Issue #32: Animal Life
Youth in Asia (a mondegreen) by L. Acadia

“You can’t have a dog while you still suck your thumb,” Ma debated, after the last brand of chili-flavored nail polish failed to break Amy’s habit but trained her to forever love spicy food.

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Rosetta Post-its by Guy Biederman

Los Gatos Tienen Hambre, says the post-it on the fridge. Since when did the cats learn Spanish, since when did they learn to write? The same could be asked of you, says another post-it.

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Nymph of Appalachia by Laura Grant

“The nymph is a lie you tell the fish. The better you tie the lie, with feather and thread and hook, the quicker the bite.” Alma Reed, Nymph Fishing Skills

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Portals by Brandon Haffner

Cat sits at the kitchen table eating all the cookies. Her father is here, too, scrolling his phone. He’s running for mayor, and he’s losing. Even she knows that.

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Carry On by Lucinda Kempe

Once there was a man who loved his donkey, but his donkey didn’t love him back. The donkey loved an eggshell, but the eggshell didn’t love it back.

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Jailbird by Jay Kenny

In high school, Jailbird keeps a cut-throat under his wing, tucked in with the leaves and twigs for the nest in his room.

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Poi Dog by Georgie Morvis

He’s never walked this street before. Normally he turns right at the sign of the banana trees but today he blazes right by them, walking downhill, leaning like a weatherman in a hurricane.

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The Bronze Medal by Vincent James Perrone

She wants to meet the pig—snout down, paraded through the town square of sodden earth and
stump dimples, now trailed by serpentine line of freshly showered farmer with tomato noses and
breath prematurely soured from all that auctioneer talk.

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Attachment Theory by Sidney Tilghman

In a basement hallway, in graduate school, a classmate lectures me on attachment theory. Based on his prior experience as a sex therapist, he’d guess only 5% of Americans display healthy attachment relationships

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Rosetta Post-its by Guy Biederman

Los Gatos Tienen Hambre, says the post-it on the fridge. Since when did the cats learn Spanish, since when did they learn to write? The same could be asked of you, says another post-it.

The Bronze Medal by Vincent James Perrone

She wants to meet the pig—snout down, paraded through the town square of sodden earth and
stump dimples, now trailed by serpentine line of freshly showered farmer with tomato noses and
breath prematurely soured from all that auctioneer talk.

Pet Shop Boys by Tim Craig

Dayne’s on-off-off-on stepdad, Kel, says stay away from that new pet shop.

Prudence by Christy Stillwell

They put the shock collar on the boy and that was it for the nanny. First they put the collar on one another. They were professors in English and Philosophy, all of them smart people.

After by Claudia Monpere

and after and after and nothing changes, just the names of the children. This one drew birds wearing hats. That one had an orange juice popsicle for an imaginary friend.