Mike Meginnis

Three Bodies

Body #69

This little body's father's body bought it a balloon. A purple one. It tied the string around its wrist to keep it safe. The wind blew the balloon slanted. It tugged gentle but insistent on this body's arm.

This body sees another body with a pocket knife. The balloon's string goes taut, then slack. The balloon leaves this body. The body weeps and begs its father for another. Its father's body has run out of money. It asks this little body what happened to the balloon, the purple one, it bought before.

Body #74

This body kneels to pray, but finds it does not know the words, and so repeats beneath its breath the texts of certain cryptic spam e-mails received in recent years. They roll so easy off the tongue.

Body #88

What a horror. What a horror. What a nasty little horror. What happened. To the horror. To this nasty little horror. Cries for milk. Cries for milk. Terror horror little horror calls for wanting needing milk. Test its warmth. On your wrist. Red-faced. What's it needing. Little horror. Little terror. What happened. Cries for milk. Cries for milk. Cries for bread. Cries for bread. Cries for egg. Little horror. What's it needing. Terror horror little horror calls for wanting needing milk, cries for wanting needing bread, cries for wanting needing egg. Little horror. What happened. What's it needing.

Mike Meginnis has work published or forthcoming in Hobart, The Lifted Brow, Booth, Smokelong Quarterly, Abjective, elimae, and others. He currently serves as a managing editor at Puerto del Sol, and co-edits Uncanny Valley (uncannyvalleymag.com) with his wife, Tracy Bowling.