mainly love stories
THE CITRON REVIEW
A Journal of Brief Literature
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Proposal
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It’s going to be an epic proposal. Twenty of us, seated in a big circle on the blue shag carpet, legs in crisscross applesauce, playing telephone. I look straight at her, blow a kiss across the room and start it off with, “Will you marry me?” Surely they won’t screw this up. Fourteen people later I watch expectantly as they whisper in her ear “Why are you so hairy?”
https://citronreview.com/2022/09/23/proposal/
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Blink-Ink
Who can resist a magical, tiny tome that fits in the palm of your hand.
Blink-Ink #47 Bad Habits
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Destiny
Every decision you’ve ever made landed you here, she said. All the years bewildered on the spaghetti aisle, fancying myself pretentious, I got fusilli and radiatore. Should I have chosen linguini instead? I asked. Orecchiette, God, I ate so much orecchiette. No point looking back, she said. You’ll never know.
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Friends
I saw your text while at work, vowing to respond later. I remembered at 2AM. Pretending I sleep at night, with my life on track as I imagine yours, I’ll reply in the morning. I forgot. Days went by, too anxious to text back now. Sorry I’m a shitty friend.
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Blink-Ink #48 Rumors
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Taking the HIgh Road
Four of us are out to dinner. Tonight, we’re taking the high road. Rules: 1. Phones in the middle of the table. 2. No gossip. We sit in silence, stare at one another, look at our fingernails, check our hair for split ends. Finally, I cave. Somebody, please, spill some tea!
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http://www.blink-ink.org/2022/05/26/issue-48-has-been-released/
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Micro Ficton Monday
Otter Love
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Otters sleep holding hands lest they float away and lose one another.
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After our argument, we turned and faced the other way, feigning sleep that eluded us, keenly aware that we’d both still be here in the morning.
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Elephants are like ballerinas. You think they have these big, flat feet but underneath it all, they’re walking on their tiptoes, as if in toe shoes.
I wanted to ask you if you’d rather be an otter or an elephant in your next life.
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Fifty-Word Stories, February 18, 2022
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Alone Time
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We moved to the coast seeking calm. Emily lasted two months. She’s staying with family now in Ohio.
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I stay awake nights, with no one to talk to about the fierce ocean and seagulls the size of cocker spaniels. Eating Cheetos, playing Tetris, synapses fire. Expectant neurons, ravenous, demand more.
http://fiftywordstories.com/2022/02/18/judith-shapiro-alone-time/
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Vine Leaves Press, 50 Give or Take
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Gum Love #583
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It wasn’t meant to happen. I asked for his help with a phantom leak around my air conditioner. He fiddled around, scratched his head, took a stick of gum from his shirt pocket, chewed, used it to plug the hole. I suppose I’ve fallen in love for worse reasons.
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Paragraph Planet, July 27, 2022
Perfect Storms
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He wasn’t a perfect father. Funny, quirky, often drunk, usually kind, but stay out of the way when he ran the vacuum. He took me bike riding at midnight on quiet, empty streets. Woke me to watch the sunrise at the beach. Best of all was a rainstorm. He’d find me and we’d run outside. Stand holding hands, faces lifted skyward, gleefully pelted by rain, daring it to try to usurp our joy.
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THE CITRON REVIEW
A Journal of Brief Literature
Proposal
​
It’s going to be an epic proposal. Twenty of us, seated in a big circle on the blue shag carpet, legs in crisscross applesauce, playing telephone. I look straight at her, blow a kiss across the room and start it off with, “Will you marry me?” Surely they won’t screw this up. Fourteen people later I watch expectantly as they whisper in her ear “Why are you so hairy?”
Otter Love
​
Otters sleep holding hands lest they float away and lose one another.
​
After our argument, we turned and faced the other way, feigning sleep that eluded us, keenly aware that we’d both still be here in the morning.
​
Elephants are like ballerinas. You think they have these big, flat feet but underneath it all, they’re walking on their tiptoes, as if in toe shoes.
I wanted to ask you if you’d rather be an otter or an elephant in your next life.
(Who can resist a magical, tiny tome that fits in the palm of your hand?)
Destiny
Every decision you’ve ever made landed you here, she said. All the years bewildered on the spaghetti aisle, fancying myself pretentious, I got fusilli and radiatore. Should I have chosen linguini instead? I asked. Orecchiette, God, I ate so much orecchiette. No point looking back, she said. You’ll never know.
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Friends
I saw your text while at work, vowing to respond later. I remembered at 2AM. Pretending I sleep at night, with my life on track as I imagine yours, I’ll reply in the morning. I forgot. Days went by, too anxious to text back now. Sorry I’m a shitty friend.
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Taking the HIgh Road
Four of us are out to dinner. Tonight, we’re taking the high road. Rules: 1. Phones in the middle of the table. 2. No gossip. We sit in silence, stare at one another, look at our fingernails, check our hair for split ends. Finally, I cave. Somebody, please, spill some tea!
Add a Title
Change the text and make it your own. Click here to begin editing.