Audio books

“I just don’t get how you can listen to a book. There’s no fonts to look at, there’s no papers to touch — they’ve removed two of the senses. And the truth is, sometimes I lick them, so that’s three.”

—Brick Heck, The Middle, “Pitch Imperfect,” 2017, written by Rich Dahm, season 8, episode 12

Ten thousand fathoms deep

“You peer into my life to find a lingering past, but I tell you it was sunk ten thousand fathoms deep and weighted down with my dead self. You look into my breast to find that old, old open wound, but I tell you I seared it with my hot tears and only the cicatrix is there.”

—Muriel Strode (1875–1964), My Little Book of Prayer, 1904

Vernal ode to euphony

nests bustling in leafy trees
eggs cracking open tenderly
vernal music on the breeze
excitement buzzing busily
tree roots drinking merrily
underground working tirelessly
restless flowers pacing weeds
manufacturing aromatherapies
reds purples yellows greens
poppies blooming endlessly!

Terri Guillemets