Gazelle by Auden Koeneke

The world doesn’t stop. When things stop there is fear. Sometimes the world moves fast and blurry. Sometimes it is slow and sharp and crisp. But it never stops for always. Grass is always moving, trees come closer and farther, and the safeones, they are always near, and they move too except they stop when there’s heat or red. In the heat the world gets slow, and quiet and strange when there is no light and only cold. There is fear everywhere, fear is always. Fear is in the grass and the trees and under the water where the teeth are. The world will never stop, never stop, world, or fear fills and hurts and burns.

Sometimes stopping happens without red. When hunger comes in or the water grows so sweet and cool like when the world feels dry, then things stop and tasting happens. Tasting happens because there’s safeones, safeones all around and leaning down to the grass when tasting happens, and stepping into the water. Safeones tell when teeth are near and they can smell them. Then they move, just like the world does.

Teeth come when tasting happens, that’s when they come. They smell, and move in the grass or under the water and they smell strong before they can stop things and red happens. There is always fear, always fear. Ever since the world always fear. 

No,

Motherone.

Safest safeone was Motherone. No fear with her, no fear when Motherone was close and warm and looked. She looked sometimes with eyes like light in the sky which were safe too like her smell. Motherone stayed close always. Always close. Teeth in the water. There were teeth in the water but Motherone was near with other safeones and stepping and too close and the teeth came up and there was red and she stopped and the safeones were moving but then there were more teeth and more stopped and there was red. And there was fear. There was no Motherone and only fear. And the world moved and didn’t stop, and doesn’t stop. 

Sometimes when light is slipping down and so warm and heavy, the grass stops, and the water too, and the trees and the teeth and the fear. The world is only light, and Motherone sometimes, and the colors are so much, and the world is not afraid.

But then light goes and fear never went really, and everything moves and the world doesn’t stop.