Why have you been forsaken here on the side of the road, cars whizzing by? Do they not see you? Do they not care? You are still holding together, no parts of your frosted exterior smeared against your container. Your shiny plastic crown still rests in its proper place, not a shift or a jostle... Continue Reading →

There were dollar signs everywhere. On sticky tags. In glossy brochures. As one who has always run far, far away from numbers and bathed myself in the serenity and flexibility of words, I did not know what to make of this world. Sure, I knew everything had a price tag. It wasn’t like I hadn’t... Continue Reading →

I have to talk about Amanda on a day I recognize each year as a milestone. I have to talk about Amanda because she was a divine soul, extinguished too soon. I have to talk about Amanda because I often wonder where she’d be if she had earned the survivor badge like I did. Amanda... Continue Reading →

He has a monster inside. It hungers for more, always for more. He strokes his hand across its scales to calm it, to soothe it, but it demands reconciliation.

A little voice startles me out of my thoughts: “How do you spell mosquito?” I peel my distant stare from my desk and put on my teacher mask, the one that reassures my students that the world is a calm and steady place, even when it isn’t. When I look into her face, I see... Continue Reading →