Eadar da theine Bhealltaine

I. the smoke

the horse dreams
she is a dog,
dreaming she is her master.
she peels a banana,
and talks to a friend on the phone.
she wakes as a dog in the dream.
she crawls into her master's lap
and gets scratched behind the ears.
she wakes full of longing,
thinking,
I will never be that free.

II. the flames

"pregnant," she hears.
the tears won't come.
perhaps she's in shock.
some part of her mind knew,
held onto it,
but it's different to hear it.
maybe he's wrong,
she thinks. but part of her knows.
she breathes in and spells it out slowly.
she visualizes herself getting an abortion,
and then carrying the baby, giving it up for adoption.
a vicious nausea drives her to the toilet.
her lip trembles as she realizes
either option will cause her pain.

Author notes

For a contest with The Gallery, a WM lit mag. Prompt: Between Two Fires of Beltane. Beltane is a Celtic festival in which cattle are driven between fires.