This selection, chosen by guest editor Kirsten Kowalewski, is from Something Kindred by Nicole Tallman (Southern Collective Experience 2022).
On Finding Your Ashes In My Suitcase
I think you would laugh if I told you,
your urn exploded somewhere
during my flight back to Miami.
And when I got home, I found you spilled
your ashes all over the inside of my luggage.
Actually, it was your luggage—
the Liz Claiborne zebra print carry-on
with the dragon fruit interior.
The flight was oversold, so I was forced
to check you in your luggage.
What kind of monster
makes a grieving daughter check her own mother?
Nicole Tallman is the author of three collections: Something Kindred, Poems for the People, and FERSACE. She serves as Miami’s official Poetry Ambassador, Editor of Redacted Books, and Poetry Editor for South Florida Poetry Journal and The Blue Mountain Review. Find her on social media @natallman and at nicoletallman.com. 
Kirsten Kowalewski is the editor for online horror fiction review resource Monster Librarian. She has an MLS and a specialist certificate in school library media from Indiana University, has worked as a children’s librarian and elementary school media specialist, and is a lifelong reader.
- We Call Upon the Author to Explain—Timothy Geiger - May 4, 2026
- The Wardrobe’s Best Dressed: Apostasies by Holli Carrell - May 4, 2026
- Project Bookshelf: Rachel Bulman - May 1, 2026