Category: Writing
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Karmic Episode Home Perm
Karmic Episode art-card. Chaos reins: Living with uh-muh-mi Let the record show: on June 25, I caused my mother to have a heavy heart and confess it to the Lord. Just a question: Could she not have left her diary in her room and not in mine? The Terrorist on Mother’s Day Years ago, I…
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What it Takes to be Real
Published in Zafigo.com I was not looking forward to going to Delhi. In preparation for the trip I had memorized an entire sheet of scams: I really did not want feces on my shoes and get ripped off at the same time! But these are minor annoyances compared to the daily, horrific violence that happens…
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Bracelets and Hunger
My wrist is adorned with bright ribbons and bracelets from Mu and Shu. Those girls like little sprites in their dark linen costumes, their hair swept up in black headpieces, bangles stacked practically to the elbow. They acted as my guardian angels, magically appearing on my path or coming up behind me, wrapping their tiny…
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Mangia Sarcola, part 4
Panel 3 of José, “mamma” (mommy). Watercolor and pen, by Ayoung Kim This day is soft in my memory —as if soft clouds frame every moment in a benevolent cushion. José had spent the previous twenty-four hours unloading his bowels and guts. It smelled foul, like poison coming out of him. In the weak, early…
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Mangia Sarcola, part 3
“Dreaming of the dog,” ink on paper, by Ayoung Kim I don’t cry as much anymore. You get used to it. Death. We thought we had to euthanize José three times already. We’ve made the decision to forego chemo. We’ve had the discussion of If He Goes During the Night. If he goes during the…
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Mangia Sarcola, part 2
Panel 2 of Pablo, “m’ama, non m’ama, m’ama (she loves me, she loves me not, she loves me). Watercolor and pen, by Ayoung Kim José collapsed again last night. One minute he’s whining with joy as I come up the stairs, holding the stuffed octopus in his mouth. The next, I’m taking a steaming hot…
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Mangia Sarcola, part I
We found out that José has cancer. It’s hemangiosarcoma, our veterinarian said. I don’t know if it’s the spread-really-aggressively kind or the spread-more-slowly kind.C (my fiancé at the time) asked, How long does he have?Anywhere from three months to one year, she replied.C turned to our little altar on the mantle. Crying openly, he lit…