“How did he choke you? How did he break your wrist? Did you try calling anyone? When did he start getting violent? Why don’t you move?”

“When it comes time for you to part ways, you ask if she’ll be alright. Her hollow smile betrays the doubt before she even speaks.”

“I had not eaten anything sweet in months. It felt amazing. That’s when I thought of a plan—a plan to get rid of both Peter and Karen.”

“It started off as little specks of smoke and eventually turned into a single fire all in one. As I reached the ground, I went as fast as I could in the opposite direction of the flames.”

“In languages, we encapsulate the individual and communal mental and spiritual contemplative efforts of a people—each unique.”

“It wasn’t just the coma. I couldn’t feel her spirit in the room with us. I knew she was gone, and she wasn’t coming back.”

“In the beginning, she gifted us life-giving waters. Swelling from underneath, she gave birth to the water panthers and horned serpents.”

“Your hollow rib cage echoes in silence as you float into the endless digital stream.”

“Old dogs of Taos, dream off wounds – together they sleep in shade under clouds, dozing off sunshine in the long shadow of the old earth house.”