Microstories: The Chemo General Store

IVs dripping
a staccato beat, 
my husband's restless foot,
Rustling paper movements,
Distant phones ringing,
muted chatter.
Nothing distracts
the other patients, and we listen
to Their Great Histories:

the Dallas Cowboys,
Union Pacific,
the Piney Woods.

The old days are calling.

Microstories: Temper Tantrum

Tiny
orange tendrils
unfurl from
my wronged belly,
coiling
spirals
that undulate
below
the surface
of my pale skin.
It doesn't ever
matter that
my own flesh
is burned,
or that the
conflagration
turns everything
to ashes. 
I become incandescent
with rage.

Microfiction: Deja Vu

I want to bellow,

scream,

spew my rage like vomit--

but I swallow it all,

repeat myself,

Damn it.

Because

You have asked me that same question
yesterday,
last week,
the week before that,

for every
single
scan,
exam,
test, and
biopsy. 

Microfiction: Mama Said

Mama said

That man a rascal, but
I told that girl plain:

Stay away.

That man
He's mine.

She don't listen.

Now
I sit in the dark

The porch swing,
Swaying,

I'm burning

Waiting for that man,

My knife
Slick with blood.

Microfiction: Hunger

In a time of plenty, she joyfully named each child for their birth day. She gorged on the blessings of their laughter. Now she waits, hollow-eyed and trembling, as her meth dealer weighs her daughter Thursday. He pays by the godforsaken pound.

Microfiction: Last Words

Her fingers a vise, the old woman pulled me close. 

She whispered anger and pain, her tale a violently crushed spirit with a harrowing confession.  With her last breath, my soul disintegrated.

I can no longer look my father in the eye.

Microfiction: Dead Man Walking

You're towering over me now, bloody knuckles still clenched. I must appear defeated; blackened eye, swollen lip, bruised heart. You believe I'm your plaything, knocked off an imaginary pedestal.

Your victim. 

Believe that.

I am not broken. You have to sleep sometime.

Grudge

I have chewed
the bones
of my grievances
until they calcified,
and still
the gristle
of my
wounded pride
remains lodged
in my throat,
blocking off escape.

Two simple words
from you
would have freed me.

Instead, the earth covered us both.

The Day The Snack Machine Broke

Cameron spotted George and Bill, shoving at each other as they raced down the stairs. He ran after them, followed by Cindy. Soon the entire building stood silently at the curb, money in hand, as the tinny music slowly rolled toward them.

In The Light Of Day

The carcass lies still now.

Blood has congealed on the asphalt;

Maggots grow hungry

Within the fetid wounds.

The muddy tire tracks

Still visible across the corpse

Are those cunning lies

You whispered

Last night, in the darkness.

I believed your kiss.

No Recalculations

My feet march,
Forever treading
Unknown paths.
They will only
Stop at the very end.
The days will pass
Whether I will it
Or not;
I can never go back
To begin again,
As much as I
Desperately wish
It were so.

Road Trip

John's legs hung limply out of the rear window. A lacy black bra adorned George's head. And our glorious mermaid shoulder tattoos gleamed painfully in the sunlight. We agreed it was the best road trip ever...thankful we remembered none of it.





I plead the fifth in regards to any resemblance to my own college misadventures.

I Didn't Try That Hard

Miriam sashayed confidently toward the podium. I tried a frantic pantomime.  Miriam's glamorous dress was jammed into the back of her underpants. As far as that overinflated ego was concerned, I was a ghost.

The video was a hit on YouTube.




Yeah, I don't know where that came from.

Anticipation

Vibration swoops
around the stadium,
a swirl of sound,
birds racing
through the heavy air
to roost in the rafters
while below us
on the green field,
the representatives,
our warrior past
fight our battles
by proxy
but the victory
still is sweet.

The Camera Lies

Smile pretty, chin up!
Never let anything seep into the cracks of the façade.
But I did.
You did.
A single word wormed its way underneath the foundation and what was left of me collapsed.

A single word laid me low:
Hello.

Confession

The sunlight reflected off the cold metal bars, illuminating the sleazy smile of his cellmate. The guy was just waiting, planning invasive entertainments once the lights went out. 

Matthew's loyalty to his boss melted away. Now he was willing to make a deal.

The First Cut

A perhaps unintended comment
A clean, deep slice, and
I cringe
As pain
Surges, rushing
From cell to cell
At the speed of an
Electrical pulse
To my heart
Before the first
Bright drop of blood
Begins to ooze
From the wound.

The Guardian of Dreams

A quiet leap up

and

an affectionate

cold nose

in my ear offer

a quick hello

in the dark.


The bed trembles

as she gathers

her gangly limbs,

circling,

searching for the

perfect spot

on the mattress

to curl up

and dream big.

Doubt

Eight legs,

Those sharp, itching pinpricks

scurry over my skin

so furtive,

secretive

yet predatory.

The comment seems benign,

virtuous,

but the powerful venom

begins

to replicate, those

cold, calculating tendrils

burrowing into my brain,

feeding, expanding

until all is darkness within.







Is something crawling on me?

The Funeral

Soft brown eyes stare

as one by one,

they arrive,

their enormous wings folding quietly.

Silence

surrounds the crisp morning air.

The tall grass a circle,

wildflowers wilting in sorrow.

The cortege has arrived.

Heads bowed, as if in mourning,

They feast.




42 words following this prompt:  Why do birds suddenly appear?  It just so happens that I passed an unfortunate deer this morning, and she was surrounded by turkey buzzards.  I was struck by the respectful pose of the birds, as if they were mourners at a funeral.