Two Poets by David Massengill
The two young men walked the trails outside the town in the morning, and they often crossed paths on the hill with the weird evergreen. The tree had a curving trunk and drooping limbs, yet still it looked healthy. Mark and Alfred rarely communicated more than a nod. They both wrote poems, but Alfred only saw Mark as the sports columnist for the local newspaper, and Mark only saw Alfred as the Spanish teacher at the town’s high school. They once paused together in front of the tree on a foggy day. Mark squinted and said that the tree resembles the Grim Reaper when covered by clouds like this. Alfred nodded, and added that they should take away its scythe. Both men pulled on the limb until a snap happened. The fog partly cleared, and the men could once again see the weeds and flowers marking the borders of their trails. Alfred was dead by 34 and remembered as being devoted to his students, and Mark had written three bestselling supernatural thrillers before that age. Even after Mark had moved to San Francisco and Alfred had first felt the lump in his armpit, the men sometimes remembered one another.
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About the Author
David Massengill
Born: Berkeley, California, USA
Now Resides: Seattle, Washington, USA
On-line: www.davidmassengillfiction.com or www.twitter.com/davidmassengill
Bio: David Massengill’s fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Word Riot, 3 A.M. Magazine, Eclectica Magazine, and Swell. He has the same name as a famous folk singer who lives on the other side of the country, in N.Y.C. The folk singer is from Tennessee, and David’s father is from the same state. David sometimes wonders if he and the folk singer share some storytelling DNA in addition to their name.
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image by bydandphotography.
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