The Most Vulnerable Brains – Cory Popp

September 1, 2012

Blueberry and Bourbon

            She lays under her covers, in a fugue state, thoughts swimming amongst a perfect storm of bourbon and nicotine and imagines twenty years from now when she’ll approach him and get to say, “You know, I would’ve married you… If you weren’t such an asshole.”

Sixty-Second Suicides

            As the train approaches, Colin steps forward onto the cautionary blue rubber lining the edge of the platform. He imagines the possibly quick, painless death that would result from a leap forward into the path of the oncoming train. Those thoughts lead way to sympathy for whoever would have to clean up the mess, then to all of the unfortunate mass transit patrons who would be delayed in their travels for the day, and finally to his family and how his mother might react to having the necessary closed casket funeral for her youngest son due to the disfiguration the accident would cause. He takes a step back as the breeze from the quickly moving car blows around him. The doors open, he enters and sits, thinking maybe it is better to be inside the train, than under it. Maybe.

 Nighthawks on the Recliner

            It was gone and he was real gone. Wasted and wasting away. Killing time in the soft grasp of a chair he always hated. That fucking thing will be his coffin.