Glossary, a poem (pt. 2)
By
    Image by Brennen Bariso

    "flighty" – fickle and inconsistent, capricious and skittish. A word reserved exclusively for me, a boy with no wings.

    "galvanize" – shock and excitement, my lungs coated themselves with zinc. I broke my bones and poured liquid iron to fill in the cracks. For the first few weeks of school everyone called me by the wrong name and I didn’t correct them because it made me feel like someone new.

    "halcyon" – idyllic and carefree, the sun rose that morning when we called it.

    "illness" – ailment, infirmity, I was too selfish and too distant. The dryer in our basement stopped producing heat, like a burnt-out star.

    "justify" – righteous and reasonable, I promised to never write anything meaningful again. One hand pressed against the sink, we shaved my head until my hair covered the floor like ash.

    Comments

    blog comments powered by Disqus
    Please read our Comment Policy.