FLASH

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

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.

Post Pregnancy Examination (Shortened Form)

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

Teeth and Boyfriends

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

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.

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.

First Boyfriend

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

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.

Smile.

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

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.

Ruminations

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

Wilderness

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

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.

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.

forest fire
When The Ten Thousand Ton Trilobite Attacked

We said, Heck, that’s really something.

Dead History

Another image rises to us both: A man hunched before a TV, watching historical documentaries, correcting incorrect facts. Rasputin was not a priest, damn it.

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.

rotarty phone
My Wife’s Phone

Sex is not a thank you card in this house.