Friday, June 12, 2009

Somewhere

Somewhere there is a tree bending in a wet gale, under a sky strewn with racing clouds and the bad light of a lunar eclipse. Somewhere a road limns halves of the horizon, rising like a hawk's trajectory until it disappears in the shimmering heat. Somewhere things that look like men squat in caves and clack their yellow teeth at the sun.

Somewhere a spider clamps its bony arms around a moth; the fluttering of the moth slows to a beat and is picked up by the fluttering glow in far storm clouds.

Somewhere an oak tree has grown around a fist of bones. Clutched in the fist is a tiny wooden doll, and painted on the doll's white face are two dots and the thin line of a mouth.

Somewhere on a marshy beach, under the singing air, the sand dimples, cracks, and falls in on itself to reveal a smoking hole that smells like wet wool.

Sometimes, when you're not looking, the stars twitch into new positions, just for a moment. Bats and night frogs blink and go about their business.

Somewhere a wagon filled with rugs lumbers to a stop on the side of a rock-strewn road and under a sky that is so blue it would make your teeth ache. A crow is released into the air. A rabbit is released across the plain. And after a moment, a gloved fist emerges from the swaying wool curtains. Gripping the worn leather with yellow, lizardlike feet and hooked talons is a hooded falcon. The hood is released and the bird climbs into the bright sky, watching both crow and rabbit.

It dives.

3 comments:

Peter S said...

These are great! Like all good seeds of stories, they beg the question, "Why?"

S R Wood said...

Thanks! Sometimes a brain dump is more creatively fulfilling than an actual post. I love the idea of a bony little fist. Brr.

Babs said...

WOW! The wooden doll clenched in the bony fist is awesome. Great visual images. Not sure about the sky so blue my teeth ache, however. My teeth currently ache from a sinus "issue". Keep it up!