Samuel Dickerson

An Attempt to Solve Loneliness

To save all we must risk all 
-Friedrich Shiller 

I wanted to get rid of the sky, but he needs  
it, this bird, who is as much the twig  
he’s standing on as he is the crocheted clouds  
behind him, the wavering powerline off  
to the side, as he is himself; shrouded  
speck stark against the gray flesh  
of the atmosphere. We don’t need  
the sky, but I can’t find a better place  
for him. Like a horse’s hoof  
and earth, there are worlds we must  
preserve. It would be like taking  
the space from the field where the mustang  
torches the dirt, where the dirt rises  
into thin angel wisps. How can you get rid 
of what’s empty? Maybe we’d have to remove  
the processing units, scrape off the iris, rip  
out the retina, strip the sinews of sight  
from the mainframe. I don’t think  
we should. There’s so much that’s empty  
already and I don’t think me or the dirt  
or this bird can help. I think, I wanted, 
maybe, to get rid of myself.

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Samuel Dickerson is a student at Salisbury University majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and Computer Science with a concentration in AI. He works at his university's Nationally Competitive Fellowship Office, is an assistant editor for his school's literary magazine, the Scarab, and is an intern at 149 Review. He grew up in Chesapeake City, MD.