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Farewell to BlackBreaking bones
with bones that's how you left, like bird’s leave the colors of daylight. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Time Lapse PhotographI hear you come and go
in my dreams and in cloudy camphor windows. I hear you when I hear other steps down the corridor, other voices that aren’t yours. I recognize your worn amaranth and feather hands, here, on the shore of your wasteland. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Everblue SoulA silhouette of teal despair
Witness to all we never were to be and are Witness to all we never were to do and did The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
We're Only a TheoryA series of split Games rolled and pinned over
Only coming together for weddings or funerals Dislocate my shoulder if you need it The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Places WhereThe rats don't have to hide
And only the crazies are consistent When your paths become your paths begin to consider that same The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Still, LifeWords, Audio, and Narration by Meriah L. Crawford Image by Gretchen Gales QuailBellMagazine.com *Editor's Note: A previous version of this piece without accompanying audio appeared in Style Magazine. The author wishes to acknowledge and thank Bill Blume, a Richmond-area author who voiced the 911 dispatcher in the audio. Click here to listen to accompanying audio.The woman is lying on the bench, asleep, when I arrive at the North Richmond train station around noon. For some reason, I feel compelled to sit and watch her for a minute or so, until I catch the rhythm of the rise and fall of her side. In spite of the air conditioning, the air is warm and heavy, and I doze for what must be almost two hours. I awake to see the same woman, lying on the same bench -- only now, she’s not breathing. I know in a distant sort of way that I should get up, call for help, do something. But I just sit and look at her, a slight buzzing in my head and a heaviness in all my limbs.
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Lushlush Lux peach
celestial azure orbs misty musk soddened mounds siren squeal start listen glisten glow scatter scented glass shatter shrill drop crunch squeeze crunch crumple stumble stop flip flop buzz deflate nuzzle pulsate fade fade fade... The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
The Fire BirdOur bed is a perfect oblong, like something cut out with scissors; the covers upon it are ivory, the shade of a tusk or a tooth. When the colors of sunset are gone, drained from the sky like blood, leaving an overhead ocean of darkness, swimming with distant suns, I am left with this: a bed, neat and nearly white; a soft, sheeted sanctuary with a duvet composed of feathers.
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Like Breath, Like AirThe Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
NounWe rarely wholly reflect upon a noun,
that is, a person, place, or thing, until it is lost, either momentarily or finally. |