Too distant to be his stomach.

Too close to be his mind.

His heart skipped steps like skipping stones across still lake waters.

An awakening of sorts.

I wished for you, she said.

I wished that you’d have two brown eyes and be true.

I also wished that you weren’t real.

I made a deal with the devil.

I made it so I couldn’t feel.

But here you are.

In the flesh,

You’ve got a heart of gold beneath your chest.

I wished for you.

I cried for you.

Hell I even lied for you.

Because I knew you weren’t real.

He was darted into a whirlwind

A branch of currents lifted him over landlines and waterfalls and spots of people left in the dark, with their shadows and comfort and frozen bones and legs of stone and little childish remedies.