I listen quietly the whole way

As you give your final pleas

Desperation for my success

Brings you to your knees

Every bit of wisdom

You wish someone had given you

You hand the universe to me

And I’m tethered in everything I do

I nod my head, compliant

Just as I know I should

Convincing you I’d never do those things

But in my heart I knew I would

And I didn’t realize then

But that final driv...

The plan was in place. Rosie and Frederich would help facilitate my escape tomorrow at dark, just after compline prayers had been said and the nuns retired to their personal quarters. The time of day when there would still be enough movement, and minds busy with thoughts of the day, that would conceal any noise that I might make as I furtively slipped through the convent.

My hands instinctively ...

I watch the hands of time tick in your eyes. Like a stopwatch counting towards the second this conversation can be complete. Behind us. Never to be discussed again.

I knew coming into this meeting that there would be no niceties. No warm gestures or affection. And yet as I sit here across from you, practically a stranger to a man who once knew and owned my soul, I can’t help but wish that I could ...

The flame of the kerosene lamp flickered away into black, forcing me to retire my paper and pen, and search for rest that I knew would not come. The August air was suffocatingly thick, even within the walls of our cabin. Droplets of moisture in the air had settled in my neatly made bed, dampening my sheets as I climbed into them for the last time and laid my head down on my pillow. There was a low...

The feeling of youth.

I could bottle it up and sell it for millions.

When I drink from that bottle I’m back to a place I didn’t know how to fully appreciate when I was there.

That garage. That living room where we would collapse on the soft brown couches after taking shots in the kitchen.

The kitchen with holes in the walls from drunken behavior.

The drunken behavior that lead to slow kisses, s...

First you spotted me in the cafe. Sitting near the door, scarf wrapped around my neck, cardigan pulled tight, to shield me from the winter wind that blew in with every sound of the door chime. I looked up hoping for a warmer table, only to see you laugh- there wasn’t another seat in the house. My options were nil. You invited me to share a seat at your table- no strings attached. You would leave m...

The River didn’t just suddenly stop flowing in an instant.

In order for the River to stop flowing, many circumstances, much earlier, from many miles away must have led to this supernatural occurrence.

And yet, in the moment, all I could see was the soggy River bed, and I had no concern of being carried away.

So I crossed.

And I continued my journey.

Many miles, many nights, sleeping under the st...