Chocolate Pudding
Small Wonders (November 2023)
“No more questions. Look. Birds flying, like floating but different. A ship on the sea, like our ship but different. You’ll understand when you see it, he said, his old eyes watering. Understand when you feel it.”
Lamping
Grain Magazine (Volume 51.1, Fall 2023)
“At about the time everyone in the room forgot he was there, David turned into a lamp on the table. This had certain advantages. He no longer had to worry about what to do with his hands, or how to sit without his lower back getting stiff. His ceramic, urn-shaped body rested comfortably on the table, his shade a veil for his thoughts, now free to roam completely unhindered.”
#minism
Grain, Spring 2022
“At a traffic light, a little girl riding her bike to school stopped and met my gaze. When Zoe was small, I taught her to ride a bike, to wear a helmet, to stop on red and go go go! on green. I thought I had it figured out, this fatherhood gig. I taught her the rules, and she was happy to learn. No more. A bus stopped between me and the girl, and by the time it moved on, the girl was gone.”
Little Woman
Upstreet, Number 17
“Muscle on muscle, shoulder in armpit, sweaty arm against glossy cheek. I fake left, go right, release. His body, launched by instinct in the air, knocks mine to the ground as the ball falls silent through the netless hoop. Foul. I wave off his sorry hand.”
The Big S
Metaphorosis, April 2021, Best of 2021
“What was so big about it? My conversation with Tim had left me with an impression of something internalized but forgotten, like a dream whose details disintegrate in the morning light but whose pithy emotional core lingers through breakfast. It was enticing and frightening, and it smelled like… onions?”
The Rock in Your Shoe
Instrinsick, October 2020
“You discovered that while you can kinda-sorta reason with a bipolar, alcoholic drummer, there is no amount of logic capable of penetrating the thick fog of babyhood, and like the dungeonmaster in the KMS song, Pain Banquet, Naomi knew just where to jam the bamboo spikes.”
A Night Out
Space and Time, Summer 2020
“So I’m waiting by the door now, walking in a tight circle. If someone saw me they’d think I’m insane. Why not read a book, watch a movie, play the piano, draw a picture? I like doing those things, but not right now. I’m bored!”
Suzy’s Friend
Metaphorosis, May 2018
“Dear Dr. Hanover,
I am writing on behalf of the Octopus bimaculoides in your office aquarium whom you call Suzy. The water is too warm. Please reduce the temperature to 18℃. She would greatly appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Suzy’s Friend”
Making the List
Metaphorosis, October 2017, Best of 2017
“I went to the bathroom and looked at my reflection. Protruding brow. Large nose. I took off my clothes and stepped back. I have always been husky and strong. I played football in high school, not because I liked the game, but because if you gave me the ball, I could run all the way to the end zone, littler kids dangling from my body like remoras on a shark.”
David Hammond 