Chartreuse sky, intermittent lightning, air like the rock over Jesus’ tomb. I sit, hurricane in hand, sunglasses on, inhaler nearby, feet in plastic kiddie pool. Radio’s found the only frequency, R.E.M. fuzzy, the sole survivor. Man, this is living. The end of the world as we know it.

Kevin A. Risner is the author of Do Us a Favor (Variant Literature, 2021) and You Thought This Was Just Gonna Be About Cleveland, Didn’t You (Ghost City Press, 2022).