Lena
hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul
that perches in the soul
Lena hadn’t missed the sudden hisses; echoes of a time long since gone, with familiar shrieks blending and bending into her ears: her sister’s calls and pleas, the frantic screaming of people crushed below walls and buildings, until sudden silence –
On a gasp, she heard another, and turned to realize it was Noe. A rush of breath, and her own heartbeats, pounded through her chest, and perhaps for the first time in a long while, the Caretaker didn’t look calm, composed, or radiant.
Shaken – her fingers withdrew and she could feel herself beginning to cluster and veil and withdraw. “So I heard,” she gave instead, a visible retreat summoning through her form, and a few more steps taken towards riverbank and song, rather than those painful throngs. Giving another shaky inhale and exhale, she gave the usual pretenses of ‘everything is fine’. “How are you, Noe?”
On a gasp, she heard another, and turned to realize it was Noe. A rush of breath, and her own heartbeats, pounded through her chest, and perhaps for the first time in a long while, the Caretaker didn’t look calm, composed, or radiant.
Shaken – her fingers withdrew and she could feel herself beginning to cluster and veil and withdraw. “So I heard,” she gave instead, a visible retreat summoning through her form, and a few more steps taken towards riverbank and song, rather than those painful throngs. Giving another shaky inhale and exhale, she gave the usual pretenses of ‘everything is fine’. “How are you, Noe?”
and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all
and never stops at all
