2022, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, spring, untitled series 3 (2022)

untitled series 3 (Spring 2022), number 12

this Ohio Valley air makes lungs sticky
the way meat rots in the heat

one must be deliberate now, not think
each cough expels some important chunk but

an unnecessary left over bit not included
in the illustrated instructions

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everyday words, fiction, microfiction, Ohio River Valley Literature, plague years

of signs n rumors of signs

Outside of Murfreesboro at a truck stop. I paid cash for an Apple Danish and an ill-advised ham and turkey sandwich. The woman at the checkout was complaining about the lack of spare change. I told her about the quarter shortage and how no one is spending it, and how a lot of businesses moved to cashless payments. She shook her head and said “Lord yes. It’s true. That’s in the Bible.” She told me to be careful as I left. She was very earnest.

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