The Memorial Day Program

The Memorial Day Program

By Brandon Palzkill

I watched the men stand in a row,

rifles clutched in hand,

from different times and different wars,

yet, as brothers, they did stand.

As they stood, the flags were flown,

whipping in the breeze,

and crowds of people gathered ‘round,

beneath the maple trees.

While we all met, respects were paid,

to service-people, lost,

they’d bought us our democracy,

their lives had been the cost.

Speakers recited prayers and poems,

the marching band played on,

a somber Taps rang through the air,

to honor those who’d gone.

And toward the end, the veterans,

rifles pointing to the sky,

had fired their thunderous tribute,

beneath the flag, which flew so high.

And after all the smoke had cleared,

the vets had marched away,

then everyone else scattered,

to return next year, this day.

Throughout the year, as life goes on,

and everybody thrives,

remember freedom had its price,

paid with noble soldiers’ lives.

Dreams of Falling

Dreams of Falling

By Brandon Palzkill

Falling, flailing,

through the frosty,

pillowy clouds.

A speeding penny,

accelerating,

down Empire State.

Winds whipping; roaring.

The Earth unfolds

its waiting arms

to receive me;

crushing embrace.

Close my eyes, tightly,

and wait for impact;

any moment n-

...I really do

despise that dream.

One Last Night Together - The Conclusion

One Last Night Together – The Conclusion

By Brandon Palzkill

            “Okay,” Duncan said, without hesitation.

            His mistrust toward Angela had inexplicably evaporated, and for Duncan, the biggest shock of her revelation was how much it had failed to shock him. Even stranger was the unconcerned feeling that he had towards the discontinuation of his life. 

“I die, now,” he slowly repeated, “and you and I will be together, forever?”

Angela nodded apprehensively. Duncan became gleefully lighthearted at the thought of spending eternity with the woman who held his heart.

“That… is wonderful!” Duncan exclaimed. “Can we go now? I don’t want to… what’s wrong?”

A smile belied the disappointment that grew within Angela, but she had never been able to hide her feelings from Duncan and he quickly saw the truth behind her smile.

“You’re not happy,” Duncan observed. “Don’t you want eternity together?"

“It’s not that,” she remarked, awkwardly. “It’s just… you shouldn’t be hasty. You can’t undo this decision.”

Duncan eyed Angela shrewdly. Something was definitely bothering her; he could always tell. He took her hand, which felt like a star burning within a block of ice, and was surprised that he could touch it. As he gazed into her eyes, a pearlescent tear streamed down her cheek, and she tried to look away.

“What’s wrong?” Duncan asked, softly.

“I would happily share forever with you,” Angela began, shakily, “but I would rather see you live, again.”

 “I’m living now,” he stammered, indignantly. “Why would you say...”

“I didn’t get a full life,” she blurted out. “Mine was cut short. I wasn’t happy about it, but it happened. All that I had left was the comfort of knowing that you’d go on, living the life I couldn’t… but you didn’t.”

Duncan had been idiot, so busy dwelling on Angela’s death that he failed to respect her memory. For her, it must have been a real slap in the face to watch him squandering his life away. He could vividly imagine the heartbreak that Angela might have suffered, while he shut himself off from the world, and a surge of guilt and shame rose up inside of him, dwarfing the grief that had long defined him.

“I didn’t mean to…” he choked. “I mean, I feared that if I’d moved on, I’d… you know, forget about you.”

“I know,” Angela whispered, squeezing his hand tighter. “But you won’t. I’ll always be in your heart, no matter where life takes you. You need to keep living, though; I want you to.”

            Duncan understood why she referred to herself as his “guide;” she pointed him toward the right path, as best she could. However, the decision to walk that path rested solely upon his shoulders, though he now knew what the right choice was. 

“I could stay… try to do things properly.”

It was what Angela had been waiting to hear. A genuine smile lit her face and the entire room shone, in kind. She rose from her seat and Duncan stood with her, where they pulled each other into tearfully loving embrace. For long moments, they held each other in silence. 

“You’ll be fine,” Angela finally whispered, hoarsely.

He knew she was right; she had always been right.

“Will we ever see each other again,” he asked. 

“Maybe,” she answered, looking into his eyes. “Perhaps when you time finally ends, we’ll be together. Until then, make the most of your life; it’s fleeting and should be cherished.”

Duncan nodded, wordlessly.

“Goodbye, my love,” Angela tenderly whispered.

Before Duncan could utter a farewell, she kissed him with a passion that could ignite the sun. Angela’s glow became brighter and brighter, and Duncan, eyes closed, felt her luminescence warming his face. In the space between heartbeats, the heat had cooled, and Angela was gone. Duncan opened his eyes and wiped a tear from his cheek. 

“Goodbye,” he moaned.

He left his scotch on the table and decided that he was done drinking alone. Putting on a jacket, he walked out the door, finally ready to reintroduce himself to the world. As his new life began, Angela watched from a place, far beyond the world… they were both finally happy.  

One Last Night Together - Part Four

One Last Night Together – Part Four

By Brandon Palzkill

            Duncan contemplated Angela’s cryptic statement, while he offered her a seat in his armchair. Absently, he picked up his abandoned glass of scotch and sipped it, as he took his own seat at the foot of the bed.

            “What depends on me?” He wondered, aloud. “What are you talking about?”

            “A choice that will determine your future,” she said, ominously.

Something in Angela’s cold, business-like tone hinted that she took no pleasure in being there. He had never known her to be like that, and it troubled him. Now that she was here, once again before him, he longed to hold her in his arms and whisper sweet, loving nothings into her ear. He would have expected her to feel the same, and the absence of those feelings discouraged him. Had Angela fallen out of love with him? Was this really even Angela? 

“I promise you, I’m me,” she uttered, as though reading his mind. “And I’ll never stop loving you. If I had, I wouldn’t be here.”

“Explain,” Duncan nearly demanded.

“Well…” she started. “I had died. We didn’t expect it, and couldn’t plan for it, so there you were, suddenly alone…”

Duncan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, at Angela’s nonchalant mention of her own demise, but he remained quiet and listened intently.

“You’d mourned my passing, as any devoted husband would naturally do, and that was a necessary step, before you could ever truly begin to heal. But as the months and years went by, you hadn’t really healed. Your grief had become an enormous weight that is pulling you deeply beneath the water, and you’re not even trying to fight against it…”

“I didn’t know it was a crime to…” Duncan interrupted, indignantly, but stopped at the sight of Angela’s scowl. 

“Your life,” she resumed, “has been wasted, these past years. You’ve shut yourself off from the world, blinded by this pain that you refuse to let go off, and that’s no way to live. That’s why I’ve come to you with an offer.”

“What kind of an offer?” Duncan asked, cautiously.

Angela eyed him up, piteously, and she seemed hesitant to continue speaking. This hesitation, more than anything else that had happened, seemed to unnerve Duncan. He expected her to ask him to sell his soul, in exchange for tremendously valuable, but ultimately damning. 

“What I offer is this,” Angela said, her eyes narrowing, shrewdly. “Because you seem to be suffering, more than one should, I’ll take you away from here. We’ll go to the place beyond this, and we will spend our eternity together, just like you so desperately desire.”

Duncan was both terrified and elated by her offer; the prospect of sharing an eternity with his one great love would have been worth absolutely anything to him… anything. But as soon as that notion had crossed his mind, suspicion once again swept through his heart, and he was forced to contemplate what they could possibly want, in return, because he was certain, beyond anything, that there would be a cost.

“What’s the catch,” he asked, warily.

“Isn’t that obvious,” she asked, taken aback. “You’ll die.”