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It was a hot and greasy night.
Pizza guy hit my cat with his monster truck,
So my next pie is free. He said it’s good to learn
Forgiveness and peeled out, wheels clapping marinara
Red-black into cul-de-sac left deaf except for
One pathetic meow.
He didn’t hear me say, I’m allergic to cats.
It was a cold and chewy night.
I stood outside the pizza spot
Holding a dead cat I’d never seen before.
I looked in the window, I opened the door.
Place seemed empty. I asked for the manager
And saw among the streetlights in the mirror by the bar
My face floating orange in the colorless stars.
Joe Gallagher was born and raised in Orlando, FL. He now lives in Frederick, MD where he runs an independent press and media company called Rainbow Skull. His short fiction and poetry have appeared in Okay Donkey, Carolina Quarterly, DIAGRAM, Corium, and Redivider. He has a wife who writes novels, two small children, and one large dog. Find all of his links at giantglowingrainbowskull.com.