July In Appalachia
βma says thereβs an angel in the creek out behind old mr. henryβs shack. she saw it when she was seven years old, playing by herself while her pa helped mr. henry with his hay bales: sliced her bare foot open on a jagged rock, and the angel swam towards the blood in the water.
ma looked right into the angelβs six blind eyes and asked him, βhow come youβre down here, sleepinβ in the mud, when you could be up in heaven, plantinβ sunflowers for god?β his wings were like a dragonflyβs, transparent and glimmerinβ, and his halo was a ring of algae. the angel grinned, three rows of sharp teeth, and said, βgirlie, god has plans for the bluegills too.β
Keaton St. James
(My favourite piece of prose ~ HAPPY EARTH DAY! π²)
