My Cardboard Balcony

Bunny by Belinda Roddie We met at one of the worst times of my life. I had survived a tornado, but my wife had not. I had been pulled out of the rubble, semi-conscious, by a National Guard airwoman, her face sweaty and somber above her camo uniform. She had had to hear me scream, had to try to wipe the blood from the cuts in my forehead and face while holding my shaking body and listening to me sob. My wife was one of only a few casualties. Fate had not been on her side. And I was certain that I could have saved her if I had only been downstairs instead of upstairs. With the destruction of my apartment, I spent a good three days in a shelter set up by the National Guard, being tended to by the same airwoman who had rescued me. For a while, I was bitter with her, no matter how kind she was to me as she tended to my injuries and provided me food and water. Her set jawline, stripped of a smile, showed me that she had to remain professional, and I knew that chewing her out for doing...

You Never Listen by Belinda Roddie I told you not to feed the bears strawberries, bro.

Here's what my spring break was supposed to be: - A trip to the Russian River with my family - Lacking stress and anxiety - Free of political nonsense And here's what my spring break turned out to be: - Lots of sleeping iin - One bike ride - One brief, six feet apart visit from my mom - A play reading that I enjoyed (not everything was bad) - Full of political nonsense because people keep forgetting that if the orange maggot is reelected, our SCOTUS is booooooooooorked - Lots of stress and anxiety - Figuring out distance learning Yeah. That's my life, people. How's yours? I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Daisies by Belinda Roddie Their centers melted like butter on a hot day, and their petals were only as white as their self-perceived innocence. They would wilt quickly, as was obvious, yet more of them would grow. And their centers would melt like butter on a hot day, and their petals would only be as white as theii self-perceived innocence...

Homage by Belinda Roddie Oscar Wilde would be proud of my fabulous purple hair.

Date Night by Belinda Roddie Even though we couldn't go outside, we still got romantic.

Politics by Arden Roddie roses             are                         red violets                a re                                                 b l                                   u e sometimes                        o t h e r                                                                          p                     ...