Sunday Poems

About Sunday Poems

Weekly dives into how being a late-identified autistic person works in today's world for one nonbinary gal. www.thelizzycoshow.com (https://www.thelizzycoshow.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Lizzy Co (she/they)

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Mar 2025

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

63 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Oct 2026

   004.75: LEND ME A HAND, BROTHER

   Back again with another flash fiction piece inspired by Charlie Finch (https://substack.com/profile/487082500-charlie-finch) and his excellent contest, which you can learn about here: October Half-a-Grand Contest Prompt (https://substack.com/@charliefinch10/p-218669692) This time around, Charlie asked us to set the scene between 11:55 and midnight, and also to combine two genres from provided lists. I present to you another scene from the Benny and Lolo diner-verse, this time in the Zombie Apocalypse Family Drama style. More Benny and Lolo: https://www.thelizzycoshow.com/p/00275-waffle-weekend-with-benny-and (https://www.thelizzycoshow.com/p/00275-waffle-weekend-with-benny-and) https://www.thelizzycoshow.com/p/0045-lolo-goes-to-the-sundae-shoppe (https://www.thelizzycoshow.com/p/0045-lolo-goes-to-the-sundae-shoppe) - LEND ME A HAND, BROTHER “Benny. Benny!” I didn’t see my strong brother anywhere, just fear made flesh on the floor before me. He lay facedown, his left arm underneath him. “Get the f**k UP, Benny, we gotta move!” As he turned over, I saw the ragged bite in his forearm. He tried to catch my gaze, but my eyes fled to the kitchen clock. 11:55pm. We had been so close to finishing our shift. I tore off my server apron and wound it around his bleeding arm, then tied the waist strings as tightly as I could around his bicep. I had never made a tourniquet before, but Dad had told me stories from the War. Red bloomed through the apron as I yanked Benny to his feet, and he slumped against the rattling front doors, which we had barricaded moments before with a rolling rack from the kitchen. Our neighbors banged on the windows and doors of the diner, and we cringed as waves of growling moans moved through the crowd. I slung Benny’s good arm over my shoulders, lifted with my legs, and checked the ropes tying the rack to the door before half-carrying Benny back behind the bar. I took some towels from under the counter, laid Benny down as gently as I could, and tucked the towels under his head. I grabbed a few more, put them in Benny’s good hand, and clamped it over the bloody apron on his arm wound. “”Keep that on tight, bud.” I remembered what Dad had told me about his time in the War: you don’t remove the bandage when someone’s bleeding out, you stick another on top. He also told me you can remove an infected limb to save the body. There might be time to save Benny. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the cleaver we used for hacking up roasts, then dashed back as quickly as I dared while carrying such a large blade. “Bud, you gotta trust me.” I grabbed Benny’s hand, stretched out his bitten arm, and brought down the knife against his elbow. I clamped a towel against the stump. The rolling rack danced against the doors. Benny screamed. There was no time to comfort him. I stood up to see familiar faces: Benny’s parents had come to find him. Their eyes were open, but they would never see him again. Now, part of the zombie mob outside, all they saw were food and its obstacles. I bit my lip and turned for the phone on the wall at the end of the bar. I grabbed the heavy black receiver and furiously wrung the rotary for the number to my childhood home. Surely, Dad would answer. He always did. The ringer buzzed and buzzed. I threw the receiver away in frustration. The rolling rack clattered as Benny’s former parents surged against the front doors. As the ropes finally gave way, I watched the kitchen clock tick over to midnight. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thelizzycoshow.com (https://www.thelizzycoshow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   8 Sept 2026

   004.5: LOLO GOES TO THE SUNDAE SHOPPE

   Last week I saw a post from Charlie Finch (https://substack.com/profile/487082500-charlie-finch) announcing a 500-word flash fiction contest. I got excited about revisiting the world of Benny and Lolo and all their restaurant kitchen adventures and knew I had to enter. You can find Charlie’s post here: Half-a-Grand Flash Fiction Contest (https://substack.com/@charliefinch10/p-213558274) I hope you enjoy this scene from Lolo’s romantic post-work adventure, in which she seeks her own pleasure with surprising results. A chalky mint from the host stand rattled my teeth as I burst out of the diner. I had changed out of my starched uniform in the staff bathroom, and now the wind toyed with the hem of my soft civilian sundress as I strode down the sidewalk toward the ice cream shop. I raised a palm to my eyes against the piercing sunset glare and nodded to the Millers as they walked toward the diner for their Sunday dinner. I made a right and ran my hand along the low marble wall surrounding the church as I strode past on a sidewalk that couldn’t decide between brick cobbles or wide paving stones. This time of day always showed the shadow of the steeple laid perfectly across the road, its dark end pointing toward the one bar in town with good beer. I suppose God only knows if that was intentional. The big silver bell in the tower rang seven times, the last chime of the day. This meant that Tara the Ice Cream Girl was about to get off work: I had sussed this out the last time we talked, when she came into the diner during one of my dinner shifts for a post-work hamburger. After Tara left, Benny on the grill gave me a hard time for my appalling lack of skill at chatting her up: “Seriously, Lolo, I was watching…you asked her if she liked the weather today. You gotta get it together or I’m gonna steal her for myself.” My plan this time was to compliment her on winning the Miss Healthy Spine Vermont pageant: I had seen her picture in yesterday’s newspaper, grinning between the two finalists while posing next to their flawlessly straight spinal X-rays. I couldn’t help but giggle at the visible gas bubble in the guts of the girl on Tara’s right: we all tried so hard to hide our bodily functions from the world, and there hers were for all to see. As the final church bell of the evening tolled, I pulled open the door to Silverson’s Ice Cream Shoppe, rubbing the top of its brass handle for luck. Ages ago, Sal Silverson had commissioned this special handle for his shop, shaped like an ice cream scoop, and the top was now burnished from years of customers’ grateful hands. Tara clocked me from the counter: she grabbed a nickel from her tip jar and dropped it into the jukebox, and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” led me inside. As I made my way to her, I watched her retrieve a long sundae spoon, dip it into the hot fudge warmer, lick the underside of the spoon so as not to drip, and slink toward me. As my palms met the smooth wooden countertop, Tara boldly slid the sundae spoon into my mouth, in front of everyone and their root beer floats, too. As I licked my lips, stunned, she leaned in and murmured: “Sweets for the sweet.” Subscribe for more adventures in the diner-verse with Benny and Lolo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thelizzycoshow.com (https://www.thelizzycoshow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   25 Aug 2026

   004: GOOD MALL HUNTING

   Welcome to OLDER THAN I LOOK, a memoir podcast from The Lizzy Co Show. Episode 004: A trip in time and space to the malls of Lizzy’s youth. We tally the lessons tucked into shopping bags. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thelizzycoshow.com (https://www.thelizzycoshow.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)