CLARA by Ann Pedone I open the door under the sign “EMPLOYEESONLY”I’m in Santa Clara bleedingfalling in love with everyone who walks byWhich felt something like history The air churning through the air ducts seems“UNDERSTANDABLE” but not in theslightest, breathable...
A Holy Union by Simi Monheit From Contest Judge Peter Mountford: “Simi Monheit’s A Holy Union was a fantastic piece of slow-burn erotica – placing the reader fully within the character’s experience that we lose connection with everything outside the...
Photosynthesis by Jason Hardung The automated voice on the other end says, “burlywood.” This is my color! My heart pounds like I won something. Then I remember who I called and my heart pounds even harder. A few weeks ago, I was let out on bond. The state assigned me...
Can We Be Difficult Together? by Anna McCarthy The first sign of weirdness among the nine- and ten-year-olds came when the adults were in a meeting. Thorndon Lofts is a cohousing community, so we have a lot of meetings. And because we’re a cohousing community for...
Bandrui by AJ Strosahl My daughter is born a black hole. After my long struggle, they put her on my chest, squalling mightily, and I look down at her and see nothing. Not nothing, really, but something like a photograph taken by a camera whose lens has been smeared...
