Memory

My grandmother didn’t remember me at the end.
She looked at me and said
“Jo! Why aren’t you at school?”
Jo is my mom.
I was six years old
When she left

it was without a memory of me.
But I remember.
I remember sitting on her lap as she painfully
combed the knots from my bird nest-hair,
I remember visiting her musty apartment
Old stuffed animals and chipped china dolls
littering her dining room chairs.
I remember the doll she gave me the last time i saw her,
Raggedy Ann with her faded blue dress, her yarn hair fraying.
And I remember when my mother said she was afraid.
Afraid that at the end, she would not remember either.

Introvert's Dilemma

I am tired of living
in an extroverts world
where silence is unforgiving
and emotions unfurled.
Where books are left on cases
their spines never cracked.
No one sits around fireplaces
words are never abstract.
I want to return to my books
of knights, squires and queens
lay down by a brook
fall into my dreams.
But change is never seen
on the young morning’s breeze.

Small Talk

The creature known as Small Talk has been around since the beginning of human interaction but has only come to be the monster it is today around the 20th century. While some say his intentions are pure, some have a different view. He remains invisible to many, but to a few unlucky people known as introverts, the Small Talk is a frightening sight. Edward Rolen, a leading expert in the field of odd creatures, speculates as to why the introverts are most affected. “The Small Talk overwhelms introverts with its bright yellow skin used to catch its unsuspecting victims in the spotlight. Its large blue eyes peer into ones soul to increase discomfort and its gaping jaw is filled with razor sharp idle chatter.” This fearsome creature, though physically harmless, leaves those who were fortunate enough not to succumb to its trivial discussions about the weather, in no shape to tell the tale. One such survivor, who wishes to remain nameless, simply looked at the interviewer with frightened eyes when asked to retell the encounter. When asked how she survived, she whispered "I smiled and nodded." This has been accepted as the best defense against these monsters. In order to avoid contact with the Small Talk, it is advised to remain indoors at all times.