Krakow Melt by Daniel Allen Cox

Wisdom, freed them from their Cages and kept them trotting in the Roundabout with smart Cracks of the Whip. Only Little Hip, the darling Elephant whose Antics are regal’d as far away as Manhattan, refus’d to leave his Cage. I implore the Officers of the reputable Great West Life Insurance Company to note that I took all reasonable Actions to coax out this Prize of my Coterie, to no Avail.
    Little Hip witnessed the Dreamland Tower fall upon the other Animals as in the frightful Reverie in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 16, Verse 8, which you well remember from your Catechisms: “And the fourth Angel poured out his Vial upon the Sun; and the power was granted unto him to scorch the Men with Fire.” That day, the Wickedness of Mankind brought a Scourge likewise to innocent Beasts, and Sorrow into my Bosom, I assure you.
    The Shetland Ponies and Victoria, the Pregnant Lion, managed to run to Safety. Disaster, however, showed its ghastly Face when the scarlet Fire envelop’d the hapless Zebras and Lions, who scattered with Manes aflame through the crisped Gates of Dreamland, sounding their Death-Screams askance into Brooklyn, seven of them in total.
    We are here put in mind of Revelation, Chapter 17, Verse 3: “I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-coloured beast full of names of blasphemy. It had seven heads and ten horns.”
    The Platypusses, sick Aberrations of Faunae that they are, were braised uniformly out of this World by the Grace of God. To prevent further Displays of this shocking Nature, I mercifully produc’d Lead Bullets from my Pistol into the Skulls of the Horses, Pumas, Hyenas, and, yes, the remaining Lions, bringing their Nightmare to a Close.
    Only Little Hip, judicious Officers, would I not shoot. Surrounded by inescapable Heat, he trumpeted his last Breaths with great Noise before bravely succumbing to Hades. After a careful Examination of the Facts, you will no doubt ascertain that I employed all measures within my Power to preserve the Life of this expensive Attraction, as the Pachyderm is not obtained cheaply through any of the common Asian or African Routes.
    Gentlemen of the Great West Life Insurance Company, it is with this Letter and the faithfully enclosed Receipt that I justify my Claim of $723.18 for said Elephant. Far be it from my Intentions to amend our Contract with a Coddleshell, but I have also attached Documents that demonstrate the current Tusk and Penis market Value, vis-à-vis a post-mortem Standpoint.
    May Mankind never again witness such a Tragedy, we pray.
    Only you have the Wherewithal to compensate for what the Lord has wrought on this wretched Creature.
    Truthfully Yours,
    Captain Jack Bonavita
    Animal Trainer

TINNITUS
    The bells had already started to ring.
    I was in the back seat of a cab in Nowa Huta, headed to the Człowiek Obcy Gallery for the Great Fire of London when the radio announcer delivered the news in a broken voice.
    Panie i Panowie, umarł Papie
    The driver stopped the car in the middle of the street. It was night.
    The radio fought with the bells for our attention.
    Panie i Panowie, umarł Papie
    Panie i panowie, Papie nie yje
    Maybe he knew his listeners needed to hear it from different grammatical angles for it to sink in. But we had all known this was coming. The commentator could’ve said it any way he liked, and it wouldn’t have changed a thing.
    A flash mob blocked the street, and the driver hit the brakes. It was easy to see the masses of people in the dark because they were phosphorescent. They moved as a single entity, slowly, protecting tiny fires and spreading them from hand to hand. They carried lit candles plucked from dinner tables and birthday cakes and emergency kits, and windproof candles in red plastic cups that they had no doubt hoarded for occasions like this. The driver backed up to the last intersection and rerouted the trip. I was going to be late for my show, not that it mattered.
    The bells were gonging wildly, but there was no