Mama loves me and I know that with all my heart. I also know she loves men better, especially big, hairy ones who bring her candy-colored pills.  I don’t mind their sleeves of ink or foul mouths because our TV doesn’t work and the sounds emanating from the bedroom to pay for those gifts are my only […]

“Yes!” Amy squeals as I slip on the ring. “I love you.” She hugs me. I appreciate it, having agonized over where to pop the question. Fairbanks Park, overlooking the river. A perfect place for picnics, community activities. For private conversations. “I love you, too.” I nestle my nose in her neck, draw in the […]

It’s not his thumping tail or his soft brown eyes looking up at me that kills me. The discarded collar slices my heart like a blade through soft butter. Most weeks, I’m okay. But today, I’m unsure if grief is worth the price of love. Broken Hearts Gallery Literary is a new venture created by […]

Early morning sunlight filters through the kitchen window. Darlene turns from the counter and her eyes lock on my plate. Alone together, I feel her heat.“You’re kidding, right?” she says, holding a plump red apple.There is a deafening silence. Even the birds outside hold their song. I shift in the chair, wait. It won’t be […]

Originally Published by Punk Noir Press on February 1, 2025. Punk Noir Magazine put out a call for flash submissions themed Valentine Crimes of Passion, written in less than 100 words. It was a challenge! Grateful ‘Ice Child’ was accepted. It was only a box of chocolate. But I knew my dream girl deserved it. Problem was my paper-route paid $4 a week, […]

Another day, the red sun risescrimson beams cut through the gloom, it’s hard to breath whendust blows in my eyes, lost particlesbut to sweeten the morningI escape to the old worldlong gone, somewhere out of reach. I claw back to the aroma of cinnamon buns—warm and stickytoilet paper, the garden in bloom, birdsong.Hoofing it across […]