albert and his friends

by rhoda penmarq

albert z wants to be free so he lives in a tree brad y rolls his eyes and looks up at the sky chuck x likes special effects and wonders what. comes next dave w does not know you and that is so true edna v drinks rose tea and dreads the coming calamity frank u says thank you to the ocean blue george t wants to know me and meet at quarter to three harriet s suffers from stress buut has no crimes to confess imogene r is a superstar and will certainly go far janet q has a dog named lou and a cat named boo kenneth p won a spelling bee when he was only three laura o, don’t you know goes with the flow mickey n, the kindest of men is doing twenty years in the pen nora m, a fatal fenmme has a fine collection of precious gems oliver l has something to sell but will never tell paula k plans to go away for the month of may quentin j likes to play his hair is turning gray roberta i never gets too low or high no one knows why stella h keeps a straight face with style and grace terry g, thoughtfully annotates poetry undine f, with a touch so deft is still around because she never left victor e wears patches on his knees and studies gestalt psychology wanda d, engagingly hikes the hills and swims in the sea xenia c was a mystery to all allured by her chemistry a yellow butterfly up high gives it the old college try zora a, to this very day always has a great deal to say

the clod and the cloud

by rhoda penmarq

a little clod of dirt sat in the sunshine. a cloud came along and hit the clod of dirt with a raindrop turning it into a flower thank you said the flower i like being a flower now i will return said the cloud with another raindrop to keep you a flower the flower waited and waited and waited but the cloud never returned and the flower died and the sky looked down at the dirt

slim jim 13

by rhoda penmarq

the eggplant was on the kitchen table, but the quinoa was in the undergrowth. the red dog was terrified in the quiet afternoon. youthful enthusiasm brought happiness to harold, but the dogs kept fighting. the lettuce was gone, to harriet’s horrified regret. as the clown devoured the sausage, many interesting things flashed through his mind. wait for it, professor walker cautioned. yes or no? it is only animal behavior. not on my watch, madame n———— asserted as she continued drying the powder. we need accuracy. it is no exaggeration to say that doctor x is a fancy pants, but maybe i was mistaken. they jumped for joy, back and forth, ordinary as they seemed. harold was sad that the day was over. he had not accomplished anything. and he had still not heard from lucy. could this be the end? out in the distance, a cab pulled into the driveway of the old house. a light went on in the attic. how much? two hundred and fifty dollars and forty-two cents. here. keep the change. thank you, sir. the old house looked the same, at least in the darkness. the cab backed down the driveway, and disappeared down the dirt road. forsyth banged on the old oak door with the brass knocker. the light went off in the attic. forsyth waited. i could use a drink, he mused. so could we all, old fellow.