the merciful silken blue was sky, and the sweet and floral flavors of gold and rust were leaves scattered on the sidewalk. someone making cider with cinnamon and fresh apples perfumed the entire world with the scent of life-affirming air. simple rhymes sang of tiny bodhisattvas with chalk and jump ropes while south reeled in geese, their enthusiasm honking acute triangles above, below, all around. nude oaks and plump squirrels like plush children’s toys bled tranquility into those that passed them by. the cartoonish lines separating egos and the people they owned from being dissolved, and existing, they stopped. they melted the cool fall breeze into a flood of loving dirt, living wood, breathing atmosphere, sleeping grass, beings indistinguishable from one another. and in that timeless, endless moment, All Things witnessed All Things as One, and in a single voice, sighed a great and lasting peace.
Thomas Rions-Maehren (Minneapolis, MN, 1993) is a bilingual poet and novelist living in Guayaquil, Ecuador with his wife and puppy. His time volunteering and traveling in countries like India, Mozambique, and Ecuador, along with his studies of philosophy and
chemistry at the University of Minnesota, influence his work. When he’s not writing, he’s probably either trying a new vegan recipe or training for a marathon. His scientific research has been published in ACS Nano, an example of his Spanish-language stories can be found
in Revista Necroscriptum, and more of his poetry can be found in The Elevation Review and at his website: tommaehrenpoetry.blogspot.com. He’s on Twitter @MaehrenTom.
