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Timelines

by Siri Paulson I am increasingly convinced that we are living in the wrong timeline the one the time traveler is supposed to come back and fix she was supposed to win he was meant to live we should have learned our lesson from the pandemic that almost was from that time we all messed up, or the other time, or the other one but she has taken a wrong turn in the multiverse he is fighting the pterodactyls stuck in the far future with the giant crabs intubated in some locked-down ward the portal dark and idle the time machine hidden and locked up tight waiting for the one with the knowledge who will never come to release it from its long and lonely wait or maybe they know not to come here maybe these are the years they always skip in their tours through the past maybe this is how things have to be if we want the shiny future we were promised long ago maybe we’re waiting for a rescue that will never come there’s no-one but us to mend the timeline to put things right one butterfly at a time we are all time travelers one second per second, one way only one day we’ll live in the future how it looks is up to us

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The Breath-Stealer

by Siri Paulson In a dark pandemic winter our breath is trapped in our lungs with fear of the breath-stealer “Look for the helpers” sounds stale by now “Let’s talk” sounds laughable “Thank you” will never be enough we cling to “Protect the vulnerable” but it’s a long, long road each of us walking alone or in tiny groups, bereft of the touches and smiles and tiny moments that made up our lives, once A day in the neighbourhood, going for brunch with a loved one, chatting with shopkeepers, strolling home along the sidewalk our breath easy, relaxed… A spin on the dance floor, a community moving together, stomping and twirling as one, smiling into others’ faces, breathing each other’s air as the band plays on the stage… A hug from a loved one, family or a dear friend, catching a wink or a gaze, sharing a plate across the table, a visit to a home where we are welcome, a head massage or a playful poke, breathless because we’re laughing so hard, casual platonic intimacy… A flight across the globe, an adventure away from home, new air entering our bodies as we breathe deep new smells sounds tastes sights, to carry back inside us, expanded… We never dreamed of a day when we’d lose all of those at once the little things and the big ones, crowds and theatres and stadiums casual shopping, casual hugs, bare faces and free breaths, lives more expansive than we knew… Now we are…

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Three Love Poems

Hi, this is Erin. For this month’s Freebie, I am sharing three poems from my Bad Poetry Project. 🙂 Hope you enjoy. STARDUST AND SONG The scaffolding of my hope may never reachthe height of my prayersStill I climbStill I searchStill I listenfor the whisper, the echo, your voicelost in thundercloudsyour song,my foreveryour placea carving inside my heartetched with words I wrap around myselfwhen I cannot breatheYou breathe for me,sustenancewhen the loneliness punchesa hole in my heart,you hold me, rock me,bring me back to myself. You’re my center, my True North, my lightto guide me homeWe are stardust and song,we are eternal. IN THE EDGES OF DREAMS You stood on stage, an angelwrapped in hues of redWhen you sang, it forged a connection between usever brightpast to presentmemory to memoryaching soul to aching soul You touched my hand,a brush of fingers,but in that moment, I sawyou were the missing part of methe part that called to me in the edges of dreamsthe part that whispered to me in the nightthe part I lost in the shadow of time—Your voice soothed my tattered edges We weren’t alone anymorewrapped around each other in pure bliss,joined in this placemade of starlight and promises And then I awoke with the dawn— To think I’d never feel your lips on mineor taste the sweetness of your wordsto think I’d never seehow your eyes captured minehow our life together unfoldedyears falling into yearsTo think I’d never hear your voicewhisper perfect, loving wordsTo think I’d never hear…

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Two Poems in Memory of Ursula K. Le Guin

by Siri Paulson A Bit of Background Ursula K. Le Guin has always been one of my favourite writers, but I had drifted away from her over the years, as one does. When she died in January 2018, I decided to go back and read all of her Hainish universe works, many of which I had missed (she wrote novels, short stories, and various lengths in between). I’m about halfway through, reading each of them in order. It was fascinating to watch her craft develop. I fell in love with her work all over again. And…well, I’m a writer, so I process things by writing… The first poem is about a (fictional) invention of Le Guin’s called the “ansible,” a way to communicate faster than light in her Hainish universe, which does not have FTL travel. The second poem is about her three early SF novels and how they led her to writing her fifth and most famous novel, The Left Hand of Darkness. (The first Earthsea book is her fourth novel, but I left that out since I haven’t reread it yet…might need to write more poetry later on!) Enjoy! Ansible vast gulfs of darknessseparate humanityeach in our own tiny orbitbridging that distancewould take years she gave us a wayto reach out,not to touchbut something greater—conversationthe yearning to hear another,satisfiedthe need to be heard,metthe wish to understandstill out of reachbut just a little closer we whirl in our orbitsknowing nowthat we can talkand for just an instantthe vast distance…

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