June 1, 2026Don’t fret aboutthe champagne-glassneck.Drink champagne.Inner-arm flesh,crepe bat wings.Train for night flights.Expect body hairtothin,disappear,Alpinize.Trash tweezers,shavers.In the bath,discover a warm atollof flesh on the belly.Cup gently in your handslike raw tortilla dough.Admire its satin finish.Give thanks.One day you will wakeastonished as Gregor Samsaand find you havetransmogrified into a volcano.Think Parícutin, Popo, Ixta, Orizaba.Give yourself a cool new name,preferably with an “x” or “z” or “tl”:Xandra XizneroxZandra ZixnerozXXandra ZZiznerozXztl Zxtl.Spew smoke. Spew cinder. Onoccasion, totally appropriate totoss rocks. Pumice is popular.Work on looking like Coatlicue.Practice divining with an obsidian mirror.Peer with sincerity daily.It will tell you what you dread to hear.Get used to it.
“How to Grow Old”
“Don’t fret about / the champagne-glass / neck. / Drink champagne.”
103 words~1 min read