John Sweet writes

the sound

the song like a river through your

mind and then the sunlight

and then the rain

only lasts for an hour or so and

then sunlight again, hills wrapped in

haze, all sounds reduced to the

silences that shape them

young girl found in the

corner of an empty room too

late to be saved

note is a blank sheet of paper

rope is tied to her parents’

fears and to their anger

stand where the river runs dry

just beneath her feet and

count backwards from a thousand

sing the song until the

words lose all meaning

until the sky

drains of all color

feels like the hopeless end of

autumn, even with these waves

of heat breaking all around you

Girl in Corner -- Eddie Schrieffer