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| Issue 34: | Sept. 2026 |
| Cheribun: | 137 words |
By Tracy Royce
Both at Once
They arrive together on Saint Patrick’s Day: two orders from the plus size clothing store, each in its own plastic pouch. I open the first with care. Inside is an Irish-green tee proclaiming, HAPPY GO LUCKY. It’s the color of spring, the hue of new growth, and as I wriggle in, I’m invigorated. I quickly rip into the second pouch and its contents spill out: a pair of pink shorts adorned with hearts dripping blood. At the center of each oozing organ is a hockey mask like the one worn by that cinematic psychopath, the serial killer associated with a different holiday altogether. I squirm in, stand before the mirror, and embrace myself in all my cottony contradiction.
plus size inside proclaiming, HAPPY I’m content at the center like a cinematic holiday I stand and embrace myself
—Long-listed Finalist in MacQ’s Cheribun Challenge #4
Tracy Royce
is a poet and writer with work appearing in Bending Genres, contemporary haibun online, The Ekphrastic Review, Frogpond, The Mackinaw, MacQueen’s Quinterly, and ONE ART. Her work was selected for Best Microfiction 2026 and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions, and a Touchstone Award for Individual Haibun. She lives in Southern California, but you can find her on Bluesky: @tracyroyce.bsky.social
More on the Web: By, About, and Beyond
⚡ Side A List Poem by Tracy Royce: “Things That Remain Suspended (Handsfree) When Wedged Beneath My Breast” (includes audio of author reading, and text of mini-interview by HFR) in Heavy Feather Review (16 April 2026)
⚡ What She Wore in 100 word story (November 2025)
⚡ Three cheribun by Tracy Royce in MacQueen’s Quinterly:
Ways to Occupy Your Mind While Your Slender Friend Complains About Her Weight, short-listed finalist in Cheribun Challenge #3 (Issue 29, August 2025); and two long-listed finalists, Open and Shut and Tandem Turd Team (Issue 30, September 2025)
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