Five Minutes explores five minutes of a life in one hundred words. Five minutes is edited by Susanna Baird, with editorial support from managing editor Maria s. picone, newsletter editor kate meen, and founding reader bobbi lerman, plus our rotating team of guest readers, who you can meet in the latest newsletteR. Five Minutes was founded in October 2020, with the Salem (Mass.)-based writing group Carrot Cake Writers supplying the journal’s first pieces. We’d love to read your five. Submit here

Rings

Pink and black dots constellate the toilet bowl. I shut the lid to keep the musk out, ignoring grime with every flush. At least I don’t have to stand there staring at the galaxy of filth while pissing like he does. The mirrors dribble with dried toothpaste and the tub is furred with soap scum. Each passing day, I anticipate a comment so that I can justifiably snap, the supplies are in the basement; have at it. I can’t tell what’s more infuriating: that he doesn’t notice the muck of our lives, or that he’s waiting for me to cave.

Cassandra Caverhill is a writer hailing from Windsor, Ontario. Her prose and poetry have been published internationally. Learn more at cassandracaverhill.com.

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