Tag Archives: Sudha Balagopal

SUDHA BALAGOPAL: Because You Demanded An Inventory…

Artistic, Submissions, ,

Ten frayed-collar tops, folded;
nine crumpled dress pants, stacked;
eight pairs of faded socks, balled;
seven sets of misshapen underwear, rolled;
six shabby pajamas, bundled;
five exhausted, knee-length dresses, crammed;
four dingy skirts, stuffed;
three ancient earrings, wrapped;
two wobbly suitcases shut, snapped;
one illusory love story, concluded;
zero regrets.

Sudha Balagopal’s recent fiction appears in Fictive Dream, Adroit Journal and Does It Have Pockets among other journals. She has had two novellas-in-flash published by Ad Hoc Fiction: Nose Ornaments and Things I Can’t Tell Amma. Her stories have been included in Best Microfiction and Best Small Fictions. She is Series Editor, Wigleaf Top 50.

SUDHA BALAGOPAL: New Normal

Submissions, , , , ,

She’s isolated in the hospital, so I say “I love you” via video phone, talking until my battery flashes red and her chest doesn’t rise, then break because I can’t hold her, break because she’s a statistic without a funeral, as if she’s never existed, as if she’s never lived.

Sudha Balagopal’s short fiction appears in numerous publications including Wigleaf, Fictive Dream, Cabinet of Heed, Jellyfish Review and New World Writing. She is the author of a novel, A New Dawn. See more at sudhabalagopal.com.

SUDHA BALAGOPAL: Structural Collapse

Artistic, Submissions, Touching, , ,

She trembles as they’re ordered to evacuate, their home about to conflagrate. Silent, Sam stuffs his car with his clothes, books, and computers. Heartbroken, she packs her vehicle with teapot, blankets, and comforting pillow. Neither of them takes the wedding album, which incinerates, and becomes, like their relationship, a memory.

Sudha Balagopal’s short fiction appears in numerous publications including Wigleaf, Fictive Dream, Cabinet of Heed, Jellyfish Review and New World Writing. She is the author of a novel, A New Dawn. See more at sudhabalagopal.com.

SUDHA BALAGOPAL: Last Tango

Artistic, Submissions, Top Stories, , , ,

In dream, images lure: my hands spanning his bony scapula, lips kissing his neck, leg snaking his muscles as I lean back, believing he won’t ever let me go.

Awake, I pray for strength I cannot muster, to rise, to walk, to forgive the texting teen for unraveling our tango.

Sudha Balagopal’s short fiction appears in Jellyfish Review, Drabble, New Flash Fiction Review, New World Writing, and other journals. She is the author of a novel, A New Dawn. See more at sudhabalagopal.com.