Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine #16

Earthbound Why don’t aliens ever choose me for an abduction? Sad to be left behind in this ordinary world.

I’d like a few chips implanted— one for teleportation, one for telepathy, a third for merging with the Everything.

Where is my near-death experience?

So transformative, so elusive?

It isn’t earth that limits me as much as this suitcase of skin that claims to be all I am.

Hard sides and zippers encase me, my vision is dim, sounds are muffled. Outside, mandalas spin the universe into wholeness.

If not space travelers, who will help me escape this old valise?

Sandra Kacher