Stain

"Water Damage" by Meg Pokrass @ Thieves Jargon

Ahh... Another Meg Pokrass flash fiction found on the internets. It's always a pleasure to find one of her little gems, though certainly not hard. Pokrass is one of the more prolific and widely published authors of flash on the internets. I believe she has a few obscure chapbooks published, and has a real-life book coming out from Press 53 in 2011.

Here, in "Water Damage," published at Thieves Jargon, Meg gets raw in a narrative which starts in an uncertain place and ends in pity.

Her narrator seems to be visiting a drug dealer, but this is not entirely clear. He has something for sale, this is certain. The narrator, a woman, isn't easily swayed by his amateurish attempts at flattery, but finds the man's vulnerabilities, his feminine side.

The narrative moves smoothly and is able to give us enough description of the man - his hair, the baby shampoo - to illuminate the narrator's twisted desire to be with him. Or maybe, she's just trying to avoid paying for the drugs. Either way, we're left with the striking image of a water stain on the ceiling as the man-child pumps away on her unmoving body.

I highly recommend giving this piece a read. I give it a double iced americano on a warm Portland day.