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.”

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.

First Boyfriend

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

rotarty phone
My Wife’s Phone

Sex is not a thank you card in this house.

Smile.

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

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.

Ruminations

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

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.

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.

In Rare Cases…

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

Wilderness

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

Teeth and Boyfriends

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

Forest Walk on a Friday

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

Familiar Territory

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

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.

Post Pregnancy Examination (Shortened Form)

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

forest fire
When The Ten Thousand Ton Trilobite Attacked

We said, Heck, that’s really something.

graffiti on cement
Slabs

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

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.