by Mary Gilliland
Sandia Crest
My brother swung off saddle. To be alive before he called
a posse of angels to his side, he walked in turbulence
within a larger mind: I’m on two tracks—you wouldn’t
understand—two tracks. Seven months he’d been taking
that pony for a ride. Was his oncologist’s compassion
curiosity? Leave (should he?) a hospital with underfunded
wards? Pointing to his heart insistently he cried This
Edward is not the true Edward. Spirit harnessed his friable
face. The window framed ruddy peaks—alpenglow. On
the Sangre de Cristo months later, the climb left survivors
winded. As each hand scraped the box’s soot, the wind—
Author Mary Gilliland’s award-winning collections are The Devil’s Fools and The Ruined Walled Castle Garden. Recent honors include the 2023 International Literary Seminars Kenya/Fence 1st Prize in Poetry. Ember Days has just been published by Codhill Press, and spring 2024 sees the publication of In the pool of the sea’s shoulder by Dancing Girl Press. Mary is a poet, ecologist, and occasional essayist in New York’s Finger Lakes Region.
Artist Rachel Coyne is a writer and painter from Lindstrom MN. Her books include Whiskey Heart, The Patron Saint of Lost Comfort Lake and the YA series The Antigone Ravyn Chronicled. Her abstract works reflect her love of color and movement.
Gulf Stream Magazine 