Disobedience
The sky is oiled orange
gleaming along the metal
and matte of cement steps
Nicole Dying
A sudden car trip in the dark.
Your blue hands
curled in the coffin.
Coconut Bandits
Stealthy in bare feet
three bandits come.
Prize swivels high between
striped green leaves.
Jelly Belly Game
Mother portions them out
one-eighth of a cup
in six mounds, cupped
Hambre Town
The bus screeched to a halt in front of Hambre Town Hall. “End of the line, folks,” announced the driver, flinging open the entry door. Lucy uncoiled from her seat, groaned and stretched. Her back crackled and popped as she stood up, releasing the tension of 23 hours folded into four different bus seats. She shouldered her pack and trooped down the aisle, giving the driver a bleary nod before tripping down the steps.
Mask
The planet Antelos was lush, vibrant, and full of life. Its atmosphere was made of an earth-familiar mixture of gases, with one uniquely alien exception: halivium. Halivium was not toxic, not initially, and not for everyone. But in a certain percentage of the population containing a particular gene sequence, halivium could at some point in their lives become poisonous.