SHORT STORY

Emily says she would probably pee on another person during sex
but would not let the other person pee on her
and I tell her I’ve always felt that the person’s diet
seems important when thinking about it
and we make eye contact briefly
while crossing Hudson street

The sun is out
a few piles of snow remain from winter, pushed against the sidewalks
and I watch Emily begin to hold her sweater differently,
this time by draping it over her right forearm

 

 

BANANA PEEL ON FLOOR NEAR BED

The banana peel on the floor near my bed
attracted swarm of fruit flies
in record time, I think

Or maybe it always happens this quickly
like, maybe I wasn’t paying attention
to how long it took other, different, banana peels
to attract other, different, swarms of fruit flies

 

 

PARKING GARAGE 1

A man emerges from a mostly empty parking garage and asks to use my cell phone
A small string of snot hangs from his nose
I take my cell phone out of my pocket and offer to dial the number for him
He says he doesn’t remember the number but tells me he just wants to see my phone for a second
I shrug and hand him my cell phone and his hands start shaking while he holds it

 

 

HARDLY ANYTHING AT ALL

College student wearing sweatpants
is telling his friend, also wearing sweatpants,
that when he thinks about the past year
he can’t remember “hardly anything at all”

 

 

 

***

Alex Mussawir lives in Columbus, Ohio. He is the author of Everybody On The Internet Is Trying To Sell You Something & Other Poems (2015) and Deadpan (2013), a collection of short stories. He has recently begun making watercolor paintings.