A woman with a revolver tattoo walked home. She had a job at The Whisky and lived only a short distance away in a bungalow just off of the Sunset Strip. In front of her house there was a bench where an old juggler sat alone performing tricks. When the woman with the revolver tattoo approached, he cawed at the sparrows scattered among the dirt. They took to the sky and spread like ashes blown by the wind. The woman watched as they flew higher and higher toward the Moon. The Man in the Moon had a face like Roger Daltrey. Just before the birds disappeared, they drew a circle in the sky. The old juggler laughed.

Matthew Schultz is the author of Encomium: Cento Paradelles (Beir Bua Press), Inflorescence (Alien Buddha Press), and, most recently, Icaros (ELJ Editions).