Worthing Flash

He brings out his new unicycle. The seat, from all the saddle soap, has to be held firmly; he wonders if, when he mounts it, he might slip off. He would rather slip then than in the middle of a ride. He has polished the chrome rim twice, even gleamed the spokes. The pedals have been methodically lubricated. All the metals of the frame have been glistened and the height adjustment trued against his old unicycle, the one now for sale in the front yard, original purchase date and mileage scrawled on a sign beside. Best offer, but it had better be a good, flattering offer. Plenty of miles left in that unicycle, though plenty have already been run. This first outing will be a test. Just a short cycle. Something to prove the balance, see if the new seat has ridge-and-play similar to the old unicycle. A pedal to the corner store, perhaps. Or over to Mina’s house to show off the new conveyance. Backwards, forwards, pinpoint turns, letter-making in loose gravel. A trial run bef...

Making friends with the giant is cheaper than renting a crane.  Show him our good side, he will show us his. Fairy tales have taught us the wrong lessons. Embracing those lessons, we approach the giant with fear and plans to control him, and he reacts.   Offer him a keg of beer, make a place at the gossip fire, and he calms, slips into a passive rhythm.  The complaints that he sometimes peers in second-floor windows while women undress are unimportant.  I have seen him urinate, and there is no possibility of fit.  Maybe with Jersey’s wife?  There are rumors. Ken Poyner   www.kpoyner.com , www.barkingmoosepress.com   Winter’s Last Apple —poetry, prose poetry, micro-fiction Stone the Monsters, or Dance – speculative poetry Lessons From Lingering ...