Song Of The Isthmus
“The ship docked on the sandy shores. / Waves lapping at its barnacled belly / the anchor digging deep into the earth. / Hundreds swarmed the grounds, / scouring for fresh water.”
Tag Archives: Regional Silver Key
grey
“the type of tiredness that settles behind your eyes and doesn’t leave. / the type of quiet that twists your gut and unsettles your mind. / the type of moments that make you wish for an alternate reality.”
The Golden Disk
“I remember the day they discovered the time capsule. They first described it as a white, bowl-shaped contraption containing a golden disk. We didn’t know what it was and where it came from. Scientists studied the disk and eventually determined how to operate it. And then the sounds started playing: unfamiliar rhythms and tunes.”
Heart Flames
“The cold, dry air blew through the forest. The trees swayed from side to side, occasionally dropping twigs or leaves on the hastily built campsite. The concoction of the sounds from the day quietly dissolved into the thin, night air. The only noise in the whole forest was the sound of the fire crackling and the wrinkling of the piece of paper I clutched tightly in my hand.”
Darling
“The doorbell jingled as a woman and her daughter entered the cafe. They did not look at all alike. The daughter was short and chubby and seemed to waddle instead of walk; the mother was tall and lanky, each angle from chin to elbow sharpened to a point.”
Elsu
“Elsu woke up, like every morning. Hungry. Living in the winter pit houses during the harshest winter that he had ever experienced.”
Green Grass
“The elk stood together. The forest around them was covered in a thick blanket of snow. One doe stood away from the rest of the herd. Her coat was wet from the snow collecting on her back. The breath of the elk gave the area the illusion of smoke rising. The crack of a branch sent all ears facing the old oak that had given up one of its limbs.”
Summer Break
“But the knowledge that one day
The chains will return
Sieges your liberty.”
Especially Not You
“The families spent every summer after that in Bear’s parents’ country house in the Adirondack mountains. The children were summer friends, never managing to keep in touch over the year. There was a magic that only existed in the woods behind the house, and the field in front of the woods.”
Feast on Words
“Similes are some great stuff
I can never get enough
Metaphors are like chamomile tea
Subtle but strong enough for me”
Self-Portrait
Cartography
“And that was the first time I was in love- I loved girls and I wanted boys, like the man who died amongst the bleached bone white sands, unable to chose between love and life, and so I starved”
Animal Wedding
“The gibbon boasted a polka-dotted bow tie; his velvety arms stretched outwards to hold a Bible. He was to be the officiator of this holy matrimony.”
A Prayer for Elizabeth
“I haven’t slept in days. Last night, I was lying in bed, and I shut my eyes, and I cried. I cried because I miss you. I cried because I need you and because I’m hurting.”
Getting Ready
“And if you come in there with fantastic hair, she’ll take one look at you– her fifth grade boyfriend– and dump Charlie right then and there, on his birthday and everything. Because she can’t hide her love for you any longer.”
Forced Poem
“How do you write a poem?
I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing
Do I just keep hitting the return key after every sentence?
Is a line break between two stanzas like a paragraph?”
Tired From Tomorrow
“I envied Yesterday, who would find the
deepest of slumber for all of tomorrow.”
Hidden Worlds
“They are just so massive and old, they have seen so many years pass. I feel like they watch over me when I’m out in the wilderness. When I look up at the mountains, there always seems to be something more to them, something hidden in those shadowy woods. Something magic.”
Clench
“He carries urgent reminders that are easily forgotten. Notes to self that are underlined and circled and highlighted. During class he sits upright, brainstorming a highbrow comment to share while small-talking his peers with a pretense of confidence.”
Fire at The Don Cesar
“It’s spring break, and we’re in St. Pete Beach, Florida. My family and I are staying at the Don Ce Sar hotel, where my dad went with his dad and brother as a kid. The Don is everything I hoped it would be.”
The Preparations
“The day the world ends is August 8. Our leader told us so. They stood on the balcony overlooking our town and called us to attention.”
Missing Mae
“Bill woke up one morning and noticed he hadn’t quite realized how loudly his knees creaked before. He hadn’t noticed just how cold the hardwood floors got in the winter, hadn’t seen all the dirt on the windows. Had there even been any dirt, before Mae died?”
t-shirts
“…the ones who had been hanging
from street lights and shooting stars,
who asked for help in the form
of loud music, slow dancing,
painting in dark colors, tying
red balloons to doorknobs…”