Submissions by tree1325 (tree)

Hey, kiddo.”

I say softly as she walks into view, a warm smile already tugging on my lips. She lifts her head to meet my eyes, tilting it as she observes my face, before suddenly announcing, “You look like Grammy!” I can’t help but chuckle at her response, kneeling down so that we are eye-to-eye. I watch as she takes in my most despised parts, my double chin, thin mouth, and plump cheeks, a mix of curiosity and affection shining in her bright brown eyes.

“I guess so.” I reply quietly, a similar blend of emotions swimming with tears in mine. There are so many things I...

Good emotions are
fleeting, like the sun
trying to claw through
a particularly cloudy day,
desperate to peek through
the heavy, ash-colored cotton,
to once again catch glimpse of
the forbidden; the humanity, the life
far below. Oh-so different from
the grand expanse of space.
Its sheer desolation, brute
rending voids, and icy
cryptic matter. Ever
dark in the face
of nothing.

Home.

The silly little humans
spend their afternoon hiding
under their hand-made shelters,
shunning the...

Drinking alone by a
dying fire, savoring the
warmth of the fading
embers. It's the only way
I could imagine spending
a night like this.

Arms bared, angry red
just like the last four coals
still shimmering amidst the
shadows and ash. A
fifth one emerges
brighter than ever before
diminishing suddenly.

Just like me, I
think bitterly, but
not as harsh as
the raw smoke
filling my lungs.

Every puff, every sip,
a pathetic, desperate
attempt to smother
what...

Aching, yearning, pulling
Fighting, claiming,
Calling

Always around, always demanding
To be known, acknowledged
Hidden in the dark. No, it is
The dark, oh, enticing danger

Personal, so close, that’s just
How things work, gotta dig the
Claws in, see the shimmering blood
To know all that can be known,
Inside and out

A possessive love, the worst
Of all, sickly sweet, nothing
That you need but everything you
Want. Draining, drowning. Nothing
And everything, all at once

The pit of...