A SHADOW BEEHIVE

by RASHEDA WHITE

from ECOTONE

I hear an old man and woman playing chess for some false teeth. I hear a tree knocking in the sand and the sand flies up and down and it sounds like a window. I hear cold old shadows chattering their teeth in the winter.

I hear my sister polishing the shadows’ fingernails.

I hear shadow kids playing with a shadow beehive in the yard and a shadow kid gets chased by the bees and all the bees are gone so a homeless man comes down and gets some honey. I hear my mother in the kitchen drying out the darkness.

Nominated by John Rybicki, Genie Chipps