‘Big Issue’? A question lost on disinterested commuters, drowned by rush hour’s cacophony. But the child, crouching on the wet pavement, smiled at the street-seller.
A delicate thread of recognition flickered between them – time-travellers unfamiliar with city skins – her dark eyes held his azure gaze.
Pushing her bare feet into grey slabs, cold, icy water pressed through her toes. City rhythms exploded beneath her soles – music bubbling up between cracks in concrete – vibrant, resonant – soulful.
Drowning in sound colour, she smiled – running home.
Distant footfalls on sun-baked earth echo in her memory – footprints in sand, an imprint of her soul.
Author bio: Aspiring book artist - experimenting with words and specialising in handmade books, incorporating traditional bookbinding techniques, natural materials and decorative stitching.
website: www.bookspells.com
twitter: @bookspell
elegant, elegiac prose
ReplyDeletemarc nash
Very elegant - enjoyed reading this!
ReplyDeleteEach time I return to this I discern another layer, but the image from the first reading just gets stronger - really well-evoked.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason this works so well for me is that the opening seats it so firmly in reality before it shimmies off on synaesthetic wings. And the last line just makes me ache .
ReplyDeleteThank you, Miranda.