ABOVE THE SMOKING DOG PUB BY KENT NEAL 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 130

Social labels dissolve in Ukrainian vodka, bottled freedom, sleek as a jet-stream on raspy tongues.

FAIR-LADY AND THE WAVERLEY GHOST BY DAN BERICK 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 130

She looked at me with one of those unexpected gorgeous smiles, and clasped her hands together in front of her chin. “Thank you. This is me hugging you.”

POEMAS QUE SANGRAN BY ENRIQUE GAMEZ CLEMENTE 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 130 PREVIEW

Ahora soy yo el que regaña a los chavales por ser felices... Hace no mucho ese mismo chaval podría haber sido yo.

THOSE LAZY, HAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC BY STEVEN MCBREARTY 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 130 PREVIEW

Eyes watching you, taking note and taking names.

BRONX ROOFTOPS BY PAMELA WALKER 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 129

I just made a bank-shot when everything stop. We never seen that guy, not in our life. He come out of nowhere looking for trouble. That how weird it was, him at the far end of the roof.

I AM (WO)MAN BY SAMMY T ANDERSON 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 129

I am a man.

Y chromosomes and body hair

and angry brow,

oooh ahh’n

in locker rooms

searing skin off my flesh

with dirty BIC lighters.

Lusting after luscious lips and soft skin,

hourglass women makin’ me weak

in the knees…

VERIFY YOU ARE HUMAN BY MIKE HEPPNER 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 128

She’d work from home online, she could practically keep the same job, and in the afternoon she’d do something creative and restful, like gardening or painting, watercolors.

SIDEWAYS BY ELIZABETH HILL 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 128

Somehow I became ninety-three. No-one warned me. 

LEAVING BORON BY AREL WIEDERHOLT KASSAR 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 127 PREVIEW

She’s just a lonely teenager in a shitty town. Which, by the way, you realize we’d be kidnapping her.

ONE MOMENT TO THE NEXT BY DAVID LANGLINAIS 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 122

That whole day she had said he needed to get out of his comfort zone more, that it’d be for his own good. She seemed to get a kick out of embarrasing him and the more uncomfortable she made him, the more she relished it.

WHAT GOOD IS LOVE BY EMILY GARCÍA 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 115

By the time it’s past midnight and we’ve gone through four bottles she’s asleep on the couch.

THE TRAGEDY OF THE ROSEMARKIE SEAL BY EMILY NEVES 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 103

I turn my back to the cave wall and look out. The slope of the hill and a little green bramble with a spray of yellow flowers partially obscures one side of the opening and on the other side I see the green-gray sea reaching to the horizon. I think I could live here if I had to. 

DISCO ELYSIUM: FIRST AS FARCE, THEN AS SALVATION BY URIEL HERSZAGE 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 124

They are transformed into the very thing that will save the world.

SINGLE MOMS HAVE COZY APARTMENTS BY SE DIAMOND 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 99

Since Jennifer’s mom is a biker and goes out a lot, Jennifer usually stays at her grandmother’s house where she can have a more stable childhood. I love sleeping over there because her grandma makes egg mcmuffins and lets us watch R-rated movies.

ON THE SUBWAY TO BROOKLYN BY RICHARD ABRAMSON 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 122

I smash the phone as hard as I can. The glass shatters and falls away in pieces, and the guts of the thing spill out. I smash it again and the case cracks, I smash it again and it folds in on itself, and I keep smashing it, over and over and over.

TASSELS BY SARAH JANE JUSTICE 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 118

one     by one        

the tassels    slip

from hands     that can’t    remember

when     to not 

let go

INTERNAL VOICES BY TRAVIS COBB 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 81

Inside this Tower of Babel where nothing gets said. Put out what you need to speak. See if god is listening. 

DOWN THE ROAD A PIECE BY BERNIE HAFELI 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 11

She blew him a kiss. It was like he could see it rise above the smoke and neon and glide lazily toward the stage, a rose petal in the evening breeze. Momentarily he stopped strumming, reached up and caught it.

THE FLATNESS OF HYPER-REALISM BY ALLISON RICHARDS 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 110

We viewers cannot paint perfect figures, so we don’t make art. We don’t have the time, so we don’t make art. We watch a video on TikTok and the end result looks more real than our goddamn reflection in the mirror, and so we don’t make art. 

PLAYLIST FOR THE WORST DAYS BY JAWNO OKHIULU 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 108

A mix of rhythm, funk, soul, and soapbox prophecy cut with love, grief, rage, and acceptance.

DEAD CAT BY MELVIN STERNE 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 96

What’s the most likely ending? What’s the worst-case scenario? What’s the best ending? There’s a billion potential endings. Pick one.

MACHINE GIRL BY REBECCA EGAN 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 96

I want a signal that screams I made it through. On my own. I found a way out. 

STEALING HOME BY KAY BONTEMPO 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 78

Two bell peppers, Muenster cheese. Cauliflower, a pack of Newports, Tampax. Martinelli’s apple juice. Paper towels two-ply. English Breakfast tea. Boil-in-a-bag rice, paper clips, ramen noodles. Maybe some ice cream if there was money left over. America’s Choice vanilla, eaten straight from the carton. It wouldn’t be bad. With an uncomfortable pop, he pulled out of her and lay beside her, breathing hard. It was 11.52pm. She wondered if the Shop’n’Save would even be open.