FLASH

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

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

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.

graffiti on cement
Slabs

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

Swoon

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

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…

Teeth and Boyfriends

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

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.

Greetings From Baja California!

Sitting at the bar on Pacific Avenue. With the seashells in the walls. Same bartender from last year, still here, making the same lethal Mai Tais.

First Boyfriend

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

forest fire
When The Ten Thousand Ton Trilobite Attacked

We said, Heck, that’s really something.

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.

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.

Forest Walk on a Friday

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

Sisters of the Divine Apparatus

The day does not conclude with the gentle exhale of the earth, but with Mother Superior flipping the hourglass over, again.

Post Pregnancy Examination (Shortened Form)

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

Familiar Territory

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

In Rare Cases…

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

Here in East Greenwich

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

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.