break

they think that if the water is hot enough
you'll scream, break your silence.

fragile application

you open up and expose 

your soft underbelly

admitting you're fragile.

don't be, they say. 

they say it loud

like an order.

they think that if they apply

enough heat

you'll melt and fuse

back together

like venetian glass,

but you're not cracked.

you're not broken

until they break you.

you're not see-through

or else they'd see

the blood and fatty tissue

barely holding you together.

apply enough heat

and they think you'll just melt

back together. like new.

sadie

we had a discussion,
the neighbors and i,

about the coyote
we saw following

one of the neighborhood's
friendliest dogs.

turtle

i have been thinking
a lot about the turtle

who i witnessed beginning
her journey across

a busy, single-lane
highway.

i didn't see her
on my journey past

on my way home,
so i am hopeful

that she made it,
perhaps with the help

of someone braver than me.

31 Drabbles in May

This space has been quiet, but I have been busy...

 Every day in May, I and a few others each wrote a 100-word drabble.

 Here is the link to my work on the drabble blog.

 ... what comes next?