A class of Lincoln

A sketched silence
underlined in black ink
smudged at the ends –
just enough to add depth.

“At this, a crucial point in our nation’s history–”

Drag a line from silence to sound
blast the emptiness
with short, quick strokes.

“Never wanted to alienate the southern–”

Tug the line out
into unclaimed territory
kiss the edges with long
dark swirls.

“Was, in fact, hated by many in his lifetime.”

Deepen the curves, pull–

“Before taking office. Mandy?”

and shift the focus point–

“Mandy.”

into a starburst of shad–

“Mandy!”

?

“Answer the question.”

Still the pen in the perfect spot for starting over
look up: “He was a lawyer.”
Smile and -
Deepen the curves.

Tessa (feonua) | Sep 22, 09

Death

The quiet where
we sat, waited, pretended
to write notes, but
doodled instead, until

she stood up, asked,
“when is death granted?”

And the quiet
continued, until
he cleared his throat,
looked away, looked at

his own notes, then,
“when death is granted.”

As if that was an answer,
but it was. We transcribed
the words, underlined them.

She sat down, satisfied.

Brina (rinabell) | Sep 10, 09