Lisa Poeltl
Stories (8)
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Rhino
Gulf Lima Mike Sierra. That would have been a cool name. Like, if I ever had a kid. Maybe if that was my name for real, I would have been one of those people who went with their middle name. Some people do that. I mean, if you want to change it, that’s cool, just never got why until I got older. Which one would I choose? Sierra is kind of like something I would use now. But I think I would have stuck with Gulf. I like the ocean. Nah, would have made me stick out even more, and didn’t need any help with that. Whatever. Doesn’t matter now. Wherever I’m going I can use anything I want. We’ll see. Wait, is it Gulf, or Golf?
By Lisa Poeltl3 years ago in Fiction
Motherhood
Here comes another Facebook message. I know when she messages me, she’ll be asking for something. I don’t know her, really, at all. She’s the mom of a kid my daughter befriended in kindergarten. We lived in a transitional neighbourhood. Gentrifipyjama pants. Neck tattoos and thousand dollar strollers. Lots of kids in tow then. Alannah was my daughter’s friend. We haven’t even lived in the same town for the past five years, but I’m allowed to help Alannah, so I do. I take her with us on family vacations. I introduce her to theatre and art. I buy her and my daughter matching clothes, like they are sisters. I call medical hotlines to find out how to save her from her severe asthma when her puffer runs out, and I listen to her wheeze through the night. I pick her up and drop her off, and continually worry. But I’m not her mother, and Alannah knows this, and I can’t fault her mother either.
By Lisa Poeltl4 years ago in Motivation
Stopped Past The Old Barn
I was stopped past the old barn, looking back over the shed I used to sneak inside to see old things made of old wood. The house looked the same, I guess. Still white and sitting in the same spot. The tree I used to want to climb and would go up without help and then cry for help on the way down was still there. There was a weird door off the hall no one ever used that led to that tree. I felt sorry for it. Felt it deserved to be climbed. That house was full of secrets. A room above the kitchen that no one used. I would have made that my bedroom. But there were so many rules at the farm.
By Lisa Poeltl5 years ago in Fiction
Treasure Hunt
I opened my eyes. There was an eye right in front of mine. It wasn’t Mommy. I tried to grab her hand. The water took her away. It took a lot of them away. I saw them as I grabbed the arm outstretched beside me. I didn’t even see the arm. I just reached out and it was there. The water was churning. It was scary. The boat made the water wavy. The waves took some of them. It took a lot of them. Mommy was gone. I went under for a sec, and then she was gone. The arm next to me held me. The boat was coming. It was coming towards us.
By Lisa Poeltl5 years ago in Fiction
