She wipes small hairs from antimacassar, rubs oil on wood of arms and legs, shuffles his clutter of envelopes and papers, and “tut, tut, tuts,” as without a flinch he rattles the paper and turns a page. A clock displays a set of numbers, changes its mind, and displays another and another. She mumbles about the passage of time while he ignores her steel-wool snort, her feeble attempts to scour his cold resolve. A mosquito, its whine raising hairs, lands on outstretched arm. The resounding slap leaves the print of anger and an insect smashed beyond recognition, beyond even a speck of blood.

a mosquito dies
in noose of silence frayed thin
marriage lives or dies

Victoria Garton

is the author of Venice Comes Clean (Flying Ketchup Press, 2023), Pout of Tangerine Tango (Finishing Line Press, 2022), and Kisses in the Raw Night (BkMk Press, 1989). Recent poetry acceptances have come from Clarion; Cosmic Daffodil Journal; The Ekphrastic Review; I-70 Review; The Penwood Review; Pleiades; Proud to Be: Writing By American Warriors, volume 12 (Honorable Mention); Sangam Literary Magazine; The Seraphic Review; Sparks of Calliope; Vital Minutiae Quarterly; WayWords Literary Journal; and Wasteland Review.

Bright Flash Literary Review published her flash fiction Young Poet at Workshop (5 December 2023).