The 14 pieces in my debut chapbook from Bottlecap Press explore themes of change, nostalgia and the cyclical nature of life.

The beginning the end the beginning the end the

If X equals the doors you left open and Y equals the doors that shut themselves, solve for Z where Z equals the lives you regret not living.

Calculate for the sum of it all

The office bathroom

Picture this: you’re in the bathroom, trying to rinse off your hands, but the automatic faucet won’t acknowledge your existence.

Ghosts of the Mundane

The first sign had been taped to the garage door of the blue house with white shutters. It was crisp at first, big black letters on white paper, but the sun soon rendered it faded and soft and yellow, tender as its message.

Setting: Everywhere and nowhere, all at once

Her best friend in fourth grade had her left pinky; her high school boyfriend her right earlobe. She had given her husband her right kidney and taken his left kneecap; her sister had hers. 

an ear, a heart, a life a life a life

Four.

You are at your uncle’s house and your parents said you could get a pet for your birthday. His dog had pups a few weeks ago and now you are surrounded in tan and white fur, cold noses and small paws pressing against you.

Gestalt (noun): a theory that a whole is different from and more than its disparate parts

The attacks have slowed since the monster hunter came to town.

1802

The doctor hadn’t always wanted to be a scientist. Growing up, he had wanted to be an artist or a farmer or a mother.

He had always wanted to create life.

But Then the Mice Began to Change

The day the bugs descended, the air was thick with warmth and wings. Every surface shimmered, shivered, shook with countless antenna, even more legs. 

Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Books

Selected work