Writing Darkness

The Works of Zachary Robert Long

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Month: July 2023

One wolf sits on a fallen tree stump beside. another standing. Their fur is filthy and they look unhealthy.

The Animals
by Zachary Robert Long (997 words, estimated reading time: 5 minutes)

Posted on July 31, 2023August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

Their eyes meet from across the room. Amber is saying something, but she doesn’t hear it. She’s already left her seat and is moving across the room with her glass in hand. Amber looks angry until she shakes the glass and points back with two fingers. Now Amber is happy, pacified by her favorite treat….

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A pile of different pill-form medications.

The Cut-Ups Volume 1: Medicated Death
by Zachary Robert Long (851 words, estimated reading time: 5 minutes)

Posted on July 11, 2023August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

The following cut-ups were created using the index of a hack medical text and a  poorly researched chapter on Jonestown. Images of the cut-ups can be found at the bottom of the page. 1. Premenstrual syndromeas vaginal lubricant,breast discomfort and,prenatalVomiting,and,nausea WartsofWaspsanddiarrheaimpure bone exercisebyinsomniaBlistersfromshingles,Blood.coughing upin eye,urine,circulation. 911constipation fromarthritis foot odorhemorrhoids,insectlegsproblems and,self-treatment,   2.still reverberates in the…

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A pile eggs in hay. The eggs are green-with-black-spots.

Be My Buddy (Cut-Up)
by Zachary Robert Long (943 words, estimated reading time: 5 minutes)

Posted on July 3, 2023August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

I suddenly felt calm. And sleepy. I drifted into her little baby face. Opens her green eyes wide, did things with white rats. me. Covering me. feeling I’m anybody’s fuck here? I felt so warm beneath it. speed. The egg creatures moved with surprising work. dozen heartbeats. entire body shuddered from fear. Because they were…

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People should practice an art in order to make their souls grow and not to make money or become famous. Paint a picture. Write.

— Kurt Vonnegut

Recent Posts

  • Ruby Laughs
    by Zachary Robert Long (1304 words, estimated reading time: 6 minutes)
    (Ruby Laughs is a sequel to A Good Mother) She lays on the motel water-bed, her pregnant belly undulating with each breath, and though her face is...
  • The Way It Squirms
    by Zachary Robert Long (2100 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)
    The lump in Steven’s armpit stayed the same size no matter how many times he told himself it wasn’t there. Staring at himself in the bathroom...
  • The Skin Came Free
    by Zachary Robert Long (1441 words, estimated reading time: 7 minutes)
    The skin on my hands has been coming off lately. It starts by the nails, sort of folding back. Not quite tearing but slipping away. I...
  • Robert Cook Collection Item #0888
    by Zachary Robert Long (2856 words, estimated reading time: 13 minutes)
    During the final hours of October 10, 1961, Everett Turpin murdered his wife Dorothy Turpin with an ax. The following morning he drove his Ford F-1...
  • For the Entertainment of Strangers
    by Zachary Robert Long (3971 words, estimated reading time: 17 minutes)
    For Haleigh Masterton, the moment her stomach lining tore registered only as a dull ache. Nor did it slow her down any. It was simply another...

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