FLASH

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

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

Familiar Territory

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

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.

Forest Walk on a Friday

Every time I come to the forest, it’s different, but so am I.

Here in East Greenwich

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

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.

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.

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.

Wilderness

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

In Rare Cases…

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

rotarty phone
My Wife’s Phone

Sex is not a thank you card in this house.

forest fire
When The Ten Thousand Ton Trilobite Attacked

We said, Heck, that’s really something.

Ruminations

Through the dusty window in my parent’s bedroom, I watched the neighbor’s cattle graze.

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.

Smile.

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

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.

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 Sweetness

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

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.

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.