Beneath the Antarctic ice sheet was the Vostokian Empire. The Vostoki were a race of penguin-like men whose bodies could withstand extreme cold that would kill other men. Most of humanity was blissfully unaware of their existence. But traces of them could be found from time to time, most recently the 1940s.
Explorer Ivan Rostov of the Russian Federation made it his mission to unearth these mysterious penguin-men.
However, Rostov was found dead. Draped over his body was a flag bearing the swastika; next to the body: a photo of penguins with their right hands raised in a 45-degree angle.
He first swooped in to perch upon my balcony railing in early spring. Blue black feathers with a fearsome beak. The way he tilted his head and stared at me with those bottomless black eyes was familiar and it took a moment but I soon realized was Mother, it was her same inscrutable gaze, the same probing disappointment. Soon she began reminding me of all the ways I don’t measure up. But even so she says she loves me, she wants me to thrive, to leave the nest and fly. Now I sit waiting for her to return.
The bombshell blonde in the revealing sundress shot him a flirty smile, and Office Guy knew he'd made a mistake going to the pool hall on his lunch break. The bombshell's boyfriend, with his guido haircut and garish tribal shirt, caught the exchange and his face twisted in insecure rage.
"You after my girl, bro?"
"Hey man, she smiled at me."
"My girl would never go for a wuss like you. I'm gonna beat your ass for this."
The boyfriend made a fist, ready to swing, but Office Guy already had a pool stick and broke it over his head.
The switch happened quite suddenly. One moment they were arguing. Each other to blame. Then BLAM. Quicker than snapping fingers and it was done.
He was no longer himself and she was no longer herself. They were each other and neither at once.
It lasted far longer than they hoped considering they never asked to be switched. And eventually they had to get used to being an other forever.
It wasn’t until their new reality set in that they realized their argument, however petty the topic, could never be solved. In short, they forgot.
They learned their lesson too late.
"The Vostokian Empire"
Beneath the Antarctic ice sheet was the Vostokian Empire. The Vostoki were a race of penguin-like men whose bodies could withstand extreme cold that would kill other men. Most of humanity was blissfully unaware of their existence. But traces of them could be found from time to time, most recently the 1940s.
Explorer Ivan Rostov of the Russian Federation made it his mission to unearth these mysterious penguin-men.
However, Rostov was found dead. Draped over his body was a flag bearing the swastika; next to the body: a photo of penguins with their right hands raised in a 45-degree angle.
The Crow
He first swooped in to perch upon my balcony railing in early spring. Blue black feathers with a fearsome beak. The way he tilted his head and stared at me with those bottomless black eyes was familiar and it took a moment but I soon realized was Mother, it was her same inscrutable gaze, the same probing disappointment. Soon she began reminding me of all the ways I don’t measure up. But even so she says she loves me, she wants me to thrive, to leave the nest and fly. Now I sit waiting for her to return.
'Casual Fridays'
The bombshell blonde in the revealing sundress shot him a flirty smile, and Office Guy knew he'd made a mistake going to the pool hall on his lunch break. The bombshell's boyfriend, with his guido haircut and garish tribal shirt, caught the exchange and his face twisted in insecure rage.
"You after my girl, bro?"
"Hey man, she smiled at me."
"My girl would never go for a wuss like you. I'm gonna beat your ass for this."
The boyfriend made a fist, ready to swing, but Office Guy already had a pool stick and broke it over his head.
“Hello, City Insurance?”
“Yeah, I need to report a claim about my car. It’s totaled.”
“What happened? The Red Brick, that’s what happened. Fighting with the Subatomic Scrapper again. Fate of the world, everyone’s in danger, the usual.”
“I don’t know. Science lab says it’s in another dimension or something. Who knows.”
“No, I don’t have his information. Just said something about “secret identity” and kaboomed off.”
“Yeah, I know. So anyway, I get compensated, right?”
“What do you mean, act of cape clause?”
“I gotta file a form with who now?”
“I’m never getting paid for this, am I?”
I have a window
Beyond which is a field
Green and lovely with people.
This field where I no longer am.
Yet I see their voices
Full of everything
That was in this same field
When I played there.
I hear them
With my eyes
I listen to their lives
Hear their tales
Seen soundless
In the movement of lips
As they kiss the air.
I would take a stone,
Break the glass
And enter.
If I did not know
That I would be deeply cut
By sharp edges
Ripped in pieces
For going where I should
No longer go.