Once I loved judging writing competitions. Discovering new voices. Dissecting prose.
        Once people wrote of drunk mothers and teenagers asking what-the-fuck about humanity.
Opioid stories.
        This year, I got nothing but Hitler.
        Cold bankers heiled capitalism. Denied loans. Manic liberals stole toys from sandboxes,
inexplicably wearing khaki.
        Rude McDonald’s staff became Hitler for cooking McChickens.
        I rounded up the stories. Told the contestants to use original metaphors.
        Then I ripped up every entry and cried for the loss of creativity.
        Other judges overthrew me. Accused me of suppressing free speech.        
        I had nightmares about original metaphors drowning.
        The contest winner? Hitler.

Yash Seyedbagheri is a graduate of Colorado State University's MFA program. His stories, "Soon," “How To Be A Good Episcopalian,” and "Tales From A Communion Line," were nominated for Pushcarts. Yash’s work has been published in The Journal of Compressed Creative Arts, Write City Magazine, and Ariel Chart, among others.