Skip to main content

Emotion 365: The Dump Failure, the Rubble Despair

All the trash from other lands arrives at Failure, the wasteland dump. Papers blow in the winds — lines of unedited poetry. Beneath the heaps, the fertile soil lies fallow. Bony creatures pick through the shards of glass and scraps of cloth looking for meals of mold. Puddles of filth sit after the rains. Scum settles over the water and mosquitos swarm. The air muddles with the stench of unwashed bodies. In winter, it never snows enough to cover everything. Snow melts upon the muck and wet filth rises. The endless land welcomes all castoff objects and every outcast person. It composts biologics and piles on waste. Occasionally, earthquakes shake all the piles down. The earth cracks and swallows stacks of debris. No one will miss it. The junk nourishes the creature below.

In the ring of rubble, uninhabitable Despair low brown grass grows in a vacant lot.

"Stay outside the circle of Despair," the Guide warns.

It's a famous attraction, but the Failure monster hungers.

Visitors come one by one. They put trash outside of the ring of Despair, hoping the tithe will save them. There is nothing of worth here.

"I felt only emptiness," said Miss Doe Friend.

"It was too dangerous to walk through Failure," says Miss Emeline Traveler. "We made it as far as we could and then I went on alone a bit farther."

"Eventually the Crane of Kindness came and lifted Miss Emeline and her companions up into the Cloud of Kindness and carried them away.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on "Depression Hates a Moving Target": What I Mean by Relatable

Relatable — I used this word in my reviews of Depression Hates a Moving Target   by Nita Sweeney on Goodreads and Amazon . It's a nice word, but overused of late. So, it feels lazy. What do I mean? I connected with this book. It made me reflect more on my own first marathon experience. It made me want to put on my running shoes and head out the door again. In fact, I did. Now, typically, my mental health doesn't hinder my ability to do the stuff I want to do and my body flies under the radar. Still, I also felt goofy stepping out in my running gear a lot of the time. I didn't see myself as a "runner" or an athlete. And, I had no idea if I could run 13 miles let alone 26.2 when I started. More to the point, could I stay moving for the 4+ hours straight it would take to complete the marathon? To do the training mileage, I knew I'd have to run through streets and trails on my own and that made me nervous, too. Waves of grief wash us to strange shores. Whe...

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers  edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!".  Wings of R...

Springy Story Review: "Gestella" by Susan Palwick

Why it springs to mind: A hauntingly beautiful horror story about what happens when a woman relinquishes her power. A unique werewolf story with commentary on aging. Where read: First in Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology  ( 2015, PM Press edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer) and then in Palwick's collection The Fate of Mice ( 2007, Tachyon Publications ) — both outstanding! These presses won't steer you wrong. Summary: A young woman werewolf allows herself to be dominated by a lover who takes control of her fate. Memorable: The powerful ending! The word: sportfuck. A new take on lycanthropy. Written in second person — you. Quote:  "You know that your growing wisdom is the benefit of aging, the compensation for your wrinkles and your fading—although fading slowly as yet—beauty. You also know that Jonathan didn't marry you for wisdom."  Personal connection: Some of my favorite stories seem to be the ones that address t...