Mark Tulin

Mark Tulin is a former family therapist from Philadelphia who now lives in Santa Barbara, California.  He has a poetry chapbook, Magical Yogis, published by Prolific Press, and an upcoming book of stories, The Asthmatic Kid. His stories and poetry have appeared in Fiction on the Web, Ariel Chart, Amethyst Magazine, among anthologies and podcasts.  His website is Crow On The Wire.

LINOLEUM FLOOR by Mark Tulin

It’s morning. Circa 1972. I turn over in bed and gaze down at my gray marble linoleum floor. It’s coming up around the edges, and there are all sorts of dirty stains, punctures, and dried bubblegum spots on it.  I remember when it was new. My father laid it down himself. He brushed on glue, applied the linoleum, trimmed the corners with a sharp razor so it could snugly fit against the walls, and hammered the baseboards in with long, skinny nails.   The window shade over my bed hangs crooked off to the right with one of its brackets dangling…

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