Not Quite Right
Elisabeth Ring is a writer and critic living in the Western U.S. When not writing for her day job or her side hustle, she can be found running or walking with her dog, or making stodgy sourdough bread. Her work has previously appeared in Lavender Bones and Wyldblood Press, and you can read her thoughts on titles from her eclectic reading list at ringreads.com.
On my thirteenth try, I thought I found
the world I left behind,
a relief after everywhere I'd gone and everything I'd seen
to have again the right sky and air and trees—
But the mural on the convenience-store wall is wrong:
instead of a sprawling (faded) tropical sunset sky
a neon Virgin Mary raises Her eyes
to the too-blue sky and its too-clean air,
feeding the too-lush trees surrounding the store
Thirteen tries were not enough—but
what if I never tried again?
 | A guest post by
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