Wandering/You are still such a dream I can't grasp I'm awake/It makes me want to melt into what is at stake
All by Anthony Herman
Youth
Struggling, seeking, sorting, salvaging:
No Saint to Save—
Building, breaking, blaming, bandaging:
No Bliss to Miss—
Peter was staring at the movie, although he was not focusing on it at all. There were two Cassies, one on each side of him, holding him tightly. He looked down at each of their smiling faces as they watched the movie. They both looked up at him at the same time.
As he thought back to what had happened, Peter felt a surge of guilt needling its way through his skin, but he attempted to stifle it as best he could. It was his fault, he knew that, there was no denying it.
Silent Blue
“Before I could guess what he was about to do, he got down on one knee to propose—what? Stop looking at me like that. I mean, it can’t come off as much of a shock! It was, after all, a game of surprises. Sure, he didn’t have a ring, and at the time of inebriation I couldn’t really recall his name… but what a surprise it was!”
Esther
Esther was never one to pay attention. Always the wanderer, Charles would say. As the two sat in the drawing room on their red velvet chairs, facing the fireplace with its elaborate mantelpiece, he occasionally noticed Esther glance at her Hamilton diamond watch, but not for the sake of admiration.
The Heart That Pines
do you know what it feels like / to dream with such devotion / that it aches? / like a dull pang / paced by the clank / of your hope-clustered heart
A Comfortable Prison
Thanks to my father, my childhood was filled with trips to the zoo. Ever-fascinated by the diversity, he found the zoo to be an amalgam of unique creatures to explore and study. That's what I loved most about my father, his endless love for all forms of life.
A Cure For Improvement
there are certain stones / that bleed. / no matter how solid, / with enough pressure / they seep their weakness; /because there is a violence / to the harsh winds of curiosity / that refuses derailment, / that latches without touch, / that slices without sight.