Mother Earth, Father Sky

by Angie Capzello One day, the earth looked up at the heavens and asked, “Who does the sky love best? “ The grass answered “I am the sky’s beloved. I look up, and I see him covered in brilliant blue. He moves over me like water, whispers through my leaves. And I sing love songs to him as my leaves brush together. Each year I go to sleep, yet he is always there when I wake, waiting for me, his one true love. The stream burbled as it laughed at the grass. “You are wrong, for I am the one the sky loves best. You say he moves like water, but he is hot and bright. He shines like the gold that lies hidden in my depths, and I reflect back all his warmth in glittering rainbows. No matter where I go, anywhere in the world, he is there waiting, all for the love of me. The tree shook her leafy head at the folly of her neighbors. “I am the one the sky holds dear. Soft and grey, he sends down the rain. I breath him in through my leaves, I drink him through my roots. Each spring I meet him in a gown of verdant green, and each autumn I wear scarlet, and together we dance through the seasons. In the winter he covers me in robes of purest white, for I am the one he loves best. Then the earth heaved and groaned, in a terrible torment. “I knew he would leave me, for I am old and worn. The years have passed since we first met, in a fire of passion. Now I have cooled, and he has forgotten our love.” The earth’s weeping shook the trees, the stream spilled from its banks and buried the grass in mud. Then night fell, and the sky came down and wrapped the earth in a cloak of sable and stars. “Hush, my love, be still. Do you not know that I love you? All that you see here is my gift to you. The love songs that whisper through the grass are my songs, the water shines for you like jewels. I garb you in colors each season, with all the life of the world. Even though you do not see me, I reach down to you, I am all around you every hour of every day. I am yours, beloved, from now until the world ends. It has always been you that I love best.” The tree covered them in a blanket of leaves, the grass made a soft place for them to rest, and the water serenaded them throughout the night. The earth sighed and settled down, wrapped in the arms of the sky, and there they lay together to watch the sun rise.

The Spaces in Between

by Angie Capozello THE TO DO LIST DOESN’T END I HAVE TO GET THE KIDS TO

SCHOOL AND GET TO WORK AND THERE IS DRY CLEANING

TO PICK UP life AND DINNER TO BUY AND REPORTS FOR A

MEETING TO WRITE AFTER THE KIDS ARE ASLEEP AND THE

LAUNDRY ISN’T DONE is AND MY BOSS IS DRIVING ME UP

THE WALL AND TRAFFIC ISN’T MOVING AND WHY IS THAT

IDIOT ON A CELL PHONE lived DOESN’T HE KNOW THAT’S

ILLEGAL WHERE DID I PUT THAT FILE ITS DUE BY NOON OH

THE COFFEE IS COLD MAYBE THERE’S CHANGE in the FOR

ANOTHER CUP IN THE GLOVEBOX OR UNDER THE SEATS I

WISH I HAD spaces MORE TIME I HAVE TOO MUCH TO DO

WHERE DID MY LIFE GO OH RIGHT IT DIED IN THE NINE

TO FIVE RUSH I THOUGHT I WANTED in between THIS

LIFE DIDN’T I OR MAYBE I HAD SOME OTHER DREAMS…

Stop. Look out your window. SEE the world, it’s still there.

Water dripping off a leaf. Birds sitting on a fence. Sunshine.

Life is in the little moments. A smile, a laugh, even in tears.

All of the little things that happen on the way to our next stop.

Life is lived in the space in between.

Beyond

by Angie Capozello Can you hear it singing? Does it whisper to you in the soft, quiet hours before dawn? Will you let it rock you to sleep, cradled in its arms, safe and warm? Or will you run from it? When the call comes, will you follow? Do you dare to step beyond, and into the unknown? Will you take the leap, and know that it will catch you? Or will you hide from it? Can you face the future? Embrace it like a lover? Run laughing towards its open arms? Or will you turn away? It waits for you. It sings to you. It is you. Will you deny it?

Peace

by Angie Capozello

It started with a whisper of wings And the sound of trumpets

The birds fled as the first mortars fired They’re ‘softening us up’ before the charge

Voices raised in song filled the heavens Then fell silent before the hiss of drawn swords

If you hear the shriek of the shells, you’re okay It’s when it goes quiet that you worry

The sky trembled as the angels fought Brother against brother, the first holy war

Then the thundering starts, and the earth shakes As the bombardment falls like an unholy rain

It lasted forever, for a moment, an eyeblink An eternity, but it wasn’t over

The War to End All Wars wasn’t the end It just sowed the seeds for the future

There were still souls to win, Hearts and minds to sway

War rose again, like a ghastly Phoenix From the ashes scattered across a million graves

Heaven and Hell, all to win And everything to lose

Again and again, war returns With the question on the lips of humanity

Even in heaven a war was fought

How can man find peace if God could not?

Meet Angie Capozello!

Angie Capozello is an aspiring writer and poet, with far too many hobbies (gardening, blacksmithing, archery...) She has been working as a web design and marketing professional for 15 years. You can find her serial Flash Fiction stories, and articles on the business of writing, at http://techtigger.wordpress.com. You can also follow her on twitter at @techtigger.

Unbroken

by Angie Capozello Stars wheel overhead Like a flock of birds, Then scatter with the dawn. Yet each night they return To skydance in the darkness, Knowing time will win out And leave them as dust. Like the stars, I will stand, Unbroken, To stare down eternity Knowing that I will blink first.