This writing was accepted for publication in the 96 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book... “Home at Last” Down in the Dirt (v123) (the May/June 2014 Issue) You can also order this 6"x9" issue as a paperback book:

Order this writing in the book the Beaten Path (a Down in the Dirt Jan. - June 2014 collection book)		get the 372 page Jan. - June 2014 Down in the Dirt magazine issue collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Order this writing in the book Need to Know Basis (redacted edition) (the 2014 poetry, flash fiction & short prose collection book)		get this poem collection 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Her Mother Before Her

Elly Moore

    The young girl sat in the yard, content among the choking weeds and the spiders catching their struggling prey. She dreamed and hoped and wasted the day with pointless imagination. Her mother watched. She knew.
    The child pretended to be a fairy in a magical land. The weeds fell away, replaced with flowers and beauty. She twirled and twisted, waving her stick wand as though it could mend the world. Her skirts danced in a colorful swirl and her face maintained a broad grin of pleasure. She rode the clouds, feeling the sun on her back and the wind at her cheeks. A quilt of flowers greeted her as she fluttered to the ground. Her eyes closed. When the lids unfurled, the quilt was a thorn bush and the clouds were dirty with pollution. The girl’s smile disappeared. And time went on.
    The child pretended to be a cat. She searched for mice among the weeds and purred as she lay in the sun. She drank milk from the sky and contented herself with sleeping. When she opened her eyes, the rain pelted her face and the rocks jutted out from the weeds like blades. Still, time went on.
    The girl pretended to be a pirate. She sailed her ship through the ocean and felt the sea spray tickle her skin. She gave orders to the crewmen and she bathed in her gold. Her songs echoed across the ship as she danced. She closed her eyes and she was back in the yard. The wind brushed weeds curled like eerie waves and the crash of the thunder formed a harsh rhythm on the grey earth. Time went on.
    The girl pretended to be a superhero. She flew, her blood-red cape flowing behind her. She saved people from the hatred of the world. Her powers surpassed all other heroes. She closed her eyes. When they opened, she was alone. Leaves tumbled off her back and the fire of lightning ripped across the sky. And again, time went on.
    The girl pretended to be her mother. Her surroundings became devoid of color. She wandered along feeling the crushing weight of the world. The girl sensed her weighted frown and heard her own heavy sighs. She felt no happiness; the world was tinted only in shades of grey. Her body felt tired and worn with use. She felt anger, but it was not directed at a particular source. She felt hopelessness, but there seemed to be no solution. She felt unhappy, but happiness was out of reach. The girl closed her eyes.
    When she opened them, the world was still dull. No longer full of possibilities. No longer full of imagination. She tried to be a fairy. A cat. A pirate. But she did not change.
    And just as her mother had, and her mother before her, she melted into society, fully becoming what she had pretended to be, while secretly wishing to be who she truly was.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...