My Cardboard Balcony

Night Walk Downtown by Belinda Roddie She holds my hand and checks her make-up in her compact mirror Her eyes grow wings that fold into each other like black velvet interspersed with stars The ones who pass by as we stand on the pier are wind-tousled and tossed like leaves on the aggressive summer wind that doesn't let up even for lovers Once the reflection is tucked away she lets her palm navigate to my back She likes where it curves below my belt I let her touch me there for as long as she likes

Every piece of me has been separated across all seven seas. If you wish to find all of me, you will need to search far and wide. You will need to fly, sail, swim, hike, crawl, and trek your way up mountains, through valleys, across rivers, and over cooling clouds. If you happen to find the key elements first, then perhaps the rest of me will be less reluctant to join them. It will take time, as well as patience, which I hope you have.

The Performance by Belinda Roddie the part of the show with the special effects will require all the actors to fly like insects when the fireworks burst and the screams become loud we will toss all the roses back into the crowd

Hop on the wagon, boys, and we'll go fishing until the sun sets. Keep your rods steady and your lines intact and your reels always a-spinning. We'll meet your sister when it's dark out and share a six pack by the cabin. Then before the mosquitoes bite, we'll slip into bed and do it all again tomorrow. Your sister has a better cast and a stronger grip than all of you combined. See if you can catch a larger trout than she does, but I'll bet my gold tooth that she can't be beat!

by Belinda Roddie Option One is, when you open the door, stepping into a single story house with three bedrooms and two baths, and a backyard that appears to stretch to infinity, if infinity were constructed from fallen tree branches and broken bridges. There is debris everywhere, rubble that you are not expected to clean up or rebuild. You are allowed to settle in this home and see if you can handle the mortgage and the upkeep. Option One includes a spouse that is soft on the eyes but tough on the stomach. She will be nothing but candid as you navigate your new married life together. You both will have fallen hard and fast in the beginning: "whirlwind" is not even the strongest word you would use to describe it, though it is difficult to find something in your vocabulary that feels more appropriate. Six months into dating, and you two will have married on a warm September evening on a beach in Southern California, where the smog will be less dense and more gray than brow...