Destin-y Photo by Shaun Jones on Unsplash Early-morning sun peeks above the horizon as humidity moistens my skin. The balminess hints at another hot day. I lie in bed and hear its call as it whispers my name, screaming for me to come. Its seductive lure is a lifelong enticement. It’s ingrained in every fiber of my being: the ocean. I grew up near the ocean. Now, I am landlocked in the heart of the country. No matter. The sea still sings to me and makes me want. The beach is less a desire for me than a need.

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Autumn's Embrace

What Goes On in There Photo by Javardh on Unsplash I live inside your headNo way out I’ve ever seenConstant ideas and images bombardingImages like those on the silver screenA litany of films, short and long Always in motion and alertAbsorbing data that might be neededI’m with you day and nightSecured safely from harm here, shieldedProtected from being broken or taken Breaking me, an impossible contemplationStealing or taking me awayMore criminal than murderBut I am safeguarded night and day…

Healing Scars Photo by Parrish Freeman on Unsplash I was born into a toxic marriage. A mother who abandoned the narcissist who raised me and me. They probably had no business being married, let alone having children. One parent left and didn’t care enough to take me away from the toxicity she ran from, and a man who, in his arrogant and self-aggrandizing way, would leverage my sibling and me as sympathy points to attain women. My father was an extremely controlling man, and raised me in an environment of fear and complete control.

Fair Warning Photo by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash 5:30 a.m., and my husband coos at me, asking if I am awake. I am now, but barely. He tells me he is off to work, that he checked the fire downstairs, and that it will be fine until I wake up (until 7:30 a.m.). Cool. I set my alarm for 7:30 and head back into some delicious dream; I can’t remember anymore. No, I would not tell you, even if I could remember the dream) And So It Begins At 8, I wake up, look at my phone, and wonder why it did not go off.

Two Pink Lines

Hot off the press! Issue 4 of Ink Trail. This is what was shaking last week.