Caroline Amongst the Cactuses”
Caroline was ten, and she lived
in Arizona. She liked Arizona,
because it was warm and dry arid
sunny, and most days-of the year
she could play outside. Caroline
liked playing outside, in the air
and sunshine.
One day Caroline left the
trailer where she lived with her
mother. The sky was clear and
the sun was hot, so Caroline had
put on her yellow shorts and a
T-shirt, and slipped her feet into -
red rubber thong sandals.
Caroline's mother didn't like
Caroline to dress this way when
she was leaving the immediate
area of the trailer. Caroline's
mother worried about snakes,
and preferred Caroline to weai
jeans and sturdy boots,
Caroline's mother had studied
the subject and knew that snakes
rarely bite people higher than
mid-calf. That is why she liked
Caroline to wear boots that came
almost to the knee.
But Caroline's mother wasn't
home, having left early to go
shopping with a neighbor lady, so
Caroline could dress any way she
liked. Caroline didn't much
worry about snakes.
Caroline decided to go play in
the cactus patch that stood about
a quarter of a mile away, in the
desert behind the trailer park.
Caroline's mother didn't like
Caroline to play amongst the cac
tuses, being worried about spines
and snakes and needles, but
Caroline wasn't worried. The
cactuses were her friends, and in
their midst she could find
privacy. She had her secret way, a
way that led to an open space in
the very heart of the patch, and
she had never once been scratch
ed in getting there.
Caroline hummed as she walk
ed. She was happy to be going
where she was going. She liked it
amongst the cactuses.
Caroline came to her place in
the midst of the cactuses and sat
down to play. She made hills and
valleys in the sand, and imagined
them to be the landscape of a
kingdom. She imagined that in
this kingdom she was queen, and
spent a pleasant half hour giving
queenly commands to her im
aginary subjects. She decided that
there must be a magic stone in her
kingdom, and that this stone
must have a sword in it, and that
a handsome prince would have to
come and pull the sword from the
stone. Then he would have to slay
a dragon with the sword. By .this
act he would win her hand in
marriage, and they would live
happily ever after.
Caroline looked around, but
the sand in the clear space in the
midst of the cactuses was un
broken by any lump of stone.
Finally she spotted one, nestled
behind a tall saguaro. She walk
ed to it on her knees, reached
for it, and froze.
The snake was a big one, long
and fat, with many rings on the
rattles of his tail. His scales
scintillated in the sun as if he
were made of copper and gold
and bronze. The whirring, chat
tering sound of his rattles filled
Caroline's ears. The snake smil
ed at her and tasted her scent
with his tongue. Caroline didn't
move.
The strike was uncoiling,
quicker than quick, mouth gap
ing flash of long dripping white,
scales against flesh, glittering
burst of pain. Then the writhing
on the ground, curling around
the agony which spread and
spread, and became numbness,
and finally ceased as darkness
came.
Eggshells”
I talk to you deep
You look at me shallow
All you see
Are eggshells.
When I emphasize
My deepest thought
You become a deaf
And distorted wall.
I set around thinking...
Thinking of a way
To reach you inside.
But when I call
You on the telephone
All I hear is an
Endless ring that echoes.
My world is filled
With more than what you see;
Discovering myself
Means nothing to you.
All you see are eggshells.
Steve Lu pier
Caroline licked the blood
from her lips and watched the
big snake till it had stopped
moving, its head nearly severed
from its body; You can never
find a prince when you need
one.
Caroline was a good girl. She
knew it wasn't nice to kill
something you weren't going to
use. And she was getting
hungry, and her mother
wouldn't be home for hours. So
she ate the snake, all but the rat
tles, which she saved to play
with, and the head, which she
buried deep under the magic
rock in the midst of her
kingdom.
Larry Pike
Untitled
If you have enjoyed the look
of Rhapsody, then join in and
submit your talents.
Rhapsody is YOU. Without
you, there isn't a Rhapsody.
Bring poems, short stories and
essays to trailer B, "The Print".
Editor & Designer
Judy Singer
Close your eyes
Give me your hand
Let me gently show you
The lover in the man
Reach for my love
It's still within your grasp
I'll erase all the memories
Of the lovers in the past
Give to me a smile
Touch me with your heart
Open up your world and let
Me be a part
As sure as the earth
Spins endlessly around
I could not endure
Without the love that I have found
R.C. Carlisle
'