Spiritual
Sin Box
Three stories: Variations on a sin theme 1.) I see stuff like this a lot in my dreams, so I decided it should at least be doing something useful while I figure out what it means. 2.) I’ve tried to keep my sins organized over the years. That way I can correct it quickly if I find I’m missing out on something good. 3.) This box could probably put a curse on someone who believed in that stuff, like a burglar maybe. Personally, I don’t believe in curses, but I don’t think I’d take anything from a box that looked like this either just to be safe.
Simple Life
I was going to live simply & give away all my money to the poor, she said, until I figured out then I’d be poor, so the simple thing was just to keep it. I like it when things make sense like that, she added.
Silly in Public
I figured out that if I keep it up, someday I’ll probably get wise enough to be silly in public but I probably won’t wait that long.
Secret Notes
He wrote secret notes to people he hadn’t met yet. Some of them aren’t even born, he said, but we live in a strange neighborhood & they will need help figuring things out & I won’t always be around to explain it to them.
Self-Conscious
He is self-conscious because everyone knows he has wings but they’ve never seen him fly. Now & then there will be a feather in odd places or maybe a footprint to show he was there. All in all, he thinks it’s nobody else’s business what he does with his free time.
Secret Heart
The secret is not in your hand or your eye or your voice, my aunt told me once. The secret is in your heart. Of course, she said, knowing that doesn’t make it any easier.
Remembering
You have to remember to make it all over again every day, the angel said to me. Otherwise it goes all to hell.
Relative Worries
I’m not worried about ghosts in general, she said. Just the ones that are related to me.
Real News
One morning she decided to throw away the paper & listen to the real news & by the end of the day, she knew that while people were sometimes confused, the rest of the world was not & she slept that night for the first time since she was a young girl.
Real Reflection
That’s not my real reflection, she said. I’ve changed so much since then most people barely recognize me.
Real Hero (masc)
Anyone can slay a dragon, he told me, but try waking up every morning & loving the world all over again. That’s what takes a real hero.
Real Limit
How many people can you love before it’s too much? she said & I said I didn’t think there was any real limit as long as you didn’t care if they loved you back.
Real Name
I can remember walking down the street, saying my name over & over, until all of a sudden, it didn’t sound like my name anymore. It didn’t even sound like a word at all & then I stopped & the silence rushed in & whispered words that sounded more like my real name & I smiled & thought to myself how surprised my parents would be when they found out what a mistake they had made.
Real Dream
This holds a promise to all the children of the world, which is how you can tell it’s a real dream of America & not one of those dreams of fear & death that glitter so brightly on tv.
Quieter Today
this is a window into the stuff that goes on behind what we think about it & even if we were all to disappear tomorrow it would go on without even noticing except to comment now & then that it was quieter today than usual
Pools of Light
My favorite time of day is just at dark when all thoughts
of what must be done stop & small pools of light
come alive on tired faces everywhere.
Plumber
The plumber was digging around in the pipes & he saw something shine in the muck & it turned out to be the soul of the last tenant. He gave it to me & I said I wonder how we can return it & he shrugged & said he found stuff like that all the time. You’d be amazed what people lose, he said.
Place by the Sea
He kept a piece of algae behind his ear to remind him of his roots. A million years ago every place was a little place by the sea, he would say & my mind would go blank & I would swim through the day without a care in the world & it all seemed so familiar that I knew I would go back someday to my own little place by the sea.
Place to Fly
She kept asking if the stories were true. I kept asking her if it mattered. We finally gave up. She was looking for a place to stand & I wanted a place to fly.
Packets of Light
These are little packets of light & you need to plant them early in the year & remember to mark where they were because lots of times they look like weeds in the beginning & it’s not until later that you see how beautiful they really are.