My Cardboard Balcony

Tra-la-la Doom by Belinda Roddie And the stranger picks a banjo as the sun seeps red from out between its unforgiving fingers, the flare pulsing, nebulae convulsing, betraying sense of emotion to the shrapnel flying every which way. It was not meant to be like this. The pounding of feet in a rambunctious display of pride, spicy hot, served in plastic bottles, splashed onto smiles desiring cool tongues. And then the smoke rose. And then the red spread. And then the doom fell.

Taffy McSnarkerson had a great deal of leverage with the Mayors of Windywald and the Governor of New Arkansassippi. And he barely even moved a muscle for it. He just wormed his way out of his bed and eeled his way into his chair, punched in a few numbers, and got the many corporate tycoons to grovel at his feet. Was it his charming good looks? His soothing voice? His influence? Or his cold, dead eyes?

Anything geometric eluded me. So did anything algebraic. Or trigonometric. Or statistical. Or anything remotely mathematical. Except for arithmetic. I could add up how many slices of pizza I ate versus how many cans of cider I drank any damn day. But Dolores, well, she was something else. Pythagoras would have cowered to her expertise. Every math theory became her bitch.

by Belinda Roddie Sven and Maria's coffee table was in fact a glass cube filled with tropical fish. Their television set was in fact not a television set, but a window to the outside, which appeared terribly active for a Sunday evening. Colin was far too busy observing the antics of the Vinyls dancing and grinding to their boombox, perched on the hood of their SX-model Humdinger Van, and waiting for law enforcement to take its course. "You are enjoying the world, I take it?" Sven asked kindly over his bottle of tonic. The ointment on his lips was gleaming - peach and silver, mixed to create a daring sheen. Colin tore his eyes away from the TV-window and focused on the shiny silver fighters flickering along the glass below his mug of coffee. The exotic kind, no less, from the Western Shore. "I...tend to think of it little, compared to my studies." Maria seemed to scoff at that. "Studies," she repeated. "A fool's choice of language. Yo...

"I'm attracted to Alice." "No way." "Yeah, way." "But last month, you were into..." "Jerome. Yeah. He was pretty cute." "Right...and before that, Timothy. And before that, Roger. And before that..." "Okay, the pattern is well-known, Samantha. I get it." "So...Alice?" "Yeah." "...Have you ever been attracted to girls before?" "Oh, yeah." "Why didn't you tell me?" " 'Cause I was afraid you'd analyze, like you're doing now?"

It has been a fairly relaxing spring break. I've been housesitting for a friend's dog, spending time with my sister and friends, restarting my TV project, and getting some exercise. Nothing like twenty minutes a day on the elliptical machine that the house has, as well as walks with the pooch. Of course, my brain's telling me now how fast the week has gone, even though to me, it's moved as normally as any week, really. But that's what happens, time being a strange thing and all. Now it's just time for me to rest and enjoy the weekend, especially now that my mom's back from her trip to Austin. Honestly, spring break has allowed me to relax and take a few mental breaks to be creative, free, and calm. So not too much deep introspection from me this week. Which, in truth, can be more of a relief than anything else. Writer's Quotation of the Night: The answer to all writing, to any career for that matter, is love. - Ray Bradbury Have a great night ...

Weight by Belinda Roddie What a heavy day it’s been No other word seems to fit it better The sky could collapse under its cotton robes That flutter only slightly as they move The light is not too defined, either – All’s been dim from noon to evening As I’ve waited by the railroad tracks Mangled in rust and southern heat – And all that I see appears to linger In each draw of breath, in a haze On a very clear horizon – Clear but not strong enough To lift the weight that causes my head to spin What a heavy day it’s been