My Cardboard Balcony

Daffodil Dullard by Belinda Roddie Let the woman woo you and rattle up your innards until your petals all fall off and your goofy smile lingers uncovered by the seasons. And when she licks the pollen off your lips, be sure to sneeze loud enough for the critics to shake their heads at you, because you'll never be smart enough for them, but you'll be sharp enough for her.

Still no OneWord update! What is this world coming to? This better not get past three strikes.

Slacktivist by Belinda Roddie Another petition signed, imbibing cider by the laptop. Too afraid to go outside, instead hoping that the men in suits will choke on their own neckties upon seeing such a slew of people demanding that a prisoner go free through an online website. People say I don't help enough - the truth is, I'm scared. Scared of being seen or heard away from a computer screen. Worried I'll be shot through my sign straight into my skull, a perfect o in the middle of Peace. Scared that somehow, in a cell after being a true activist, hosed down, cuffed, slammed into the asphalt, ankles torn by dog's teeth, nothing I have done will create even an echo in the vast space of time.

No OneWord update again! Let's hope it gets updated tomorrow!

No fair, non-updated OneWord.com! I believed in yoooouuuuu! All joking aside, no new OneWord today. Back to work tomorrow. Huh-freakin'-zah.

by Belinda Roddie "Interestingly enough, that wasn't the largest body he's ever had to move." Bonnie chewed on the end of her pencil like her eraser was spearmint gum. "No kidding. How much bigger?" Mister Taffy shrugged. "Rough estimate, fifty pounds heavier, at least. Guy liked potato junk food as much as he liked ripping people off at his casino. Maybe even more than that. He died with his face in a bowl of sour cream and onion crisps." " 'Crisps.' How very English of you." "Love the Brit, hate the Britain," he replied. "Or something similar." He never took his eyes off Bonnie as she finished the document. It was all very succinct and clarified - the name, age, weight, occupation, date of birth, and date of death were bristling graphite on the paper. It was the offense section, of course, that she knew Mister Taffy was nitpickiest about. She made sure to provide extra detail with a few ...

Everyone saw the footage of the shooting that night. No one cared to bow out of viewing the videos, haphazardly recorded on someone's smartphone. No one spoke the entire time, the audio rattling our skulls as the screams for help never seemed to lose timbre or pitch. Gerald sat the closest to the computer screen, fingers shaking so fast that even his knuckles seemed to blur. He watched the old man pinned down again and again, helpless against the cop's cold gun.