Shelley J. Reece – Shelley J. Reece

The Wailing Wall

It was smaller than I imagined. In my mind, I had conceived it as this enormous barrier, unyielding and reaching for the sky. But it was not like that at…

Storm Chaser

It happens this way, sometimes. A cold afternoon; an ominous evening wind. The door to the apartment swept open without hurry, and I turned. There was no one there. I…

Poetry

Persephone’s Garden

There was a shadowinnate and endless.Lodged into thecavern of myheart. I put it aside.But still I heard it,chanting its wordsinto the silence:dangerbloodfear. The portal to the soul stood open.I thought…

Mabon Moon

Tell my ancestors that I have not forgotten them, even though I sleep in a strange land now, and my bones may sleep in foreign soil; Tell them I remember…

Strictly Rhetorical

And of all the stupid things, I start to think: Would it be so bad? Couldn't I see myself spending a lifetime here? With the sun on my skin and…

Little Stories

1 Apr 20211 Apr 2021

When I was growing up, I knew a lady who lived in a house in a middle of a field, without hot running water. When she wanted a bath, she…

A Meditation on Conflict

18 Aug 202016 Aug 2020

Once upon a time, I turned to my longsword instructor and asked, "Can we spar?" He was dubious about it, because the difference in our ability was not small. "I…

Peaceful Warrior

16 Jul 202016 Jul 2020

One day there was no fight left in me. I wasn’t sure what happened to it. Did it drop out of me, or did it simply disappear? Did something release,…

Hello, Little Heart

I am afraid of the tremulous weight of my own existence. What it means to exist; what responsibility is placed upon my shoulders by the sheer happenstance of my birth.…

The Smallest Things Inspire Me

13 Jun 202029 May 2020

I once visited an Iranian grandmother in her home. She made Turkish coffee in delicate cups, and fed me pumpkin pie and chocolates. “It is always like this, back home,”…