Acolyte
They expect a sermon – acolyte and flock alike. Last Sunday, the good priest said churches, crosses and burning incense are not the point. Everyone smiled but didn’t blink. Today, he takes off his robes, and leaves them on the altar. Naked, he walks away.
Jun 19, 2021
Sword
We made the spear.
And the sword.
Worst of all, the button.
And all that time,
We had the pen.
The quill.
The chisel.
Mightier? Or just as stubborn?
Jun 18, 2021
Personal Prison
Our destination is millennia away. We’re brains in bottles. To keep us sane, not stuck in a personal prison, we dream. Some choose beauty, or a poignant memory. Not I. Darkness only until a fresh body is mine.
Jun 18, 2021
Ride
She puts the anti-gravity belt around my waist. Last year, a guy went down when he was supposed to go up. I heard it wasn’t pretty. I don’t mention it. “All set?” she asks. I take a deep breath. “Get ready for the ride of your life!”
Jun 17, 2021
Tuesday
Pals and buddies
Something-teen
Chevy with gas
Miles from nowhere
Radio loud
Tuesday’s Gone
Jun 16, 2021
Lazy
“Spanner on the bolt!” Skipper orders.
If the kid fails, the people in the pods are dead.
Kid says, “Trying, sir.”
On screen, he holds on with one hand – tool in the other.
“Don’t be lazy!” Skipper yells.
The bolt comes free.
So does the kid.
He’s falling toward the planet.
Jun 15, 2021
Shell in a Field
We built our new life
Had our dance under the rainbow
And when the last obituary was read
A superb calm fell over the land.
The possibility of peace was real.
And then one morning,
The children found an unexploded shell in a field.
Jun 14, 2021
Chaste
The girl gives her paw that chaste look. “Why can’t I have a boyfriend?”
He sips his moonshine. “You can. We’re having him for dinner.”
Maw comes in with a great big plate of meat.
“Not again!” the girl shouts.
Jun 13, 2021
Tenuous Return
Donell is the oldest of us – the only one who knew the world before the great fires. Yesterday, he went to the dead city alone. He made his tenuous return to our people that night, but he is not himself. He shakes and cries, and the only word he will say is ‘demons.’
Jun 12, 2021
Eros
Ladies and gents of the night unite! Owner of Robot Palace on 3rd and Venture Av says humans need not apply. Protest starts at 8pm. Bring signs: NO HEART, NO TART or EROS NOT ROBOS. Don’t let machines take over our industry. This is our street corner!
Jun 11, 2021
