FLASH

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

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

Teeth and Boyfriends

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

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.

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.

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.

The Sweetness

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

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.

Ruminations

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

rotarty phone
My Wife’s Phone

Sex is not a thank you card in this house.

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.

Swoon

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

Wilderness

The land here is scarred and wrinkled.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.