Feb. 14, 2007

I tossed the coin into the well. White folks' magic seemed strange enough, but I said my wish in any case.
"Back in line you cud!"
The guard pulled out his whip and lashed it hard.
The pain was awful, but I'd had worse.
The leather slit my raw back easily and opened it fresh for the flies.
At night I would pray for scars; if time enough went by for scarring, it meant not as many whips.

Kay Greenfield


I tossed the coin into the well, and watched as it disappeared from my view and into the murky depths. Using my elbows as support, I leaned forward and stared at down into the water. I chewed at my bottom lip thoughtfully as I stared unblinkingly at the ripples in the water. Normally I would have found this a waste of time and rather boring, but today just wasn’t a normal day. I leaned farther over the edge, my elbows scrapping against the concrete bricks and sending small grains of pebbles and rubble into the water.
I continued to stare at the new ripples in the water, my image becoming more distorted than it had previously been.
It would be so easy to just fall forward and let everything go.
I gazed at my reflection. My image was not as

Chrissy Faye