The whale breached, the ferry Wenatchee struck - great shock to both, and death for one.
One day later, a man's heart stops, great shock to both, and another one gone.
He was the Wenatchee's engineer.
Behind the galley counters, I heard the workers gossip,
Of fearful talk of karma among the crew.
What if this is how it begins: not the cataclysm we half expected, suspect we deserve,
but animal spirits, weaponized, coming after us one by one?
A more personal retribution,
it begins with the creatures with the mass and intellect to cast out a shard of soul with their last breath's vengeful force.
Sense of triumph spreads out through the connective web, the spiritus mundi,
ripples that roll beneath our power of measurement,
smaller and smaller beings gain the power to lash out in final flash.
Until finally the smallest insect struck by a windshield strikes back with lethal precision,
needle spirits piercing human hearts even
as exoskeletons collapse into glass,
and cars crawl down the highway,
the last few saints among us
aware of our every touch and breath,
creeping delicately, impossibly,
between accidental sins.
About the Creator
Gina King
Wildlife biologist, Northwesterner, reluctant passenger in this wild 21st century ride.
Rachel Reviews: Lunch Tales: Teagan by Lucille Guarino
Well, I did enjoy this! Sometimes, all you need is just great storytelling and this is what Lucille Guarino delivers here. There's no big message to this book; it's just about folks and families, living their lives and coping with everything that's being thrown at them and finding their way. But when it's done well, like it is here, then you have characters to whom you can relate, tension which leaves you rooting for a better outcome, attraction which has your heart racing and an urge, as a reader, to see the characters happy with the people with whom they belong.
By Rachel Deeming2 days ago in BookClub
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.