Oil lamps flickered inside the Whale’s Teat filling it with dim, orange light. Black curls of smoke mixed with the peppery haze from pipes, cigars, and rolled cigarettes. A brown halo ringed the spittoons marking the patrons’ poor aim. A sour potpourri of sawdust, beer, and manure covered the floor. Every night dock workers filled … Read moreThe Belly of the Whale
“How’s his mood tonight?” the sword swallower asked, nervously fiddling with his knives and blades. “Does it matter? Do your act, get off the stage, and hope for the best,” the juggler said. “It beats digging potatoes in the snow.” “Do you think the Fool is doing okay?” the swallower asked. “I hear laughing, but … Read moreDost Thou Leg Break?
As cow thirty-seven lazily chewed its cud, Morris steadied himself against her flank. The cow lived with many others in a university research lab developing algae-based cattle feed that didn’t taste like a beached herring. The entire herd had windows on their sides opened as easily as a can of soda, connecting one of their … Read moreMapping the Inner Cow
Tiny garden plants snuggled into the soil arranged in tidy rows. Each day brought a little more sun and a little more warmth, as the seedlings stretched out their leaves and wriggled their roots deeper into the dirt. Two tomato plants raised side-by-side since their greenhouse days talked about the days ahead. “I’m gonna grow … Read moreMelon Baller
“Stop it,” Tim said. “C’mon, give it a try. It’s fun,” Winnie replied. “You’re wasting electricity.” “It’s not a waste if it’s for the health and safety of the crew. I’m the crew, and this keeps me from going crazy,” Winnie smiled. “I don’t think there’s an activity that’s going to bring you back from … Read moreFeeling Gravity’s Pull
Orville clung to his mother’s pelt; a wobbly passenger new to the world. Through squinty eyes he observed his mother’s steady progress as she went from termite mound, to rotted tree, to jakalberry grove. He considered her whip-like tongue collecting insects and fruit at a mad pace while she remained serene. Several times a day … Read moreBaited Breath
Jacob woke to a damp and sour world. As his eyes came into focus, he noticed a circling fly come to rest at the edge of a puddle of milk. Jacob couldn’t remember how he got to the floor but was pretty sure he fell. Again. He tried to move, but pain arrested his efforts. … Read moreSpilled Milk
Skuen and his younger brother Kadir stood near the end of a hundred-foot-long wall of peat blocks. With L-shaped spades, they cut out neat bricks of peat, looking like rich chocolate cake, and stacked them to dry in the wind. They worked the bogs year-round, with little change to their day other than the amount … Read moreChocolate Cake
Hansel eyed the compost bucket on the counter in the break room. A few fruit flies twirled above it, caught in each other’s gravity. “Just tell me what you know!” The flies continued their dance, unperturbed by Hansel’s outburst. He stomped back to his corner office with twenty-foot walls of glass. He could see two … Read moreOn The Fly
Carl carefully measured the depth of each seed he planted. “Knuckle one, knuckle two, planting seeds is what you do,” he said as he poked his index finger into hundreds of holes. The perfect width and depth of the hole was precisely the distance from the tip of his finger to the middle joint. Working … Read moreSweet Obsession