2 doulbe trouble

Photo by James Rainsford

No Way Out

deep within
the darkness envelopes me
escape haunts
each waking
breath i dare to take
let me sleep

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so i'm not sure of the last line...the one above fits me...for i like sleep...it is a wonderful escape, yet i wonder if i should make it a bit more...i don't know 'fighting'...if that makes sense.  as i sit here continuing to type i'm still thinking about changing it..."set me free"...maybe i'm just not ready for that kind of hope...  i thought to make the above form fit into a shadorma, but i it turned itself around on me...  anyway...


i have to say, given the options for this Sunday's One Stop Poetry's One Shot Sunday, i was struck  by two images.  the one you see above, and the one--should you dare to continue to read--you'll see below.  (although technically you don't have to read the below to see the image.  but anyway...the image below inspired a thought that i wasn't sure how to put into a poem...though i've been a bit impressed with myself and some of the things i've managed to turn into a poem, i didn't not feel it.  I think my problems the dialogue i want to include...i'm toyed with dialogue in poems before, but i'm not extremely comfortable with it.  i thought to try the who Flash Fiction 55, but that was laughable.  anyway...

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Photo by James Rainsford

Turnstile
His foot had barely touched the fifth step when he was halted by a voice behind him.  "Both escalators go up."  The puzzlement in the angelic voice brought a smile to his lips.  "Where are the down escalators?"  A subtle laugh escaped him.  The oddity of the question forced him to turn and look upon the innocent creature who would ask such a thing.

She was breathtaking.  If it were possible, his heart would have skipped a beat at the sight of her.  He shook the thought from his head and gestured with his head behind her.  "Down is over there.  But you don't really want to go down do you?"

Her head began to shake almost immediately.  "No.  I was just curious.  I mean how does anyone ever get back down from..."  Her voice trailed off as she pointed upward. 

The thought had never really occurred to him.  He looked up toward his destination and pondered her question.  Finally he turned back to her and said, "Why would anyone want to come back down here?" 

She shrugged, but said nothing else.  He turned and began to continue his climb.  It took about two steps before he was halted once again.  "Why are you using the stairs?  It seems a little pointless at this point."

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he turned back toward her.  "I tried."  He thought to his thwarted attempts and the fear of what they meant worked relentlessly to take hold of his soul.  "Four times in fact."  He gestured to the escalator on his left.  "Twice there and," he paused to gesture at the right escalators, "twice there."  She continued to look at him, her question plain across her face.  "Each time, I get have way up and the escalators stop and reverse." 

Her stare bore into him.  The fear began to bubble up again; he knew she was thinking the same thing as him.  When she finally spoke, he was surprised by her question.  "You had enough tokens to get on four times?"

"I don't have any tokens."  If he had thought her odd before, now he was sure of it.  He shook his head.  "I jumped the turnstile." 

Her brows furrowed in puzzlement.  Again he was caught by her angelic beauty.  "Did you check your pockets?"  She asked matter-of-factly. 

He shook his head at her question and mindlessly began to put his hand in his pockets ready to withdraw the empty interior fabric.  "Why would I check my po...."  His voice trailed off as he pulled a token from his pocket.  So stunned was he that he hardly noticed his decent down the stairs until he stood beside her.  Finally tearing his gaze away from the token he looked up at her sparkling hazel eyes.  "How did you know?"

She shrugged and held up her hand.  "'Cause I found this in my pocket."  He marveled at the twin token that sat in her delicate hand.  She gestured toward the escalator.  "Shall we?"  So dumbfounded he just nodded.  Mindlessly he watched her place the token in the coin slot and step through the turnstile.  He followed suit.  His gaze was caught for some time on the floor they had just left behind.  His breath caught for a moment as they approached the midway point.  As that illusive streach of escalator finally passed, he let go the air that filled his useless lungs.  Her laugh floated down to him.  He gazed up at her as the brightness above grew stronger.  She shook her head at him.  "I can't believe you tried jumping a turnstile to get into heaven."