Heavy Hands Ink

Ash Krafton

By the Side-

He seeks a key.

His quest takes him through realms unnumbered

sprinting after a dream

I am tugged along in his wake, an afterthought to his actions

my place by his side a given, a constant

No longer in his line of sight.

I do not remember the moment I had faded from notice

gradual erosion of existence; silenced

when I spoke up or, more often, answered with a

non-committal

noise, assenting without hearing. He charges on, chasing his goals

choosing his paths, changing his destiny

changing mine

If only a mirror! Perhaps my reflection would catch his attention

He’d see what burns in my eyes, stings my lips to be spoken

I’m more than a shade, more than a shadow

His gaze toward the horizon, he

overlooks his greatest resource

He seeks the key

never realizing I am the door.

——

Undone Before Begun-

Like a rough shove between the shoulders I am urged onward toward an unseen end.

Unseen but not undreamed:

this ungift-like gift of foresight makes me dread what is to come

and already I mourn for what has not yet been lost. My future has been stolen—

possiblys and could-bes and maybes etched into stone

as immutable as the memories and certainties of the committed past.

Undeniable.

What is hope? What is dare? What is try

when all that lies ahead is preordination?

Architects built this destiny with flawed blueprints, unknowing

I, the instrument of their operations was, itself, flawed—irresolute and unscrewed

to the sticking point because my heart had changed.

My foundation crumbles and gravity pulls me to my fate

like light toward the event horizon where

time slows down—drags to a still stop—and I am crushed at the core.

Unsurvivable.

All this I see: the ungift-like gift is not prophecy but hindsight,

a remnant of time travel and the black holes that swallow us when we dream.

Ironic that a heart could change, and, yet, change nothing.

If only unwishes came true.

——-

Bio: Pushcart Prize nominee Ash Krafton is a speculative fiction writer whose work has appeared in several journals, including Niteblade, Ghostlight, and Silver Blade. Ms. Krafton resides in the heart of the Pennsylvania coal region and is an active member of Pennwriters, a national writers group. You’ll find her lurking near her website Spec Fic Chick (http://frontiernet.net/~ashkrafton).