They will say no one knows how the burning started, no one knows really, they will dig up wiggle-worm earth from beneath her feet, rain it down upon her in steamshovel handfuls, and still she will be mouth-fire, smoke-lung, and still she will burn like the fiercest dragon, still she will be all heat and flame, ember and apology, I’m sorry for the burning, I’m sorry, and you will bring her glass and glass and glass of water that evaporate before she can swallow them down, and everything between you will hang heavy as mist.
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Cathy Ulrich thinks fires are pretty, but only when they are safely contained. Her work has been published in various journals, including 100 Word Story, Truffle and Adroit.
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image: Noreen Ocampo
Rejection Letters 