by Crystal Sidell
flapping — a stomach-flipping sound to hear when you’re
cruising the interstate at 65 miles per hour
I roll onto the shoulder — the concrete side
though the grassy side would have been better
(help is not a phone call away)
belted into a stationary car that rocks like a ship
on a choppy sea in tandem with the passing traffic
I feel isolated in the midst of thousands
an invisible traveller stranded in broad daylight
this is an old story, I suppose, that shifts gears when
I open the driver’s side door and my sneakers hit solid ground —
the sweating pavement unrolls into a field of poppies
the wristwatch, three hands boastfully tick-tocking to a rhythm
different than the clock housed behind my ribs —
bend upward, stretching through the glass face
reaching skyward until they touch that hallowed burning dot
(I am late, and the world knows this)
a wake of black vultures drops from their light-post guard, each
sentinel dissevering into a cloud of rustic sphinx moths halfway
to the verdant down, fast flying forward
beneath their black-&-grey-white humming wings —
an unmarked emerald path, diamond diadem on my unruly
crown, scepter planted in my clammy-hot hand
I weave through torches of scarlet en route to the path, light
on my soles, breathing an iron-seasoned breeze
sirens burst like fireworks in the ether
and I am at an open door that hovers ankle-high
its bone-braided frame vibrating beneath my fingers
I try to cross the threshold: an ethereal film stalls
my passage like a bubble that refuses to pop
velour wings flit-flutter madly about my arms
petals blazing-bright as dragons’ tongues lick my calves
rubies mushroom through the roots, gem-soaking
the flowers and weighting my feet
White Rabbit hops past, vest torn, on his way to pocket
the sun, while Dorothy leans ’round the doorway
straw hair sticking out in every direction, fangs bared
claws extended: reaching… reaching… to steal my heart
(there’s no place like —)
A native Floridian, Crystal Sidell grew up playing with toads in the rain and indulging in speculative fiction. She holds a master of arts in both English and library & information science, moderates two creative writing groups, and has reviewed books for the Florida Library Youth Program. Her work has appeared/is forthcoming in 34 Orchard, Apparition Lit, diet milk, F&SF, opia, Orion’s Belt, Strange Horizons, Under Her Eye, and others. You can find her on Twitter @sidellwrites
crystalsidell.wixsite.com/mysite
Orchid's Lantern 