Issue One – July, 2023 / Michele Rule (Flame), Leila P. (Spark)
Dichotomy of Life
Winter holds me tight
full on minus twenty-five
for days on end.
How I miss those summer nights.
Long nights of darkness
suffocating with blankets
of nimbostratus cloud.
I miss late drives, screaming out the window.
Not caring who sees, not caring who hears.
No one hears.
The aura of waves, forming a dome of companionship.
Keeping you safe from the dangers of the dark.
Only dark now, hours dragging into hours
I’m afraid to go outside
afraid to be alone in the silence.
That's what my ears pick up on those gorgeous summer evenings.
Biking at sunset, picnics on the beach, giggling when you can't sleep.
I’m so cold
fingers and toes burning with frost.
The heat washing against your face.
The water singing a tune.
The sand gliding around you.
Wind cuts against my face.
Icicles crash in a great cacophony around me.
Sandman leaves grit in my eyes.
Oh winter, will you ever leave me?
Oh summer, won't you come soon?
Sitting here watching life
my life
slowly
slip away into the cold.
