1.
Annie was accustomed to beauty, the vapor of a cloud—ethereal,
and on the nights she piloted the plane—comforting. She felt kinship
with the gray chill of a winter ocean, with kiddie pools like so
many turquoise thumb prints. It thrilled her to blast through
a black sky smeared with the cosmos. Nothing compared,
though, to the reindeer, miles from the sky, running
fevered pinwheels in the snow.
A hunter’s arrow
threatens the herd Protection
in numbers
2.
There’s no shame in collecting the used, the once loved
mismatched china, frayed lace, cashmere with a hole
no one will see. Postcards from lovers in Paris, all
shaky gray ink. Someone’s hands touched the
linen, pulled silken threads through a hoop,
embroidered mushrooms, roses,
bluebirds and bells.
The discarded teems
with life Nothing worth saving
is forgotten
3.
People wonder what the symbols mean. It’s difficult for me
to explain. You see, I didn’t invent them. They arrive
in my head fully formed. No tapping sounds or crystal
balls. No conjuring with Ouija boards. Lily, star,
triangle, shell. I understand their meaning, too.
I try to capture their essence on paper,
make them alive.
Images gather
One and then another
a nest forms
4.
Famous beheadings were an unusual thesis topic, but the
idea fascinated her. She wondered what thoughts the
victims shared before the guillotine sliced
their lives. If it were her, she’d close her eyes,
feel her mother’s warm hands on her cheeks,
the upturned face of her child, her lover’s
generous mouth.
A bloody communion
A club of unfortunates
one should avoid
5.
We are monkey bread, challah, Easter buns stuck
side by side in the pan. A daisy chain, a rag rug,
looped yarn of an afghan. We are a string of
heart emojis left by a stranger, voices
in a choir, a troupe of dancers on toe.
We are the righteous barking of
beagles and bassets in the park.
Blob of glue gold
glitter each speck sparkles
alone and together
Tina Barry’s third collection I Tell Henrietta, with art by Kristin Flynn was published in 2024 (Aim Higher, Inc.), Her writing can be found in Bending Genres, 100 Word Story, Bull Lit’s Inch Magazine, The Best Small Fictions 2020 and 2016, Rattle, Verse Daily, MsLexia and elsewhere. Tina’s poetry and short stories have been nominated for thePushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Microfiction. She teaches poetry and short fiction at the Poetry Barn and Writers.com. TinaBarryWriter.com, https://www.facebook.com/tina.barry