Wednesday, June 29, 2016

The Shelved Ragdoll

She sat
Quietly
Patiently 
Abeyante and still
Eyes stitched closed 
And decorated 
By thick lashes
Relying only on sound
To tell her when her
Steadfast Tin Soldier 
Was near 

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Human 76 and Sheshwahtay

Author's note: I always intended this blog to be about my work. I never wanted to tell a story before I told a story, and I never felt the need to add my personal voice to it. This post is a little something different. I've been lucky enough to be included in an anthology unlike anything I've ever read. And now here I am on Publishing Eve, trying to keep my shit together while my lifelong dreams finally  spread their wings. It's frightening and beautiful and awesome. It's intimidating and amazing. And it certainly wouldn't be possible without you, the reader.
So I give you a little snippet of my short story, Sheshwahtay, included in the Human 76 anthology. Enjoy.....and Sheshwahtay.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Two Horns was up to his shenanigans again. 

“Give it here!” Red Foot screamed at her older brother. “Give me the doll!” She chased after him as he danced around her, holding the delicate, hand-made cornhusk doll just out of reach. 

“You’ll have to fight harder than that to get it, Little Sister. Catch me if you can!” He followed his taunt with a teasing look, and he took off at a sprinter’s pace down the foot path toward the creek.  

Red Foot’s shoulders slumped as she watched her brother’s slim build vanish into the wood. The last thing she could see before he disappeared under the dark canopy was the flame of his unruly, red curls. “Awww, forget it. You’re not worth it, Two Horns,” she said as her defeated gaze shifted downward. She balled up her tiny fists and hollered after him, “You’ll be back for dinner anyway!” 

Summer was giving way to autumn. The leaves had just started to turn magnificent shades of yellow and red. The sun took its leave earlier and earlier each evening. Nights brought that undeniable, crisp smell of impending winter. Yet somehow everything seemed colder than past years.  I feared the effects of the Blast were finally beginning to creep into our home. I’d spent 37 years on this mountain, and I could feel things were changing. There was more of a bite in the winds that blew into our home. The skies were more grey. And winter was still a long way off. 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

buriedAlive

Can't breathe
The air too thick
To draw breath 
Suffocating
Crushing
Slow motion death 
No mercy
No hope for
A quick end
To the agony 

Sunday, June 12, 2016

silentScreams

So many times
The words are right there
Begging to be spoken
Each time they 
Are barricaded 
By fear
By insecurity
By demons
So the clock keeps turning
And the world keeps spinning
And nothing is really different 
On the outside 
Internal civil war
Rages 
A battle
You'll never see

Monday, June 6, 2016

Burrows of Burden

Terrible burden 
And I carry it alone 
Alone 
Alone down the hole
No one willing to follow me
Into darkness 
The deepest recesses
Are frightening alone
Alone 
Alone I scurry
Trying to balance the weight
And wanting to scream
And tell the world 
But I need to make it down
My rabbit hole farther
So that nobody hears
Terrible terrible
Horrible truths
That only my back 
Can carry 

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Three Hundred Sixty Five Yesterdays

There was no way
For you to remember
And impossible
For me to forget
The time flies
And crawls
Simultaneously
And I can't let go
Of things I never held