Waves

"edge of things" by Matthew Yates

WAVES

by Nessma A. Elssawy

The quiet waves outside my window seem more marvelous than usual tonight. Like a beautiful stranger, approaching after a long night of self-absorbance and disappointment.

From my skin to my shoes, I'm made of nature, yet I've failed to become one with it. Something keeps pushing me away, like the current that won't let me touch this bed of sand.

I envy nature. I envy its beautiful features that don't depend on my catastrophes to function, that keep on going despite my sins.

I envy the colors of the universe that fascinate me, and at the same time, drag me to my world where sin is the sun. Where pain never ceases to visit.

Sometimes disguised in a message or a call. Other times, the shameless visitor has a face.

Any minute now, all my aches will erupt, and the beauty of the waves will soon be veiled.

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Nessma A. Elssawy was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She had an unpleasant childhood, which drove her to write one of her own where adventures and fantasies seemed possible. Her first series of adventure short stories were published in her school’s journal and a local magazine after. Her passion for writing has never ceased to grow ever since. As a teenager, she participated in her school’s drama club as a writer and lead actress. Her writing career began in online journalism while she taught English all over the world. She experimented with different writing genres such as mystery, MG adventure, YA, speculative fiction, romance and literary fiction. Her work can be found in several anthologies and literary magazines both in English and Arabic. Her latest stories, THE CIRCLE and MISSION HONEYMOON were published in The Monkey Collective Anthology Volume 2. When she's not writing, she's traveling the world with Leo, her German Shepherd.

Matthew Yates is an artist & poet from western KY. His work can be found in Memoir Mixtapes.