208 Results in the "Poetry" category


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      Chapter Three

      Chapter Three Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter explores Cyrus's lifelong struggle with sleep, framed as a paradoxical and involuntary performance. From childhood, he finds it absurd that sleep requires pretending—a nightly act of faith rather than a natural bodily function. Unlike eating or breathing, sleep demands surrender to an unreliable process, rewarded with dreams but threatened by nightmares. Cyrus views wakefulness as a corrosive force, a "poison" that erodes cognitive clarity until sleep becomes unavoidable. His resistance to…
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      Chapter Two

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Cyrus attending an AA meeting at Camp5 Center, a dingy lavender recovery clubhouse frequented by a mix of old-timers and reluctant newcomers. The setting is vividly described—cigarette smoke, a dim basement with plastic tables, and the no-nonsense presence of Angus B. selling cheap snacks. Cyrus’s sponsor, Gabe Bardo, a seasoned figure with 33 years of sobriety, sits quietly beside him. The meeting’s broad topic, “life on life’s terms,” sparks disjointed shares, from a…
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      Chapter One

      Chapter One Cover
      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter introduces Cyrus, a medical actor at Keady University Hospital who portrays dying patients or grieving family members for medical students to practice difficult conversations. He finds purpose in inhabiting various roles, from Sally Gutierrez, a mother losing her daughter, to Buck Stapleton, a Catholic coach facing his wife's brain death. The job requires him to calibrate emotional responses based on pain scales while evaluating students' empathy through score sheets. Cyrus enjoys the…
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      Cyrus Shams

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      by testsuphomeAdmin The chapter opens with Cyrus Shams, a disheveled and drug-addled young man, lying in his squalid Indiana apartment, desperately seeking a sign from God. After years of silence, he interprets a flickering light bulb as a potential divine message, though he questions whether it’s a miracle or just faulty wiring. Cyrus reflects on the unfairness of biblical figures like Muhammad and Saul, who received unambiguous revelations, while he is left grasping for clarity. His longing for a tangible connection with…
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      Towns in Colour

      Towns in Colour Cover
      by LovelyMay In this chapter titled Towns in Colour, introduces a vivid meditation on urban life, emotion, and perception through a tapestry of contrasting images. The narrative invites readers to navigate a series of scenes where mood, space, and color reflect both external realities and internal responses. From the start, the setting—a darkened church echoing with Latin hymns—establishes a tone of solemn ritual and human helplessness in the face of death. As priests chant and incense thickens the air, the body at…
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      Spring Day

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      by LovelyMay In this chapter titled Spring Day, the narrative unfolds as a meditation on emotional contrast, beginning with grief and moving toward subtle renewal. It opens with the image of a boy mourning the loss of his beloved treasures, consumed by fire, leaving behind only ash and charred stone. The sorrow of this moment is underscored by the slow strike of a clock, a sound that signals the return to routine and the world’s indifference to personal loss. Yet this sense of detachment is not the chapter’s…
    • The Red Lacquer Music-Stand Cover
      by LovelyMay In this chapter titled The Red Lacquer Music-Stand, the story opens with a boy awakening to the enchantment of dawn, overwhelmed by a sense of awe that seems to saturate the air around him. The moment feels both sacred and surreal, as shifting sunlight slices through darkness with vivid precision. He watches as morning light invades the stillness with golden slashes and vibrant red reflections, like something alive trying to claw its way into the waking world. These movements are described with such…
    • The Paper Windmill Cover
      by LovelyMay In this chapter titled The Paper Windmill, the scene unfolds as a quiet exploration of a child’s inner world, shaped by longing, boredom, and vibrant imagination. Beginning in the early morning light, the story shifts from the eerie remnants of Mr. Spruggins’ grotesque nightmare to a new perspective—that of a young boy staring out from a quiet window. His surroundings are filled with silence, interrupted only by the stirrings of life outside. While the nightmare that opens the chapter is steeped in…
    • Nightmare:  A Tale for an Autumn Evening Cover
      by LovelyMay In this chapter titled Nightmare: A Tale for an Autumn Evening, the scene unfurls not with quiet suspense but with wild momentum, as a windswept street transforms into a theater of chaos and absurdity. The setting is no ordinary night—it is a blustery autumn evening charged with movement, sound, and the comic struggle of one man trying to reach the comfort of home. Mr. Spruggins, slightly off balance from the indulgence of a rich dinner and wine, finds himself tossed and spun by a wind that behaves less…
    • Number 3 on the Docket Cover
      by LovelyMay In this chapter titled Number 3 on the Docket, the narrative takes a haunting turn, pulling the reader into the isolated world of a woman crushed beneath the weight of silence and sorrow. Her life, once shaped by routine and shared responsibilities, becomes hollow after the death of her young son. The house, already quiet due to her husband's withdrawn temperament, turns utterly voiceless—each day heavier than the last. The only sound that remains is the wind brushing snow across the windows, a reminder…
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