It's Still Life

Don’t Swallow Your Chewing Gum

Woke from a dream those sounds of late night coming in through the cracked window coldish air and a cat prowling the street its voice tightening up into an air-raid siren like what we had on top of my elementary school when we all knew that a bomb was coming for room 101 an explosion that would scatter papers like dried leaves and other stuff debris stuff and Mr Duncan’s red pencils too I suppose but it was the tiny shards of glass splinters we were warned about sharp glitter like costume jewellery that’s what would be the worst Mr Duncan said so let’s practise popping under our desks and turning our faces away from the big windows let’s practise turning our backs on those Russians and outside the playground was wet with October leaves pasted flat against the blacktop and that night we bobbed and dunked for apples in aluminium garbage bins full up with icy water our faces going under and coming back dripping and somebody laughing and somebody shrieking and wanting another turn

It was Halloween