Petrichor
There are days I find myself frozen.
Lost. Muted. There are days I am traveling
too quickly to move, moving too slowly to be.
On those days, fog clouds inside of my eyes.
The clouds give gentle pressure to my
sinuses, my cranium, a throbbing expansion. On those days,
I find comfort in petrichor.
The After. After the flood, the fire, the
baptism of hail and storm and rain. When the
fires have died and my soul is unshackled,
I find solace in the rising rain. When
the world flips upside down, and the
rain falls into the sky. When the
soil begins to float in thin sheets, a
hovering fog between heaven and hell.
Fat drops of liquid atmosphere slither
down green crabgrass fronds that slice through my shins.
My polyester clothing itches
and my skin protests in the watery green field
in which I lay. But I cannot pry
myself from the cold
seeping slowly into my bones.
How can I tear the anchor of my soul
away, and shove back into its cage the
spirit that leaps amongst the dissipating clouds?
Feed the Birds
Do you see in the clouds, miles above you?
Swooping closer and closer, take heed;
If you feed the birds, they’ll tell you
The truth that the lights never sees
Of the creeping and crawling of shadows
The vermin that slip through the door
Of the dangers that lurk in the shallows
The talons that won’t be implored
When the birds come closer, consider,
Think long, think hard, think true,
Are you prepared for the pain and the blister
Their knowledge will surely bring you?
On wings of strife and of metal
On the winds of deceit and of night
At the bottom, the truth has to settle
And fix you with red, beady eyes
The birds are almost upon us
Shrill cries of secrets to tell
It’s too late for me to escape, my friend
Will you feed the birds, as well?
Emma Brough is a junior at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she is pursuing an English degree focusing on technical and creative writing. Though her heart will never be far from the Puget Sound, she and her husband now call Idaho home. Emma has been published in Everett Community College’s Vibrations and in Brigham Young University- Idaho’s Outlet. More of her work can be found at her Journo portfolio.