It Is Easier To Say Too Much On Readiness

You tell them you don’t want to hold her, you tell them this four times, then you fade, replaced of self by softness, sudden. When you wake, they are placing her on your chest. You cannot see her face, rather one primitive, pink hand, waving something uselessly away. But you can smell her. Her smell is yours, as if your body were turned in, then out, as a glove worn far too long, the wax and weight of you heavy, older, and they have made a wick of that youness and it has been lit for the first time now.

From Guest Contibutor, Kelli Allen

Kelli Allen’s work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies in the US and internationally. She served as Managing Editor of Natural Bridge and holds an MFA from the University of Missouri. She is currently a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Lindenwood University. Allen gives readings and teaches workshops throughout the US. Her full-length poetry collection, Otherwise, Soft White Ash, from John Gosslee Books (2012) was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Squabbles

"It'll be easier if we just throw it away and start over."

"Let's not be too hasty. I think we can manage."

"Fine. Then you do it."

"Don't get mad. I'm just trying to help."

"You're not trying to help. You have to control everything I do. I'm sick of it."

"Look who's talking. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place."

"That's not fair. You were happy too. You just don't like the way I'm handling it."

"Everything would have been fine if we'd just hired the obstetrician like I wanted."The Daily Theme from Figment for February 1, 2012

Write an active scene entirely in dialogue. No quotation marks; no he said-she said; no description of action—just the words the characters say. Don't explicitly tell us what the activity is, but through your characters' dialogue, make it clear what they're doing.