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Growing Apprehension
by Alexis Carter
Runestone, volume 7
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I plant my heart and mind in the middle of a meadow
The soil is rich, honest
The type that crumbles between your fingers
Earth fills my arteries
Ants occupy my frontal lobe
Still, roots anchor these pieces of me
This seed, my heart, sprouts first
It flings itself out, into the world
Seeking the sun
The greenery born from my brain takes its time
Inch by inch, it craves the open air
When the stalk finally breaks ground, it is sure in itself
My heart has twisted itself into a rose bush
Crimson crowns covering thistles and thorns
Beautiful, wondrous life mistaken for everlasting
My mind has become a peach tree
The fruit is overripe, falling at the slightest breeze
I hang from the branches and see the world upside-down
The sky falls apart
The meadow, now a mountain
I’m on a cliff, clinging to the edge
Something gruesome is coming
I can see the shadow arching over the rocks
Heavy breaths echo through the branches of my tree and shake the petals from my roses
The seeds that I’ve planted have bloomed
Flowers and fruit, harvested
They have grown strong
But the woodsman is coming
His axe is sharp
His will is stone
And I am gone
Alexis Carter
University of Arkansas
Alexis Carter is a junior at the University of Arkansas and is pursuing a degree in Computer Science. She wants to create, in every sense of the word and as much as possible, but writing has always been her home. Her work has also appeared in her college’s literary magazine, The Diamond Line.