FLASH

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

I run with a pack of older boys from our neighborhood, the only girl.

graffiti on cement
Slabs

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

photo of windshield
Mother and Her Remains

Mama sped along the highway, unbothered by bits of gravel that flew up from the front tires and struck the windshield of the sedan.

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.

Rose By Any Other Name

Kate Winslet always reminded me of my mom. Maybe that’s why, even to this day, I get defensive of Rose from Titanic when people call her stupid or shallow…

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.

In Rare Cases…

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

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.

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.

Familiar Territory

Could someone hating you really cause a physical unease? Sure, why not.

Wilderness

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

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.

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.

Teeth and Boyfriends

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

rotarty phone
My Wife’s Phone

Sex is not a thank you card in this house.

Theoretical Debate

On the first day of our new life together, my husband realized that I was not interested in theoretical debate. He said it was okay by him and went out to get some pancake mix.

Swoon

Jenna says that he typically goes for redheads, so I run to Target and buy a box of hair dye.

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.

Little Cow

A man with a fistful of showbags said, “That cow sounds like a person trying to sound like a cow.”