MONO ISSUE 1 PDF FLIPBOOK - Flipbook - Page 17
WADERS
by Stacey R. Forbes
Part I
She was six when she saw them.
There in her uncle’s tin shack by the sea,
hip waders hung on the wall like
seal skins shaped like a man: long
rubber legs on sharp hooks.
She wanted to run but her own legs
were wobbly and hollow. Later, curled
on a cot, she pushed the tangled net
of her hair behind one ear and listened.
The night air was silent as stone.
She watched in the darkness for some sign
that he may have drifted to dream but
she found – even lulled by the murmuring
tongues of low tide – he did not sleep.
Her breath rose in quiet white clouds:
little fists that disappeared quickly.
He had no eyes, no head, but her wild
marsupial heart felt the weight of his gaze.
Once, some distant lightning lit the room
and the legs seemed to leap
from the wall, his shadow as tall
as the moon. She knows now
he will never leave her. Alone
in his shack he hangs perfectly
still, waiting.
Part II
When she was twenty
her uncle’s shack burned
to the ground with him
still inside, sound asleep.
No one knew him well, but
half the town waded up to
their knees to sift through
the ashes. Some say the
only thing left was his legs.
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