I will always remember that fat junkie sitting in my rocking chair, strumming away, an urgent blank-faced zombie chant: “Kill them all, kill them all / Everyone must suffer now / Everyone must pay.”… Continue Reading
I wasn’t planning to get a dog. At twenty-two and living thousands of miles from the Midwest where I grew up, I was still figuring out how I would even keep myself alive. But one day, I saw Cruso.… Continue Reading
Rockets flew over Beirut like fireworks. I stood at the party and watched the sky and listened to a young revolutionary. She was like the sun—bright, burning hard enough to warm whole galaxies. But the universe doesn’t do happy endings with stars.… Continue Reading
I wondered if the Sanrio combination Bluetooth speaker/nightlight I bought my friend would kill us all. I Googled will the Sanrio combination Bluetooth speaker/nightlight I bought my friend kill us all? Google said signs point to yes.… Continue Reading
My mind is counting the seconds before I leap. Cape Canaveral is gone and I’m wearing a Superman cape. I’m a child strapped in a chair, soon to be hurtling through space.… Continue Reading
Manager says I’m banned from open mic night till I agree to stop using a Glock as a drumstick. He says a gun in a club poses a safety risk. I say that’s the point. He says the music’s not even any good. I say it’s performance art.… Continue Reading
The difference between a Carla and a Karla is that a Karla is on a first-name basis with the clinic counter.… Continue Reading
“Hey now, little girl,” one of humans said. “Don’t go trying to get away.” A second human put its face near mine, its breath carrion sweet. “We’re only getting started.”… Continue Reading
Ma’s big blue book was holy like the Bible. But there would always be things no book, no matter how holy, could fix. Things like hellfire.… Continue Reading
She and Peewee were a meeting of vacant minds and serpent spines. I was there when Peewee skewered his testicles in junior high, breaking into the junkyard, so spawn seemed unlikely. Small mercies.… Continue Reading