Every death is negotiable. An earthly agreement between God and the ground. Terms are written at birth, a newborn contract signed by the baby’s foot. In most instances, the baby will live a long and prosperous life. In some cases, SIDS will claim childhood like a jealous viper. The earliest known funerals consisted of flowers and antlers: tulips atop tombstones. Caskets were the choicest plots of dirt; the good died young, and the bad don’t always die first. Every contract has always been sealed with a handshake and a Hail Mary, a gentlemen’s agreement with Mother Earth. The devil has no say in the matter and can only accept second-hand souls, leftovers destined to expire. Every infant’s first cry is essentially last rites.
Daniel Romo Daniel Romo is the author of When Kerosene’s Involved (Mojave River Press, 2014) and Romancing Gravity (Silver Birch Press, 2013). He holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, and he is an Associate Poetry Editor at Backbone Press. He writes, bench presses, and rides his folding bike in Long Beach, CA. More at danielromo.net.
ISSUE FIFTEEN: Lastly, My Seer
Michael Albright
Because of your problem,
do you often feel others
have no idea what you are going through?
Emily Rosello Mercurio
Sunny Honey
Rose Knapp
Socio-EFascismo
Rachel Mindell
Life as we know it
Kathleen E. Krause
Digging Digits
Kristie Betts Letter
Montana Wildhack Read Aloud
Sandeep Kumar Mishra
Pebbles
Daniel Romo
Diplomacy
Elizabeth Kirkpatrick-Vrenios
See Saw Margery Daw
Nate Maxson
Patient Zero
Alec Hershman
The Point of Vanishing