Uncategorized – Page 3 – Haunted Avenues

Of An Old Photo

Some other place and time, one long gone summer smoldered to ash,yet here she is,back to the camera, eyes to the horizon,a drift of wind catching her hair,little lake swells cresting beneath her toes –a day in the sun still just begun.

Knowing

Just as you know that the sweet soul in the bathrobe standing over your shoulder will still love you even after your toast crumbs have fallenall over her clean kitchen floor,there will come a daywhen you will pull yourself upout of this dark funk,straighten your posture,lift your head to the sun,and return every little mercythatContinue reading “Knowing”

Where You’ve Been

Where you’ve been is where you are still, and it’s been so long since you got here.Too long to bullshit yourself,much less anyone else,into believing anything you say anymore.Too long to win back all that you’ve lost.Too long to remain quiet.Too long to shout.Too long to crawl out unscathed on your own.Too long to forgetContinue reading “Where You’ve Been”

What The Wind Said

Collect yourself.Leave everything elseas it is.Don another layer.Lock the door behind you.Pull up your collar.Stiffen your shoulders.Keep your head straight.Keep your eyes on the road.Don’t lose sight.Go with or against the flowdepending upon what truth you know.Protect your breath.Find something to hold onto.Don’t get swept awayby the whirlwind of today.

Before We Were Ghosts

We lived down the lane,past the lumber mill,across the old iron bridgenear the rotting churchwhere we used to gatheron Sundays to pray for our souls. This was where we spent our days,barely getting along,disenchanted with life, never satisfiedwith being part of a whole.We thought we were allso special, you know,but our roads were as lonely,empty,Continue reading “Before We Were Ghosts”

Oblivion

I saw oblivion onceon the side of the road,a shabby clapboard houselisting in the sun, its paint peelinglike flakes of dead skin.The yard was full of junk and debris,but clearly someone was living inside.Tee shirts flapped madly out on a linelike flags of surrenderwaving in the breeze.I considered this as I drove on.Where and whenContinue reading “Oblivion”

Scene From A Mall

Tonight I’m looking at a photographtaken in a shopping mall years ago;my father, my stepmother, and my two childrenlined up before the camera like captive soldiers. It occurs to me that this is the only picture I have of them all together. They are bundled up in coats and hats, almost smiling.Lit wreaths gleam inContinue reading “Scene From A Mall”

Home Baked

I remember how early the darkness came.Long noisy bus rides home from school in winter,walking in the front door at four o’clock, sometimes later –the light outside nearly gone.Inside, the house was warmand smelled of the wood stove, occasionally molassesif grandma had just baked a fresh batch.Sometimes she’d let me sample one before dinner,while theContinue reading “Home Baked”

Skylon

That day, in a glass-enclosed elevator,squeezed in like a school of fishrising 775 feet to the top of the swaying tower,a slyly grinning man explained to us how it had to do that so as not to snap apart. Everyone laughed nervously.I shuttered and covered my eyes with my hands.My mother clutched my shoulder, calmlyContinue reading “Skylon”

Three Words

Three little words spray painted on a fence.Far from the only words there, but the only one’s to catch my eye. So whoever you are, why did you do it?I just wanted to walk today without overthinking.Now I’m tangled up in that question and others. Beyond basic survival instincts, why do we get out ofContinue reading “Three Words”

Allure

I’ve always wanted to live by the ocean.I can’t quite explain it –I’m terrified of deep water. Still, I promised myself oncethat someday I would,even if only half believing. Midlife and landlocked, I’m no closer,though I’m certainly closer to death,whatever that is. Day after day I want to wake up,gaze down at a sleepy harbor,andContinue reading “Allure”

Mathematics

The word alonemakes me squirm.My eyes begin to cross.My skull throbsin time with my heart –two heavy bass drums.Flashcard memoriestorture my brain –precarious classroom moments frozenin front of a blackboard,sweaty fingers fisting the chalk, scratching, erasing, scratching, erasing.Equations I cannot solve.Numbers. Graphs.Symbols. Decimal points…Mathematics.My kryptonite. My nemesis.Cold. Glaring. Calculating,so very, very calculating,yet never adding uptoContinue reading “Mathematics”