1 story
by Benjamin Niespodziany
Benjamin Niespodziany's work has appeared in Fence, Fairy Tale Review, Wigleaf, Maudlin House, and others. His 2022 debut full-length poetry collection, No Farther Than the End of the Street, is out now through Okay Donkey Press.
End of the World Party
It was early when the end of the world began. We had a party. It started quickly and continued until it stopped.
The clocks fell to their depths. Death was discussed in chant. It happened so soon. I tried to find the finish line, tried to wine the competition, tried to win the spelling bee but failed at all three simultaneously. I tried to bob for apples and nearly drowned. The last bird hurried to its demise. An elephant found a cliff.
I went outside coughing. I skipped town and came back with more resources. More board games, more plants. Leaves of trees in my grip. The world was ending and the wait was goddamned.
When I returned to the party, many were struggling to stay above ground. I counted the heads. You were missing. You left in a hurry somewhere in the middle. You left everything. Your phone, your clothes, your book you wrote. I waited my turn.
With my back flat against the wall, I opened your words and between cover and page, crushed bugs and dead worms. It was a lovely, hungry day. The approaching planet was close, so close. We posed for pictures. And after dinner, we phoned our moms.