ISSUE 21: thebloodpudding.com/issues/i… FICTION: Eamon Murphy, Laura Gaughan. NONFICTION: H.E. Belle. POETRY: Samridhi Bhardwaj, Sara Bartsch, Z. Amraphel

"My mother found me that morning. Pale, wan— lifeless. / stripped me barren. / washed me with icy water. / dried me with an old cloth." 'In the spirit of generosity-.' Poetry by Samridhi Bhardwaj. tinyurl.com/bddx3zda

"On good days, she characterizes me as a towering goddess, reborn as a spirit of her burning desire. I am flaming, ravenous feminist rage." 'Sylvia in Love.' Flash by Laura Gaughan. tinyurl.com/yj9anmea

"When I forget what your hugs felt like, I curl up with your sweater. The grey wool one, to be precise. 'You're Too Sweet.' Nonfiction by H.E. Belle. tinyurl.com/5n8dt55e

"O, / to be a blade of grass clipped / in the spring. / Perhaps I’d be / appreciated for / the sweet scent of my death..." 'Ode to Fresh-cut Grass'. Poetry by Sara Bartsch. tinyurl.com/n86vv47r

"The Steinway is where she has always been since the first day I brought her home—in the days before everything. Waiting under ceilinged spotlights in the corner of the azure-carpeted dining room." 'Waiting for a Guardian Angel.' Flash by Eamon Murphy. tinyurl.com/3a5xce7x

"brush my perturbed hair / and sing me a lullaby; / let the lyrics soothe my pained void. / tell me the mauve froth / that encrusts my gelid lips / is but leftovers from stale cotton candy—" 'Tranquility Birthed by Sins.' Poetry by Z. Amraphel. tinyurl.com/j68r54h9

ISSUE 21: thebloodpudding.com/ FICTION: Eamon Murphy, Laura Gaughan. NONFICTION: H.E. Belle. POETRY: Samridhi Bhardwaj, Sara Bartsch, Z. Amraphel

'A body weighted down by rocks won’t float, even buoyed up by corpse bloat.' 'MY THERAPIST ASKS ME TO EXPLAIN MY RECURRING DREAMS (I & III).' Poetry by Chloë Hanson. thebloodpudding.com/my-thera…

'The Baby I Want to Have                                   explodes  from my stomach   like a flesh pie splitting with teeth' 'The Baby I Want to Have.' Poetry by jms xuange (@jmsxuange) thebloodpudding.com/the-baby…

'There’s no sound now. Just the fizzing of soda slowing to a hush. The ketchup cooling on the plate. Only a thin slice of silence cuts through the room.' 'Six Seconds Taught Me Math.' Flash by Pamela Smith (@Smith9374) thebloodpudding.com/six-seco…

'Starlight dripped into a chalice, then he drank from it. Crystamus, son of Light, heir to The Next Focus, Sleeping Being, now awakened.' 'Sleeping Being, Now Awake.' Flash by Clay Vernon Taylor (@vernonsbayou) thebloodpudding.com/sleeping…

'I don’t sail, or get in boats of my own free will. I would if dad asked. He did once ... and I went out on the water where my friend caught Hepatitis.' 'floating.' Poetry by Kayla Stansbury (@KaylaIsWriting) thebloodpudding.com/floating

'The air is shaking. From beyond the wall of the ocean, a fish catches a glimpse of your glistening surface, and it wonders.' 'She Passed Away Alone at Sea.' Flash by Leon de la Garza (@leondelag) thebloodpudding.com/she-pass…

ISSUE 20: thebloodpudding.com/issue-20 FICTION: @leondelag, @vernonsbayou, @Smith9374. POETRY: @KaylaIsWriting, @jmsxuange, Chloë Hanson.

Most of our site is still under routine maintenance but we're dropping our latest issue (The Big Two Zero) on our homepage tomorrow — an 'only tidy the parlor' special. #OnlyWhatTheMotherInLawSees #CompanyIsComing