Immaculate Deception

 

Truth came in flashes,

evaporating each time

like rainwater on a dry lake

bed with wind stripping

the salt pan of vegetation

and expectations, making

it difficult to see clearly

through the mineral haze

 

Standing in the desert heat,

she remembered wanting

to believe in something,

to believe in anything,

trying to break the codes,

hoping to prevail one day

while sweeping up scattered

pieces of broken road signs

 

The air sticks in her throat,

temporarily paralyzing her

as she thinks about the books

she read about survival,

about the essential qualities

needed to live the best life,

how she had never taken time

to think about who wrote them

​

*Originally appeared in

Talking River Review