Things We Wish We Said Issue

The Things We Wish We Said Issue

Volume 18, Issue 4, March 2019

39BRODY TROXEL

6

A Passing Conversation

JOHN MCMORRAN

One Dancer

ZHIJUN XU

Heatwaves shivered in the wake of the thunderous gunshot, and an antelope leapt from some dry brush, cutting a streak of motion across the calcified flats. One gunfighter groaned and fell, and his pistol preceded him to the dust by a fraction of a second. The other gunfighter crossed the distance separating them, kicked away the wounded man’s pistol, then squatted down on his haunches. “Is it bad?” the wounded man asked. “I got you good. I’d say you got about a minute, maybe more depending how stubborn you feel.” “If I’m being honest that bullet took the starch out of me.” The shooter lit a cigarette and offered it to his dying opponent. The man inhaled gratefully, then watched one of his few remaining breaths dissipate in a cloud of smoke. “Any last words?” The wounded man nodded then shook his head. “I really don’t know. Seems like a lot that I’m leaving undone. I dunno who to apologize to, or who to ask forgiveness of.” Both men looked at the wounded man’s shirt for indication of death’s advance and the scarlet blossom did not recommend they tarry.

OYEWOLE BUKUNMI

12

EMILY BUCCIONI

Words for my daughter

ADRIENNE SWEET

The world is filled with monsters. They do not lurk in closets and under beds. These are a far scarier kind, that will call you friend, and ply you with sweet words.

The shadows in the dark are easy to chase away. The monsters who walk in the light, with smiles and winks, hiding the sinister truth, those are the monsters to fear.

How can I protect you, my sweet baby girl? From those who think they are owed a smile a kiss a picture

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JAMES SILK

I will arm you, my little warrior, with a fierce mind to fight, and inner pride to shield. I will build the walls of self worth high and strong around you. You will know you are your own person woman being Your value to this world is beyond measure, it will not be pitted against any other point.

Your heart is your own. Your body is your own. Your voice is your own.

These are the lessons I will teach you, my darling.

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STEPHANIE SILVA

STEPHANIE SILVA

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ADINA TURKONJE

ZHIJUN XU

STEPHANIE SILVA

36

Coping

ANDRE BOURGEOIS

my mind’s become a graveyard for things i’ve never said words that never left my lips, replaced by novelty instead

like a hundred thousand voices all waiting to talk but i’ll bottle it up and sip it back like whiskey off the rocks

because it’s an easy way to cope when you’re never on your own and your vision’s blurry and you’re in a hurry and you’re trying to stumble home

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The Distraction

CAMILLE DEHGHAN

I could see it at the bottom of the lake. Trapped underneath the rocks, drowning. I swam to the surface, briefly gasping for air, planning to go back under immediately, but was distracted by something flying by. I flipped onto my back and squinted towards the sun, trying to fight past its brightness to see what it was. I eventually gave up and returned to what was under the surface. The current must have pulled me further out because everything was new and unfamiliar. I frantically tried to find the spot, to find what I had lost. I couldn’t. It was gone.

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