My Zafu is Collecting Dust I brought a few prayers and let them sit on the hardwood floor, blew, lightly, tried to get the kindling to catch. They say, “if you breathe, your heartbeat will relax to the proper cadence, the rhythm of god, her own gently paced breath.” I don’t know if it works that way, but I sleep easier when I invite death, it comes, takes my plans to some ridiculous grave, a cold hole where self-importance will hopefully shrivel in peace. I rarely make the time, and I hope it’s a one-way street, that there’s not a heart somewhere, waiting for our breath to set a calmer beat.
Timothy Tarkelly‘s work has appeared in Cauldron Anthology, Jupiter Review, Unstamatic, Rhodora Magazine, and others. His third book of poems, On Slip Rigs and Spiritual Growth, was published by OAC Books in July 2021. He is also the founder and EIC of Roaring Junior Press. When he’s not writing and publishing, he teaches in Southeast Kansas.
Amethyst Review 