopus at the children’s aquarium was named Athena, and as we waited for her to emerge, I thought of the almost-too-faint second line on the pregnancy test three days before.

dead roses
The Cycle

It all started with the curse of my tits. Women’s bodies are cursed. Everyone tries to look at them, everyone tries to ignore them.

artwork with Venus
Light Pencils

The weeks go like this: accepting, horny, hopeful, sad. I’m four different people trying to establish one perspective on a major life event – on the creation of life itself.

Alan Rickman and the Mermaids of the Conch Republic

Sound engineers believe Alan Rickman possessed the perfect male voice. Early acting teachers told him he sounded like he was speaking from the back of a drainpipe.

The Rift

None speak of how the streets collide in coarse seams like scars, the fresh cobbles unable to level with the ones shaken from their mortar by uncountable seasons.

Teeth and Boyfriends

With great reluctance, I agree to meet a cousin for an outside lunch…

view of earth from space
The Scattering

Allanson looked out of the viewport, at the ragtag flotilla of ships trailing behind, some of them slow to catch up. It was to be expected with the little time that they’d had to cobble the fleet together.

The Bird That Carried One Hundred Messages To America

At the end of the meeting, the villagers agreed to contribute shillings and pounds to sponsor Elochi to a university in America.

Here in East Greenwich

He used to hold my hand on Commonwealth. I wonder sometimes if he ever still thinks about my mouth.

graffiti on cement
Slabs

We drifted junk with a sledgehammer looking for juice. Sometimes the rage.

Wilderness

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

Post Pregnancy Examination (Shortened Form)

Infant’s Name: A
Delivery Date: August 1, 2002

Cost of Care

I reached for my invoice, which Dr. George, holding it between thumb and forefinger as if it were a soiled diaper, dropped into my hand.

Smile.

At twenty, the world is yours because you’re beautiful. But never acknowledge your beauty, or it makes you a bitch.

The Sweetness

I’m dancing with my best friend’s husband, under the influence of his jaws and thighs.

forest fire
When The Ten Thousand Ton Trilobite Attacked

We said, Heck, that’s really something.

Laika Came Home

When Laika the space dog comes back, bulleted to earth in a tiny white escape pod that dissolves upon opening, nobody can believe it.