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Featured Poem

Coins for a garden of hands.

"People pay to smell like me

A distilled divinity they flaunt around.

They step on calloused hands

On their way to barren fields

They cannot buy living water."

The poem loosely follows a perfume maker through their day as they make the perfume they sell. The perfume maker has a high, nearly holy opinion of themselves. They view their buyers as beneath themselves, seeing them as chasing something they will never attain.

1. Atria

A short story from the perspective of 'the husband' as he spends time with his mistress.

2. Aorta

A poem describing the thrill of seeing, meeting, and having a person who enthralls the senses.

3. Vena Cava

A short story from the perspective of 'the wife' as she realizes the truth and reminisces about her relationship.

About the Atria Series

The Atria Series started off as a short story, Atria, I wrote in college. I ended up really enjoying the theme and later wrote the poem Aorta as an accompanying piece. As the set didn't feel complete, I wrote the final short story, Vena Cava, to conclude the series.

Each piece can be read individually, in particular Aorta. Aorta, when read individually, gives the impression of desiring someone who is just beyond reach. Someone almost otherworldy, beyond comprehension, someone that cannot be kept. When read in the series, the perspective is understood as the mistress' as she explains how she views the husband with whom she conducts the affair.

2. Footprints at Midday

About old, dry footprints found on a dry seabed.

3. A Boat and its Seamen

A poem about six men, their boat and perils.

4. The Man and the Mountain

A short story about a man and what he encounters on the mountain.

5. The Hole

A child returns from a trip into a strange hole.

6. The Trail of Soales

A man maps out unknown territory.

1. Introduction

The introduction to the collection.

About the Collection

This collection is one that contains a variety of stories and poems pertaining to an imaginary world where all the oceans have been replaced by forests. It is based on a prompt of the same premise. Each piece adds to the world but eac can also be read as a standalone piece.

I initially wanted to write a long story with the premise but, as this was near the beginning of my writing journey, I was not ready to take on a story that required such extensive world building. Instead, I wrote all the little things I wanted to write and then organized them into smaller stories and poems, now listed here.

There is one story included that is not directly from the prompt. It is a story that is more so a folktale within the world: The Man and the Mountain. It tells of a man and his journey up a mountain, in the end he meets the sea. I included this story because I felt, in a world without oceans, there would be many talking about the now gone body of water.

1. Sunrise

2. How a crater became a Bearer's lake.

How a crater became
a Bearer's lake.

A short story centered around a Fire Eater and Water Bearer on their way to find their friend. It describes fire, water, wind, and earth/plant based wizards and the effects of using their powers upon their person.

The story can be read alongside the poem, "There is a God atop the mountain." as it shares some of the same imagery despite having different base premises. The poem was written first and the story followed.

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