"When did mediocrity and banality become a good image for your children?"

There is no home, only places where you've found love. There is no anxiety aside from the paralyzing suspicion that every action is lost in the sheer mathematics of our situation here. There is no end and beginning, time is an illusion crafted by a narrow experience. There are no rules, only primal reactions to uncertainty and fear. There are no exits or capitulation, there is only survival and decision.

My brother and I went out into the mountains this weekend to see if we could bang our bodies against rocks enough to chip off weakness. Twenty miles plus a mile vertical over ankle-breaking rocks, unforgiving rivers, and the previous night's insomnia in just under six hours. No record by any means, but I've got a scar and perhaps a lifelong ache from it.


Thanks for feedback on the story I posted so far; criticism of every sort is helpful. This last month or two has been very productive overall, and I feel like I'm building enough raw material to do something with. I'm getting it workshopped today and will put a little note here as to how it went.