The Majesty of the Blue PDF Print E-mail
Written by Tara L. Masih   

It can't be
but it is--another dark day
pulling down my spirits,
dripping through lilacs,
washing their scent into black earth below,
globes weighed down with cool water.

A break comes--sky brightens to cold white.
I escape, my son and I,
to the fruit farm nearby.
Along the route
neighbours emerge to assess the garden's damage,
to reconnect.
An army of lawnmowers
urgently fights calf-high grass
before the downpours interrupt again.

The farm
settles me--
lets me see that while mildew grows
and scabs spring from leaf mulch,
awakened by the rain
to attach to the ancient apple trees,
while a worker fights his battle
to contain them
and my husband's mother
fights disease within her,
last year's pen-size sow
has been replaced
by a piglet
and the sheep
by a lamb.
And when we navigate muddy trenches
around chicken-wire cages,
from atop an orchard hill
the roaming peacock cries and unfurls.


I pause--
because sometimes eyes nourish more than food.
They draw in
the majesty of the blue
named for itself,
trail the peach blossoms above to the
the dandelions below
that frame for me
a reason
to be joyful.
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Tara L. Masih
About the author:
Tara L. Masih has published fiction, poetry, and essays in numerous anthologies and literary magazines (Confrontation, Hayden's Ferry Review, Natural Bridge, New Millennium Writings, Red River Review, and The Caribbean Writer). Two limited edition chapbooks featuring her flash fiction have been published by The Feral Press. Awards include first place in The Ledge Magazine's fiction contest and a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Web nomination. She is editor of The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction (spring 2009).

Visit her website at www.taramasih.com.
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  • Editors Note Future Issue


    As the old wisdom states: in order to understand the future, you need to understand the past. How true is that? The past entices learning, reminds us of what to do and what not to do, teaches us valuable lessons, and shows us from where we have come and how far. Women suffragists have blazed trails for our future, herbal women have taught us how to heal and nurture ourselves, our travels have taught us to value what we have or to reach for a better future, and our innermost desires poke to the surface reminding us to act, that there is more we want to do. Of course, we need to look toward the future, but the wisdom of the past must always be our companion.

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