FLASH

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

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

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.

Ruminations

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

forest fire
When The Ten Thousand Ton Trilobite Attacked

We said, Heck, that’s really something.

The Sweetness

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

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.

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.

Athena, the Octopus, Solves a Puzzle

The new octopus at the children’s aquarium was named Athena, and as we waited for her to emerge, I thought of the almost-too-faint second line on the pregnancy test three days before.

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.

Little Cow

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

Forest Walk on a Friday

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

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…

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.

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.

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.

In Rare Cases…

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

Familiar Territory

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

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.