Fleur de Aleta

Morse Code Marriage Signals Received. Words Pending. There are many sophisticated ways adults can communicate with one another. Words, for example.  Words are excellent. We have spent thousands of years developing language. We have nouns. Verbs. Adjectives. Entire dictionaries filled with useful phrases such as: I’m upset. Can we talk? That bothered me. I wanted something different. I’m going to need a little time, but I want to talk about this later. All excellent choices.  And yet sometimes, despite having access to this extraordinary linguistic inheritance, grown adults decide: Nah. I’m going to sigh loudly and bang a cabinet. Welcome to Morse Code Marriage .  Maybe you’ve encountered it. There’s the Exaggerated Sigh. The Cabinet Shut With Slightly More Force Than Necessary. The Heavy Footsteps. The Meaningful Look. The Dramatic Arm Gesture. The classic:  “What’s wrong?”     “Nothing.” And apparently, if all traditional forms of nonverbal communication f...

Wish for more by Aleta O'Brien I know I can’t change you. But I do wish for more. In this autumn room, dimly lit and leaf-textured, the kind that crunches beneath my feet while a cool breeze settles in. I know your patterns remain. But I do wish for more. Colors inside this heavy shade. I dream in swirls of gold ribbon swinging from ceilings, wrapping themselves around me— and I can fly. I know your humor is stuck. But I do wish for more. I am not one of the guys. Open your eyes to pretty Notice the tender things, the small things offered simply because they made you think of me. I know I can’t change you. I know. But still— I wish for more.