Claire Hanlon

Claire Hanlon spent her formative years moving frequently between the various islands and nations of Oceania; she’s also lived in California, Montana, and now Texas, where she lives with her husband, son, three cats, dog, and a whisker collection. Her work was most recently in HAD and is forthcoming in a number of journals, including Passages North, Image, and Under the Gum Tree. Find her at www.clairehanlon.com or on Instagram as @loveyclairey, or at home, where she’s probably yelling at an animal.

CAUSE AND EFFECT by Claire Hanlon

July 31, 2025 · Micros

When the birds burst up and out from the sidewalk grass in front of my car as I’m driving home from the store on Mother’s Day, and I think: how beautiful! as the unexpected blue of their wings flash before me, and then: oh no! did I hit them?—it’s a near thing, a miracle: I miss them, just. Because the birds live, when I arrive home and honk to let my family know I’m back, let’s go, and my husband emerges, he does not stare perplexedly at the bumper of our newly-purchased SUV. And, because the birds are both still…

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