Flying Island

shots found by Kristine Esser Slentz i found you in shot glasses dotting the dark wood of an irish pub bar; sadly, among the tiny cup wreckage you couldn’t find me. About the poet: Kristine Esser Slentz is originally from northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area, accent and all. She is a Purdue University alum that studied English literature and creative writing while working at the independent student newspaper, The Exponent. After college Kristine has written pieces in publications such as the HuffPost; Pattern; and Nuvo, Indy’s Alternative Voice. Currently, Kristine is the Assistant Editor at Unfold and has published poetry in Sweater Weather Magazine and The Unprecedented Review.

The night before the inauguration by Kristine Esser Slentz on ladies’ night we drank White Russians at the local draft house passing on the English and Irish pub choosing to sit at the tall table in the middle of the room surrounded by TVs and its media we take sips of our iced over drinks between bites of deep fried food we thank the black man that’s serving us we discuss the origins of our European surnames with giggles ultimately reverting the conversation back to our full time day jobs complaining about the hours and its offered healthcare coverage maybe we’ll just show up late tomorrow a shifty look from a manager is worth this next liquid delight at the end of our rich meal we hand our VISAs to our server and with a bow and a gesture of gratitude he leaves us and we leave the customary tipping percentage then with elbows locked we walk home to our high rises openly kissing each other on th...

Subject line: usage notification account number *** *** 8187 Dear Julie, We want to notify you that you have used 100% of your Daughter Anytime Usage Allowance with your Family plan for the service date ending on this Sunday due to religious affiliations. Generally, should you reach your capacity limit for any payment cycle, your love and compassion speeds will be significantly reduced. To view your usage or purchase additional emotional capacity, please visit the website. Thank you for being a valued customer. *Please do remember that the Daughter entity retains the right to end the unconditional contract anytime as well.                                      – by Kristine Esser Slentz Bio: “Kristine Esser Slentz is originally from northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area, accent and all. She is a Purdue University alum that studied...