Linda Lowe

                                   
Frankie and Johnny

Talk about coincidence. Frankie and Johnny strolled into the pub one night while the guitarist sang their song. We stood and clapped, glad to see them back together after such a terrible end. They looked so back together that when Johnny whispered something to the guitarist, we thought a new verse might be on the way. That is, until Nellie Bly sauntered in, and there was no missing Johnny’s smile when he saw her. Would love turn tragic after such promise? Frankie stormed out, while the night went on as usual, full of stars shining as if they still existed.

 

The Carnival

While the children rode on the carousel with its monotonous organ music, we sipped wine on the Carlyle’s patio, trying to ignore it. When it stopped, we cheered, until that wild moment when the horses went from painted wood to flesh and blood, making living, happy, horse sounds, and our children shouted, “Yippee Ki Yay!” riding them down the cul-de-sac, into the sunset. The police arrived just as the posse of children rounded the corner, the horses loudly braying, right up to the moment they stepped onto the carousel, where they relinquished their spirit, their passion, their joy, for silence.

 

Linda Lowe's poems and stories have appeared in Six Sentences, MacQueen's Quinterly, and others.