Cracked Lips

Winter woke a dark
halo around me.
I was paper. A myth
so hot and starved.
She grabbed the pistol,
aiming for the sun.

Paper Skin

My shadow can burn.
Young and beautiful
stomach.
I dance my
mouth in a circle.

Parallel Universe

The tunnel delivers your mother
into stars, breathless for a world that
isn’t. Darkness presses into pie.
You believe space is tiny.




Elena Zhang is a Chinese-American writer and mother living in Chicago. Her work can be found in HAD, Wigleaf, and X-R-A-Y, among other publications. She is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, and was selected for Best Microfiction 2024, 2025, and 2026.

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