Exterminating Angel Press

Creative Solutions for Practical Idealists.

EAP: The Magazine Archive

On the Bench by the River.

by

by Lana Hechtman Ayers.

 

My husband embraces our little dog as
she flops baby-seal-like in his lap,
sun so bright on her head,
the tips of her black fur
iridesce to pink and purple.

She’s warm as a summer-plump berry.
Eyes blinking closed, open, closed.
Scents only a dog can sense,
her nose twitches like Samantha’s
on Bewitched before magic happens—

a breeze exactly cool enough for relief
rustles through the evergreen trees,
the wind speaks susurrus
& a chorus of birds chirrup love songs
on such an ethereal morning.

Eventually, we’ll rise from the bench,
from this moment’s eternity,
to escort our ailing little dog
to the vet’s office for a lethal injection
as my husband embraces her in his lap.

The Screaming Baboon.

by

by Matias Travieso-Diaz. Baboons who fail to exhibit moral behavior do not survive; they wind up as meat for leopards. — Robert A. Heinlein   Papio Ursinus (commonly referred to as “Pappi”) was an old male Chacma baboon, raised and grown to maturity in the mountains surrounding Cape Town, on the southwestern tip of Africa. […]

Her.

by

by Zary Fekete. How old was she? Some thought late 60s. Others said more than 75. She lived on the old street since the war ended. Her row house was not among the few with two stories that were on the street corners. It was a simple house, a single story with two largish rooms […]

A Tale of Persistence.

by

by Tom Ball.   I, Gordon, said to Lucille, “One way or another I will get your love.” She said, “It’s impossible, I already have a lover.” I said, “I thought monogamy had disappeared long ago and we now live in times of free love.” She said, “I guess I seem backwards, but I am […]

A Conversation with Steve Hugh Westenra.

by

by Joel Glover. In conversation with Steve Hugh Westenra – author of The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle (TETK), The Wings of Ashtaroth (WoA), and So Sing the Barrows (SSTB).   You’re originally from the UK, right, but moved to Canada? How does that background creep into your writing and cultural contexts? That’s right! Now, it’s important, […]

Person Number Twelve.

by

by Jim Meirose. So this random example of the typical human creature, raising their head to ‘he window barring out th’ invasion of ‘he outsides but which, luckily for most normal humans, th’ invention ot see-through “glass” which could be cheaply manufactured, made being cabined in to be safe from what may lie outside, but […]

Who Was Dorothy?

by

by Bruce E.R. Thompson. My father was a collector of rare books, although he had very specific tastes in what he collected. In particular, he was a collector of science fiction novels, and he spent a great deal more on this hobby than my mother thought was strictly within his means. After he died, she […]

Those Evil Spirits.

by

by Brian Griffith.   Besides avoiding physical or social sources of corruption, many ancient people feared losing their souls to spiritual enemies. Demonic spirits could poison the mind or possess the body. “Mental illness” seemed to indicate control by alien entities, and all illnesses were like invasions of negative forces. Perhaps that’s why the English […]

1966, NYC; nothing like it.

by

by Diana Morley. Walking down Broadway on a sultry June evening going to an off-Broadway play with a few friends. I wear a long white cotton nightgown with embroidered yellow flowers. We sweep by two guys weaving, waving bagged bottles when one stares at my gown and says, “Oh, I do believe an angel has […]

Sun Shower.

by

by David D. Horowitz. Descriptions of ancient Greek mythology often feature nine muses, each for a different form of composition or field of endeavor. Malpomene, for example, is the muse of tragedy; Thalia is the muse of comedy; Erato is the muse of lyric poetry; and six other muses seed imagination’s fields. Featuring many muses, […]