a watching face // andonia alexander-smith

Since time began, you have been there. A silent, omnipresent observer, and an ever-reliable servant. You count the seconds, the minutes, the hours, and the days, until one day your feeble ticking will stop. In days passed, the sun set your silvery face aglow, and your golden body twinkled under the stars. But those times are long gone; now you rest, lying forgotten on a co ee table, wondering at how quickly time could change.

Your life began in the nimble ngers of smooth hands, peering up at a face for whom death was still unknown. You were only one of many, a single watch in a sea of gold. But even through countless years, the only wrist you ever glimpsed was his. He carried you with him to meetings of business, an endless ow of wrinkled faces with close cropped hair, bushy white mustaches, silvery round spectacles, black caps, tailored suits.

His face was di erent; his expressions grew cold and drab while his once vibrant hair rapidly receded from his scalp. Until one day, everything changed. Her face was spring to his endless winter, a beam of sun in a storm. When she was around, his face was lighter, brighter, more jovial, and youthful. Life became fresh and new once again, and for a while, he was happy. And you were happy.

Suddenly, life took a turn for the worse. Rosy skin turned ashen and gray, eyes that once shown bright became overcast and gloomy. But, nonetheless, you remained close to him through it all. He coughed heavily, and his tears smeared on your once immaculate glazed face. Death, which had once been so far away, was nally nearing. You could see the weakness in his face, and, at the end, the understanding in his eyes. You hugged his wrist as he took his last breath.

A er a time, a face appeared. Years prior, her face had brought joy and light; but now it cast only a dark shadow. You clutched hard at his arm, but her grip was too strong. Instead of the warmth of a body, you felt the iciness of oak wood. For the rst time in decades, you were alone. You relished for a moment in the peacefulness of silence, only for it to quickly end.

New hands grasped at you, ngers rough and calloused. His face was younger, smoother, with an eagerness that, previously, you had never seen before. You felt a pang of sadness for your old friend that was now lost, but also a rising feeling of excitement as you pondered what the next life would bring.

Like a falling leaf

Waiting for the time to come

When I reach the ground

waiting // jackson burns

I look

To an endless With clouds

jackson burns please? // colin welden

I want to help

I’ll be there soon

I hit every red light

Took the wrong turn

But I’m still here to the sky endless blue expanse clouds looking back

Open the door please?