by Hailey Elles
 |
| Cartoon by Dennis Goris. |
This is survival.
My friend says
“we are at war
with our government.”
We also discuss
her new winter boots,
which hold snugly
as she walks her dog,
clipping her prophecies
and beaming them to me.
This disjointed
correspondence
is how she is with me
as my studded tires grip
these switchbacks
like a prayer–
I am praying
there will be no children
waiting by the doors
of the middle school
I was supposed to open
five minutes ago–oh,
I am tired. It is not possible
to go faster. And anyway,
every tree is sparkling
on this cold morning,
almost invisible
against the sunrise,
as red as the drag in blood-
shot eyes. All the plowmen
are out, salting the roads,
trying to preserve any
beautiful, useful thing.
Hailey Elles is a writer, teacher, and literacy organizer who lives in Bridgewater, Vermont. She has a masters in secondary English education and is currently pursuing a masters in English as a Breadloaf Teacher Network Fellow at Middlebury College. Her writing has appeared in various journals and publications, most recently in Half and One, the BLTN Journal, and Poet's Choice.
