Run. Run. Run. Again and again does his brain command bullets for feet, rough bare skin touching every twig, straining upon every stone.
"I WANT HIM ALIVE THO MOSTLY DEAD!!!" The witch howled from no place though every corner.
Run. Run. Jump.
Over one [ah] -- two [ahk] machetes does he jump as her "children" gain closer. Why did those feet fail him now? He wondered. Only a fool or a tortoise allowed her slow -- slimy and blood-devouring dogs for goons to devour them.
But a fool you are when you dare nightmares.
"GET back! GET back!" He commanded the hounds before the third could swing his steel. All three stood before him: eight foot brown beasts, souls darker than this witches twisted forest.
"Thats ELLLLLSSSSSMMMMEEERRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNDA's water you took, SON!" Her voice again pierced the forest as though the roots of these redwoods were a teleline. "And she'll have that back."
Blood was the only way, the sinister's simplest solution. And as he stood [mmm] shook in twilight he heard their bellies roar, their appetite quelled only once satisfying her desires. Another broken breath invited buckled knees, collapsing the man until the rotten, ammonic scent of bad dirt was all he could sense. Then nothing.
Existing only in a world of blackness--unsure whether he is alive .. or ever were -- does he see himself as though through a faded mirror.
Only this man lived years ago at a time when life -- especially the sweet things as the sweet things remind us most -- haunted him not. A life with her.
***Story originally shared on 29 June 2021 as a part of Da Po'Op, the Poetry Opera podcast.
Come for the poetry, stay for a story! Or meditation, or current events. Oh my! The @POETRYOPERA podcast is your newest, smoothest ki. Ace, adventurer and Atlanta native, invites you on a weekly journey of conversation and relaxation. Beginning with an original short story, each episode takes listeners on a spectrum of discussion before guided meditation followed by your thoughts (poetryopera@gmail.com) and concluding with poetry. As always, thanks for journeyin'!
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POOP 2021
PoetryPOOP, "po-op's," or poetry operas are stories told through poetry, visualized. This collection includes original poetry opera text as well as other written content created in the year 2021. Final projects can be found Instagram, @poetryopera / ace...
