Michael Hammerle

Two burning cousins, glow-stick oil on their bodies, swimming in the KOA pool. 
Two brothers? I never danced with my brother. Two cold kings of an empty beach
slapface every wave and float rouges. One brother is first to gauge drift from
grandparents. Children’s hands passing Dum-Dums and spider rings from the 
treasure box in 2nd-grade speech. Very Hungry Caterpillar. Homemade wallet chain
made from a ceiling fixture. Mrs. Brown performing Miss Viola Swamp in the library. 
(A teacher married me.) Godzilla, first gift from mom, slipping when it walked the
Kmart floor. Rocko’s boots from the Rugrats episode “Little Dude” and longing to see
everything from Monument Valley to snow in the Grand Canyon. 

Michael Hammerle teaches creative writing and composition at a college and university. His work has been published in The Best Small Fictions, The American Literary Review, Split Lip Magazine, Tendon, Michigan State University Short Edition, Foothill Poetry Journal, New World Writing, Louisiana Literature, and elsewhere. He is the author of Zero Is a Number (Finishing Line Press). He lives and writes in North Florida. www.mikehammerle.com