Joanna M. Weston, 12/26/11

Photo by Kierstin Bridger

 

Curtain Call  by M.C. Harris

He showers and hangs the towels in the wrong configuration.  She deals with the damp spot, grown cold, with the flaccid sadness of surrendered condoms.

 

M.C. Harris waits for the approaching supernova, and writes.

 

 

Two pieces by Joanna M. Weston

 

Starry Pink

Starry pink she went. Up for grabs under the tent.
Pushed out, shoved into country beyond trees or sky.
Just there, with him. That kiss.

Cherries In The Snow

Bright scarlet, carmine, maroon drops. Leading down the
path to the lake’s edge. Grey water and sand. No body.
Just feathers, yellow claws. Snarling cat.

 

Joanna M. Weston has two cats, multiple spiders, a
herd of deer, and one dead mouse. Her middle-reader,
‘Those Blue Shoes’, published by Clarity House Press;
and poetry, ‘A Summer Father’, published by Frontenac
House of Calgary.    http://1960willowtree.wordpress.com/

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Victoria Large, 12/19/11

Photo by Kierstin Bridger.

 

Two pieces by Victoria Large

 Meteor

She thought rock stars were more like doomed astronauts than real stars:  blasting off, soaring until someone grabbed the escape hatch, and then hitting Earth.

Hot Lava Love

It was all tacky and sweet.  He bought her a convenience store rose and a six-pack of hard lemonade.  Alone in the garage, they kissed.

Victoria Large is a Massachusetts native who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. Her short fiction has appeared in such publications as Blink Ink, Cafe Irreal, Umbrella Factory Magazine, and Wordriver, and she has a story forthcoming in matchbook.

Angel Zapata, 12/12/11

Photo by Kierstin Bridger

Three pieces by Angel Zapata

Emerald City

In her dreams, the road’s yellow, not black. She’s sober; hasn’t killed anyone with her car. Afterward, the curtain draws back. That’s life in prison.

Cherries in the Snow

Blood stains the toilet seat. “We’re not pregnant?” I ask, softly. She falls to her knees, wails. Outside, a snowflake melts on a child’s tongue.

Don’t Feed the Hand Models

Fingers flex shadow, become elephant trunk. “Make a dog,” the boy requests. Momma shifts digits—ears, muzzle. Flashlight off, wall animals disappear. “Again,” he says.

 

Angel Zapata was born in NYC, but now lives near Augusta, Georgia. Some of his fiction and poetry has appeared in The Boston Literary Review, Long Live the New Flesh, The Best of Every Day Poets, and The Flash Fiction Offensive. He is author of the Trestle Press short story horror series, The Man of Shadows. He also edits 5×5 Fiction: 25-word stories told in 5 sentences of 5 words each. Visit http://arageofangel.blogspot.com and http://5x5Fiction.blogspot.com

Kierstin Bridger, 12/5/11

Photo by Kierstin Bridger

 

Tyin’ The Knot by Kierstin Bridger

Blinded by love, sure.  She felt the rope’s grip slacken,
heard the hardwood crack.
They both fell even harder when their
tree swing gave way.

 

Kierstin Bridger lives a renaissance life in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, designing, writing, reading and planning the next great adventure.  Her published works include Condomnation in the 2011 issue of the Porter Gulch Review, the one act play  in The University of Washington’s literary publication Bricolage.  Her short story Girl’s Room, was printed in UW Women’s Voices.  Her flash fiction piece will appear Spring 2012 in Stripped: A Collection of Anonymous Flash Fiction from PS Books.   She is the 2011 winner of the Mark Fischer Poetry Prize.