The Long Wake of Childhood

You have to remember, back then I was drowning. It explains a lot. For example, why do I know nothing about geography and physics? Because when I was thrashing in the water, I didn’t need to know which states lie west of the Mississippi. Or how a closed-circuit machine operates. The only thing I had to understand was how to keep breathing. When I learned how to stay above water for good, I began again.

lavender dawn
glint of bluebird wings
through the birches

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“The Long Wake of Childhood” Sonic Boom, July, 2026 

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