A LONG WAY FROM THE FRONT DOOR
world is big. round. all for us. yes, yes! don’t be shy! no time for shyness, you must take bites from the apple as soon as it is handed to you. big bite. crunch crunch. juice dribbling over chins like the creek round back. teeth and skin and redness. shiny. that’s what it is. postcard with big blue sky and wayward white sand addressed to window in kitchen. old window. forget now. dust in coffee cups. things clenched in fists. secrets, door handle, name on lips. goodbye–where–are–you–going–where– have–you–gone–when–will–you–be–back–will–you———stars and cinema and dark screen and velvet seats. cherry sundae bitten straw sticky tables. little tv playing 2010’s music videos on repeat. gum trees eucalyptus toes dipped in creek. red earth dust in eyelashes how many stars can you see. world so big! I know, I know! front porch shoes by door space where yours were. yellow crocks doormat door handle screen door. creak creak. cicadas in summer–mosquitoes in spring–cockroaches in winter–daddy-long-legs in autumn. old jeep. leather sun-burnt wheel Coke cans Smarties. dust. tire tracks skittle like red-bellied black. scream so loud. wind louder. my name your name. lost, lost! feels how birds fall with no fear. road so long, goes all around world. world is round, road never ends
Katherine, 23, somewhere sunny ✯ katherineelsienicholson@gmail.com
“Katherine is a neuroscience and literature student from Warrane who misses home very much. Her time is happily spent peering down microscopes and drafting her first novel. She is a lover of stories and astrocytes, and big green fields.”