I Never Want to Leave Amanda Hartzell i. Not everything is human. Not everything is a healing sea or temple, sworn by new ghosts to be. I never want to leave this season. Who actually believes blood and bone is how to experience the world? This morning I found a dead rabbit in the shed half eaten by crows full of opals. ii. Who actually believes the world is how to experience blood and bone? I never want to leave this human. Not every season heals the rabbit and finds dead crows in the temple. Morning ghosts swear by opals and swim out as far as the salt takes them. Who actually believes? The world. iii. The temple swears you will experience ghosts. Not everything is healing dead rabbits and crows. But this morning I found a shed full of opals, one for each broken bone. Who actually wants to leave when the ghosts are so good? If blood comes for the world, swim out.
Amanda Hartzell holds an MFA from Emerson College in Boston. Her writing has appeared in New Letters, The Knicknackery, West Trade Review, and Carve Magazine, among others. Originally from eastern PA, she now lives in Seattle with her husband, son, and their dog.