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Drabble Corner

Michelle Swisz

These pieces all fit our theme of the month, Metaphor, so well that I'm choosing all of them for this month. I'm very happy to have the chance to see and to feel the engagement of minds, hearts, and souls reflected here.

The Journey by Tracy Simmons I know where I want to get to, but I am not sure how to get there. There are many routes on offer, but apparently only one of them is correct. I have been given a map, written by others who have travelled the journey before me, but I am not sure how to read it. I can ask for directions, but I am not sure that I am hearing the answers. I can follow the signs, but I must understand them as well, and I must beware of the signs that point down the wrong roads. There are lots of people on the side of the road, cheering me on, but I feel like there is no one in the car with me. They tell me that there is someone in the back, but I can not see him yet. I do not know how long the trip will take, and I do not know when I will arrive, but I believe I will get there someday. Some people arrive very quickly, some are born there, and others, like me, will take a while. For some it may take all their lives. This is my journey to find God. As Seen By A Woman In Love by Terri Mudd Yesterday her room was dingy, her clothes out of date. But in her dream he kissed her, a metaphor for the impossible. This morning she dressed for him. Maybe today... she rushed, heedless of the fall chill, on time, almost, for her, a wonderful, electric day. Maybe he will see her. He kissed her in her dream. Up the stairs, around the corner. Whoops. A clatter, books and papers fly. There she was, clumsy, awkward, fashionless, the dream gone. There he was, their things mingled on the floor. He said, "I dreamed about you." Last of the Spring Cleaning by Kaye Pierce Sifting through the mail, stacked for consumption when no more would fit without falling, some advertisements catch my eye. Several unopened envelopes compete for attention, offering low interest introductory rates. I smirk at their redundancy. Hasty plastic purchases collected dust on shelves and yellowed price tags hung unclipped in the closet. Until I gave away the stuff and cut up the tempting cards. Useless things no longer crowd my home. Little poems fill spaces left empty in my wallet. My interest is lower than any rate promised on the envelopes. Introducing them to the waste can unopened, I am free.

Sometimes, we can be in a place where almost everything does seem metaphorical--meaningful and connected, symbolic in some way of a higher or more encompassing version of the same entity. But when in confusion, our experience can feel more like tunnel vision. There may be the same people in our lives as before, maybe even the same feelings for those people, as ever. If seen through eyes that see metaphorically, connections between, for instance, the current people and other people we've known, between the current feelings and other feelings we've had, would probably seem very clear to us, and maybe very comforting, as well. But in our confusion, those sorts of connections can fade away very quickly from our narrowed sight. Things and people may seem isolated from each other, or if they do seem connected, then it's possibly in some mysterious and not necessarily benign way. We see, but only partially, and in the dark. Then, we may mistake our partial vision for a truer perspective, further fueling the confusion. . . Although, if we ever got to where we saw enough in our lives in isolation from everything else, would we then be led to start looking for connections again? Is confusion sometimes self-limiting?

Confusion, seeing in the dark: our theme for September. Check out the guidelines again. Your thoughts and comments are welcome, either included with your submission or in a separate message.

August is already set for "Ready or Not."
Until next month,

Michelle

Email your drabbles to me at drabble@wvu.org.