Instructions for the Art of Becoming Elsewhere
an unreliable manual for those tired of being seen
Untie the clocks
let their hands swim off
like minnows
scales winking
in the dry sink of the sky
gather your name
press it flat
between pages of
a book no one reads
the kind with silence
settled in its spine
pack your shadow
fold it sharp at the knees
crease the edges clean
it fits in the pocket
of yesterday’s coat
the one with
no season left in it
walk backward from mirrors
the glass remembers
how you smiled
when you didn’t
speak only in parentheses
murmur verbs
leave nouns behind
they're heavy
they beg for definition
wear shoes with holes
let the earth enter
between toes
like secrets
like a fishhook pulling skin
toward sky without seam
trade your heartbeat
for the tick
of rain on aluminum
listen
no one can tell
the difference
unbutton your laughter
hang it beside
the coats of those
who stayed
slip your fingers
through the ribcage of a tree
it will not ask
who you were
forget forward
even stars
were once nowhere
unname the days
call them feather
call them sleep
call them
whatever walks without shoes
and doesn’t wake the gravel
when you reach
the last thing you remember
tie it to a string
let it float
like a balloon in a language
you never learned
then
no ceremony
no farewell
step sideways
into the space between
two blinks
remain there
never
return
About the Creator
Tim Carmichael
Tim is an Appalachian poet and cookbook author. He writes about rural life, family, and the places he grew up around. His poetry and essays have appeared in Bloodroot and Coal Dust, his latest book.
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FPS: The Last Flame Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first Winners Announcement of the year and to the final challenge in the Fall Poetry Series. The Last Flame invited writers to sit with endings, using fire as a central image to consider what remains when something burns out: ash, warmth, memory, silence, or the faint promise of what comes next. The strongest pieces treated endings as gradual rather than sudden, allowing them to flicker, dim, and linger.
By Vocal Curation Team6 days ago in Resources
Comments (3)
This was a great entry to the Vanishing challenge Tim- it's heartfelt, very evocative, and I love some of the descriptions, particularly the balloon at the end. "walk backward from mirrors"- this one stood out. This has such a heavy and sad tone, but it works well. Good luck!
💙
I saw myself walk through your beautiful poem. You brought to light the serenity of forgetting. Bravo!