Voices Never Heard

In our dream,
we stroll hand in hand
Sarah and Aden running ahead,
laughing

In our dream,
we hear the rustling of the leaves
Sarah and Aden turn to make sure we are
watching

In our dream,
we talk of their future
Sarah and Aden playing in the leaves without a
care

In our dream,
we see our grandchildren
Sarah and Aden, with the exuberance of youth,
sing “we love you”

With those words,
they disappear around the bend
If only it were more than a
dream

Voices never heard…

Artist: Garmash; Poet: Mike Evans

Time

The branch felt strange, but natural in Charlotte’s hand – a connection to something important … she wasn’t clear what it meant, but sensed it was good.

For several minutes, the surge of warm energy moved up in waves through her right arm … to her shoulder … to the back of her neck … flooding through the back of her head – the haze in Charlotte’s mind diminishing with each wave.

She slowly began to remember Austin … his image started to form in her mind … she could feel his fingers softly brush across the top of her hand as she knew he had done before … another wave of warmth spread through her.  “It will be alright” she could hear him say while flashing his bright grin.

She felt, then saw her own smile slowly form in the mirror.  “I think it will be ok”, she thought … another wave of warmth surged through her right side as if in agreement…

A few moments passed … or perhaps several … Charlotte couldn’t tell.

A low pitched growling sound accompanied the cooling sensation that crept up her left arm … and not understanding why, something inside of her seemed to welcome it.  “You need more time” the growl whispered inside of her.

As a heavy mist began materialize all around, her reflection began to fade … Austin began to fade … the branch in her hand forgotten … the haze returning … “Yes, you need more time” the growl said more forcefully this time…

Artist: Elna Madden; Author: Mike Evans

A Voice Within

somewhere deep within
a voice that’s hard to ignore
she wonders – should she

Artist: Taras Loboda; Haiku Poet: Mike Evans

Pebbles

Austin could only see rippled reflections of clouds passing overhead as he strained to see Charlotte’s image in the water.  He leaned further over the edge of the pond for a more direct look at the surface – perhaps then…

He pulled another smooth flat pebble, with rounded edges, from his pocket – it had to work, he thought.  On his knees, stretching forward as far as he could and holding his arm parallel to the water’s surface with his palm facing up, he slowly lowered the tips of his fingers to release the pebble.

It slid off his fingers, falling at a slight angle and sliced the surface of the water with a small plopping sound – ripples temporarily distorted the white haze of clouds.  He thought he caught a glimpse of her, but the image faded with the waning ripples.

He knew he had to reach her soon – she was in trouble – he felt it.  Another carefully selected pebble … another ritual release to the pond … this time more of the flat part of the pebble hit flush with the surface – a larger splash and he could see her more clearly now … he called out to her and she seemed to respond … but her image faded away again.

His spirits raised, he strained to see the layout of the pebbles on the bottom of the pond … all were touching, but one – they had to be connected.  The rustling of leaves behind him called out – he turned and saw the branch lying on the ground next to the trunk of the tree. He rose and raced to retrieve it.

It felt good in his hand and was the perfect length to reach the bottom of the pond, he thought.  He carefully hurried back to the edge of the pond and peered into the water to find the pebbles.  He extended the branch into the water, awkwardly trying to move the errant pebble to touch one of the others – Charlotte came into focus the instance the pebble connected to its neighbor.

He called out to her again – “Charlotte, are you ok?”  A gust of wind in response surprised him and he felt the branch slip from his hand before he could react.  In a flash it was gone …

Artist: Elena Madden; Author: Mike Evans

Voices

A knock at the door startled Charlotte – she tried to focus. Her present seemed a blur.  She couldn’t remember where she was or how long she’d been here … She felt very heavy and needed more time to clear her head.

Who could be at the door?

“Charlotte, are you ok?” came a familiar voice after another knock. She couldn’t quite place the voice, but sensed it couldn’t be real … but she heard it.

She struggled to grasp what was actually happening … and why did she feel like… another knock disrupted her thoughts.

Charlotte slowly kneaded the sides of her head with her palms, trying to clear her thoughts – instead, music flooded through and she kept hearing the line “where soul meets body” over and over again.

A sudden whoosh breezed by her right ear…  “Charlotte, please come out” came the voice in a whisper… but she couldn’t move.

A second whoosh… this time she felt it come through her as a breath… another knock…

A third whoosh pushed through her… this finally seemed to slow her chaotic thoughts… she focused on her breathing – the haze clouding her mind began to recede…

She heard the familiar voice again – there was something different about it now…

As the haze slowly continued to lift from her, she saw her reflection in the mirror come into focus – and the reflection was talking to her … not talking to her, she began to realize … she was talking … the voice was hers

With that realization, Charlotte felt a deep breath leave her – and the voice stopped – the haze receding from her mind a little more…

A building sense of energy surged through her arm … and she noticed the branch in her hand…

Artist: Elena Madden; Author: Mike Evans