by Keith Gaboury
As I drove to the hospital to visit my friend Billy during his chemo treatment, a stray lightning
bolt struck a eucalyptus on the side of a wooded road. When the trunk collapsed 100 feet ahead, I
skidded to a stop.
Out the door, I walked up to the tree and spotted an alabaster poodle cowering within the
branches. I would have crushed this stray if the stray bolt didn’t strike. How did you survive? I
spoke in a reverence as I scooped the lucky survivor up. I’ll name you Chance. We whipped
around on a new route.
When Billy saw Chance, a smile bolted across his face. He could have gotten whiplash from that
smile but that’s another copay. How do you feel, Billy? 100%. Never better he said with a dry
chuckle like dry bark right before a forest fire. We all sat in the room together as the chemo
dripped into Billy’s collapsing body.
Keith Gaboury
Keith Gaboury earned a MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. His poems have
appeared in such literary publications as Poetry Quarterly, New Millennium Writings, and the San Francisco Public Library’s Poem of the Day Series. Kelsay Books published The Cosmos is Alive in 2023 and Falkenberg Press published Still Human in 2025. He’s also a preschool teacher and a proud bibliophile. Keith lives in Oakland, California. Learn more at keithgaboury.com and keithgaboury.me.
JC Alfier
JC Alfier’s (they/them) artistic directions are informed by photo-artists Toshiko Okanoue, Deborah Turbeville, Francesca Woodman, and especially Katrien De Blauwer. Their most recent poetry book, The Shadow Field, was published by Louisiana Literature Press (2020). Journal credits include The Brooklyn Review, Faultline, Notre Dame Review, Penn Review, River Styx, and Vassar Review.