Art: Skyfuture by Jude Hotchkiss, @judehotch

ABSTRACT CHILD

We mourn for the abstract child
as if she is possibly our own,
wanting to go to her

where she lives weightlessly
in a monastery of trees

calming her fever and uncertainty.

Clouds furrow the brow of her sky,
so we lie to her
knowing one tear will break us all
beyond repair.

Take our hands
take our hands now, we cry,
just before she pulls us into a blue forest
of miracles and slightest impossibility.

We hold her in our withered limbs,
trying to clarify what is indistinguishable

but if we truly could do that
none of us would have ever heard
of this strangled other world.


About the author:

Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Crystal Lake, IL, USA with his wife, Vickie and daughter, Sage. He is a three-time Pushcart, Best of the Net and Best of the Web nominee whose work has appeared in more than a thousand publications.

Art: Skyfuture by Jude Hotchkiss, @judehotch, Australia