YOU TOO CAN HAVE IT ALL

Cereal up a nostril. Phone missing.
Fridge ringing. Shoe full of Legos.
by Erica Haldi

 

"SO WHO GETS THE GARAGE?"

Daily conversation between two
roommates who hate winter in Ohio.
by Nellie Calanni 

 

BREAKFAST IN MESA, AZ

Gray steak, eggs, & bourbon (neat),
blood sun staining the saguaros.
by Kate Garklavs

 

THE EX-WEIGHTLIFTER

The medal won the night he retired
glints as bright as his wheelchair.
by YZ Chin

 

AMINO ACID FAMILY AFFAIR

All 20 for protein function
Mutate for disease and despair.
by Ricky Cox

 

FOOTLESS BARBIES

They fear the family dog and wear
long skirts to hide their shame.
by Katie MacNichol

 

MAMA HOPES HE’LL BE DARK

“Hate to be seen with a white child
and folks assume I’m the nanny.”
by Tyler Beckett

 

VELELLA, VELELLA

They sail to the end of the world;
beached, they cannot leave land.
by C.E. Hyun

 

THE SLEEP STUDY

Ty went to sleep and never woke up.
A huge success, researchers claim.
by Ben Russell

 

I FIX BOYS

then send them off.
It's my gift as a feminist.
by pdot

 

IN PARIS, IN THE DARKNESS

A man lifted a large white blanket
and covered another man in the cold
by Clara Seo

 

WE WERE SO CAREFUL

about leaving the past untouched,
yet here on TV: President Van Halen
by Mike Nees

 

CONFIRMED BACHELOR

I’d hit that.
I’d hit that.
by Maureen Miller

 

MONGOLIAN DEATH WORM!

Moonlight, silent yurts. Below the
old Gobi sands, something stirs.
by Kit Hansen

 

A TELEGRAM FROM MOTHER

IN LONDON -STOP- SAW FATHER -STOP-
SO WHO DID WE BURY -STOP-
by Andrew Straaberg Finfrock

 

Erica Haldi lives in Germany with her husband and daughters. Her work has appeared in Imminent Quarterly; Children, Churches, and Daddies; and elsewhere.

 

Nellie Calanni lives in Cleveland as a Social Media Strategist and, make no “mistake” about it, will die by Cleveland (hopefully with some published pieces under her belt).

 

Kate Garklavs lives and writes in Portland, OR. Her work has appeared in matchbook, Juked, Ohio Edit, and elsewhere. Find her on Twitter as @ueberkatester.

 

YZ Chin wrote "deter," published by dancing girl press. By day she works as a software engineer, and by night, she writes.

 

Ricky Cox is a Professor of Chemistry at Murray State University. He loves all things biochemistry and teaching students the molecular basis of life.

 

Katie MacNichol is an actress and writer. She grew up in Maine and now spends her time in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin.

 

Tyler Beckett is a Georgia boy trying to unpack what all that means. He has work at Guernica and upcoming fiction at Dogzplot.

 

C.E. Hyun’s fiction has appeared in Joyland, Failbetter, New South, The Good Men Project, and elsewhere. She currently lives in San Diego.

 

Ben Russell is a student and occasional writer. He splits his time between teaching and studying economics in Oklahoma.

 

pdot is a hunter of things; if it exists, she will find it. Fueled by cortados, cocktails, and kicks. Co-conspirator behind districtlocal.com.

 

Clara Seo lives in New York City, which she loves as if it were a person. Finding beauty in the mundane brings her peace.

 

Mike Nees is a writer and HIV case manager living in Atlantic City. He hosts Atlantic City's Story Slam series with the Sex Brigade Literary Collective.

 

Maureen Miller, MD MPH, is a pathologist in New York. doctorwritermaureenmiller.tumblr.com

 

Kit Hansen writes in Thailand. He's currently working on his first book, Jesus Boys.

 

Andrew Straaberg Finfrock works for a cooking magazine in Boston and writes fiction in his spare time. His only fear is fear itself. And mustard.