A mindless leaf fluttered out of nowhere and perched on my sandaled foot. In the distance, a disorganized medley of birdsong made up an unrehearsed orchestra. Idyllic as it was, I was in the middle of a fairly typical snapshot of spring.

“Hostile vehicle moving to desired location, ”Ryan heard his spotter and put his handheld bible back into his shirt pocket. Ryan’s face was smeared with camouflage paint, and his rifle was covered in a rifle wrap, with his Ghillie suit covering the rest of his body.

He is anchored to the cold room’s center

By metallic, unused fetters

Reluctance is his parapet and it’s likely to collapse

He lies amidst rusted traps

He is the first catch.

Billions of miles away, the Oort Cloud orbited the Sun in silence. The cloud, consisting of thousands upon thousands of chunks of ice and rock, formed the edge of the Solar System, millions of miles past Neptune.

Among the freezing breeze of swastikas,

The only awakened robot

Was the word of the innocent.

II

She was of three hearts,

Like a sphinx,

Child, escapist, and thief.

III

I would say that by noon my

Heart really knew my purpose

My goals, the plan for rescue.

I would say that it’s better

To never regret, never take back,

Try not to be a brat.

I know that life is better when

One is not alone.

Just as wild and just as true,

I’m every bit as dark as you.

I would not show it on my face,

But I’ve learned your secret, silent grace.

Your gait is sure as the day is fair

And filled with ling’ring subtle air,

Melodies of pandemonium

Fill my ears with a silent hum

Black is everything we have found

White is everything without sound

And as lunacy ensues without ceasing

And pain takes hold without releasing

Swirling colors cease to blend

Even now that she’s gone they won’t stop moving and knocking, I wanted to say How could you say that you love her when you won’t leave her alone, and Darl knows it and instead he sets fire to the goddamn barn. The goddamn barn.

Falling , falling down to earth

toward the place I was given birth

I close my eyes and count to three

A sad requiem for an unknown dream.

Why is it that people of this nation

Are only in it for the fascination?

Always on the run

Every so often there are nights when the veil between worlds is so gauzy and thin, that travel from one to the next can happen as easily as crossing a bridge. Some of these nights follow the rigid calendar journey of the earth, moon, and sun.

He carries his equipment

He carries his uniform

He carries his ammunition

And his weapons

But he carries much more

He carries his heart

His memories

Though most importantly

He woke up shivering, the cold hard floor having been his bed for the night. His brain throbbed as he pushed himself up, making it hard to remember what last happened. He held his head in his hands as he thought it over until an eerie sob bounced off the walls.

There is a stillness in the air

I can feel it everywhere

Heavy darkness

Airy light

Loud silence

Empty night

It seems as though with every

breath

There is a little bit of death