a thought
August 31, 2015
The end of everything is to be loved out loud and the beginning of me is quiet. … © 2015 Anna-Christina Betekhtin, All Rights Reserved.
Month: August 2015
tender & awkward
August 31, 2015
Something tender and awkward in the crook of your elbow, how you hum so low and drop pens always. Small smile I cannot understand, tell me what you know, friend. I do not know how dear I am to you. … © 2015 Anna-Christina Betekhtin, All Rights Reserved.
lead and the loon
August 28, 2015
Between small flat pebbles and the sound of rushing water on the quay—far from what was known, the abandoned loon stooped to pray knobble-kneed on gleaming cobblestones when sharp lead pierced its breast; the sound sent something trembling away. … © 2015 Anna-Christina Betekhtin, All Rights Reserved.
crusade
August 27, 2015
There is a reason that they call it robin’s egg blue, for nowhere else save that fragile, formidable chalice is it found. I wanted to call that small and sacred eggshell mine, but no. It shattered lovely at my touch, for it was riddled through with the thousand-three struggles of the fighter fierce. … © … More crusade
at the zoo and at home
August 27, 2015
The children’s chatter ceases at the turn between the sea-lions and the anacondas. Neither bright cries in sparkling water nor sinister sway of sinew frightens them— but they still before the darkened glass. The pacing death knows they are there and breathing. … The leopard is full feline wild, lithe as silk or woman. … More at the zoo and at home
the new place
August 27, 2015
In the cab ride to the new place, I clutched the cattle head we had hung above our doorway. Bubble wrap was not as safe as my hands. Horns weapons in my lap, danger in too-close proximity. I would sleep on our couch for six months, but didn’t know it then. I watched August pass … More the new place
simple touches
August 27, 2015
This is how they all start, isn’t it. A shuddering horse in the cold, simple touches— fall away, come away. The way desire catches in the throat. Shiver sounds like I don’t know what I’m doing here, I don’t want to hurt the silent heat between us. … © 2015 Anna-Christina Betekhtin, All Rights Reserved.
shine your silver
August 26, 2015
This is a very old one, from high school, that always seems to be relevant. … shine your silver and wipe the dust from your brow. shake the crumbs from your clothes. now is the time to tie your shoes with satin bows; to throw your wristwatch in the river and dance. … © 2015 … More shine your silver
On Shame and the Courage to Retreat.
August 25, 2015
I wonder if the great warriors ever felt ashamed. They must have learned the art of war somewhere. Though success must build upon success, especially in that line of work, in order to die another day, I wonder if they ever wished that they were not so brutal, so efficient. Even Achilles must have sighed, … More On Shame and the Courage to Retreat.
On Air and Water.
August 24, 2015
The fact that my body knows how to breathe is proof I belong in a place with air. I belong here. It is as simple and rational as tears and belly laughs, if you do them right. I have watched people weep and laugh for a long time, and I know it is not the … More On Air and Water.
anna-christina betekhtin 