Backstage smells. An acquired taste, it’s not unpleasant, but specific and familiar. A symphony of old wood, dusty fabric, hot lights, hairspray, and bodies in motion. The dressing room air conditioner has stopped working and there are too many sticky people jostling for real estate in front of the mirror. Elbows knock together, but no apologies follow. No one bothers, for it will happen again and again.
Poetry is not my thing
It lumbered down the street towards me. Dark and hulking. Ominous. I had to run. Now! The asphalt had melted into hot taffy, sticking to my feet. It took all my strength to wrench free. The strands latched onto my bare toes like black, ropy tentacles. They scorched my skin.
The creature slunk closer. Stalking me, as I stood paralyzed. I could smell its fetid breath. It opened its maw, teeth glistening in the moonlight and roared… Continue reading
Thunk.
Sherri just didn’t have the fortitude to investigate the clunk that came from the den. She waited, listening. Silence. She decided to ignore it.
I never imagined myself on the lam. (Or is it “on the lamb”? I can never remember.) All I ever wanted was to live on pasture. Dozing in the summer sunshine, flicking flies off my nose with my tail. Listening to the symphony of the meadow. Singing birds, buzzing bees, chirping frogs to keep me company. Perhaps – when bored – trying to decipher the secrets whispered between the breeze and the broad canopies of the maple trees. A simple, pastoral life. Continue reading
“The Uninvited House Guest”
by MM Schreier
Ponder Review. Spring Edition is available. Get your copy here.
I was fading from the mirror. It was nearly imperceptible at first. My hair seemed drab, skin sallow. I tried dyes and make up. Disappointed with a natural bronze, I moved to shades more vivid, even lurid. Crimson lips and smokey eyes. Nothing worked. I was a washed out photograph, colors bleached by the sun. People were too polite to mention it. I expected comments like – Oh, Sasha you look so pale! Are you feeling alright? They never came. Everyone just looked the other way. Continue reading
