Zeitgeist

by Annie Barker

Alleys are uninspiring, some might argue,
being mostly dirty and utilitarian. The one from my childhood
cultivated feral cats and trash, remnants, and broken 
dishes like the jagged piece of blue crockery that
embedded itself in my bare foot one roaming day;
foolishly carefree, I didn’t see it until it bit.

Gumshoeing 
house to house, 
I was sly and fearless as I 
jostled my well-behaved self,
kindled private, aimless daydreams and 
Lilliputian transgressions. 

Motley friends joined me some days,
nomads like me, ready to plan
outlandish adventures among
piles of discarded furniture,
queues of single-minded ants, a dead bird or two,
rustling

(Shh! What was that?)

trash, and found objects – we were pilgrims,
uninhibited by rule or routine.
Various adults warned us away from the alley, of course, but
we went anyway, to ruminate, scheme, and search for treasure - 
X marks the spot.
You’d never know it from me now, but I was brave once. 

by van Tine

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Annie Barker practices psychotherapy in Omaha, Nebraska and holds an MFA in Writing from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She is the Associate Editor for The Good Life Review. Her work appears in River Teeth and Voices from the Plains, and she is seeking representation for her memoir Searching for Sea Glass: A Therapist Searches for Three Fathers and Finds Herself, in case you know someone.