F l a s h
My sister’s dating a guy who might name his new dog “Bong Water,” and I’m trying to be supportive.
“Everywhere, Tony Danza.” Hobart After Dark (June 9, 2022)
Why do I see all these Tonys? An unwatched VHS-tape burned a wormhole that’s shooting them through the space-time continuum.
Back home bananas were 49 cents a pound, not 69 cents, and that was enough to make him hate this place.
“This Light of Mine.” pithead Chapel 11.7 (JUly 2022)
Early 90s summers at my friend’s grandparents’ house.
Alone at home after school, David drops a treat the size and shape of a pencil eraser on the shaggy rug, then calls his best friend, Bear.
“Words You Taught Me.” The Maine Review 8.2 (May 2022)
Rubes: People who disgusted you.
After hours of delays, the plane lifts into clouds, softness like trailing fingers or the whisper of static.
“Elbow Magic.” Atticus Review (April 15, 2021)
Everything hurts so goddamned much, and now you’ve got unsmooth elbows.
“Something That’s Nothing.” The Adroit Journal 31
The thing about the Heaven’s Gate cult you half-hear trying to do your homework in the hotel double bed next to your parents watching CNN from the other double bed, and a bunch of people died on purpose wearing Nikes.
“How I Liked the Avocados.” SmokeLong Quarterly 28 (Summer 2010)
I thought security would take your avocados (my avocados) if I didn’t hide them deep in the suitcase.
“What We Deserve.” Lost Balloon (February 2019)
We wanted it coated with ice, a slick shell perfect for sledding and canceling school.
“Lenticular Image.” Bending Genres 8 (April 2019)
Fear is a yolk sac in the gut. Focus on the screen inside it.
“When a Child Dies (Bear it Away).” Copper Nickel 24 (2017): 76
“MY CNN FRIENDS.” Cotton Xenomorph. (JUNE 2023)
“My CNN friends talk to me from the TV.”
“Dog Teeth.” Peatsmoke Journal (Spring 2022)
The vet took your gray dog’s teeth.
“Things I've Overheard My Roommate Say to Her On-Again/Off-Again Boyfriend or Works by Joyce Carol Oates?” McSweeney's Internet Tendency (September 2010)
1. Where are you going? Where have you been?
“Girl in the Snow." Fractured Lit (November 2021)
She was glad to be cold.
“Deliver Me.” trampset (May 2022)
III. I offer you sacrifices and prayers, but you believe I’m going to Hell.
“How You’ll GO.” Hex Literary (March 15, 2022)
Human, be honest—you’ve mistaken us for the living.
“A Tether, a Cord.” Denver Quarterly 53.4 (2019): 48-49
Before I explain it, I want you to understand: I thought if I let myself love I’d be pared clean.
“Still Breathing.” Worcester Review 40.1&2 (2019): 62-63
Marla is pulling the dog sweater over her infant son’s head
“Story of a Room.” Quarterly West 86 (Fall 2015)
In this landlocked place we find a pale yellow room.
“Jane.” Copper Nickel 16 (2011): 7
Jane moves like a slug, a fistful of mucus, or Jabba the Hutt.
“Len’s Twine.” Tahoma Literary Review 12 (Summer 2018)
My brother, Len, had found six types of twine in Ocean City. He called it a good trip.
“Record from a Farmhouse” & “Engoy! the Candy.” Cossack Review 7 (2017): 35-36, 37
We’re thirsty, and Warren won’t stop making snowflakes.
“Pin: A Fairy Tale.” Matchbook Review (March 2012)
The clothes bunched and bagged and made the models, long slips of ladies with volleyballs bandaged against their abdomens, appear paunchy.
“We Used to Play at KMART.” The MacGuffin 30.2 (2014): 66
We broke the shoes apart.
“So You Survived the Apocalypse.” Driftless Review (Winter 2016)
We’re happy for you.
“The Curl.” Fourteen Hills 25 (2019): 11-12
The last night Mom was conscious, she told us three about the squash.
“Suffocate.” Moon City Review 6 (2018)
Grandpa poured the oil with shaking hands. And smiling. For every problem a solution.
“The Mistakes of Summer.” Hobart (April 2011)
Purchasing Swarovski-crystal-accented team logo tee from the Alyssa Milano MLB collection
“Our Daughter.” New Flash Fiction Review 8 (Summer 2016)
Our daughter spits on her candles, dives into an ice cream cake with both fists.