Themes
Beginning
he followed the sun & she followed the stars & in dreams they listened closely for the beginning of all things, for that was where they knew they’d find each other
Ballerina Mom
Whenever she stood in line at the bank, or while waiting for the bus, I noticed her feet. The right always in front & perpendicular to the left just so. Even after 2 children, she still dreamed of being a dancer.
Back to Me
We don’t have much time, he said, so I’ll just tell you about me.
Back to Nature
We went camping once & the people next to us had a TV & they invited us over to watch the Miss America pageant & everyone said isn’t nature wonderful & after a while I went over to the dunes & watched the waves smile brightly in the moonlight.
Backup Husband
You can’t just say stuff like that, she told me, people will think you’re serious & I nodded & said I know & won’t they be surprised when they finally figure it out & she shook her head & said she should probably make plans then for a backup husband.
Backup Plan
Sometimes I think we should bury all our money in a hole & go back to enjoying life again, he said. It’d probably be a good idea to make a map of where the hole was just in case it didn’t work out though.
Bad Argument
I don’t believe in love, he said & I nodded & said I’d heard that argument before & it always ends badly & he couldn’t think of another thing to say.
Bad Fit
Certain types of people don’t fit in here, she told me when we first moved in. Just assume you’re one of them & you’ll be fine.
Bad Trip
Monsters on an extended road trip
& you don’t know scary until you’ve seen America by car
Bad Witches
This is a poison soup to kill all the bad witches, she said. How can you tell the difference? I asked. O, good witches are very polite & say no thank you. Bad witches just die.
Balance
If you had to balance as much stuff as I do, she said, you’d take an hour in the bathroom every morning too.
Balancing Act
I have a friend who used to ride bareback in a circus. In one picture I’ve seen she is wearing blue sequins with her smile spread wide as her arms. One time I asked her was it hard to balance? No, she said, you always balance. Only sometimes, she added, you balance on your butt.
Attack Dog
My aunt had a poodle she dressed in little red sweaters with little dangly ball things & I don’t think it was any wonder that dog was so vicious.
Autumns
I moved a lot when I was young & I still ache a bit at the thought of all those autumns in new & unfamiliar landscapes.
Avoidance
I’ve learned not to look too closely, she said. Otherwise I’d just keep finding out stuff that’d bug me & we’d never get along.
Avoiding Stuff
Feeding anything that looks even vaguely fierce,
since he doesn’t feel like dealing with
that kind of stuff today
Awakening
In those days, we finally chose to walk like giants
& hold the world in arms grown strong with love
& there may be many things we forget in the days
to come, but this will not be one of them.
American Unicorn
this is an American unicorn which explains why it has 2 horns & they’re painted to match the tile in its bathroom
Ancient Kings
My grandmother kept a box of old photos in her attic & we used to go up there on rainy days & sit on the floor in the dusty light & go through them & she would tell about witches & broken hearts & how we came from royal blood & it was all there in the pictures, she said & then we’d lose the light & we’d all go downstairs for dinner & in our secret hearts we sat taller knowing once we had ruled the world.
Ancient Songs
That was the day the ancient songs of blood & war spilled from a hole in the sky & there was a long moment as we listened & fell silent in our grief & then one by one, we stood tall & came together & began to sing of life & love & all that is good & true & I will never forget that day when the ancient songs died because there was no one in the world to sing them.