unrooted, unraveled, unbound

previous part here: https://jordynsaelor.com/2025/07/10/gratitude/

all parts here: https://jordynsaelor.com/cant-catch-me-now/

***

One lecture

told us about ancient elements of creation:

heat,

land,

liquid

and sky,

plant

and time,

and that’s about the only lecture I understood

because

I knew about land gods

and sea gods

from storybooks;

so in my too-tall desk

on a too-large paper,

I wrote a theory

that all magic

was just using words

to order around different gods,

and that’s why the sea god and land god fought no more;

they went into hiding

to avoid getting ordered around–

or maybe the orders found them wherever they were

so they were too tired to fight each other anymore.

And

the creature in the desk in front of me

turned around

and hissed something through their nose

that probably passed for language

but I just stared.

So they pointed a claw

at the pencil between my arms

and hissed again.

“What?” I said.

And someone behind me laughed.

And the claws of the creature

snatched my pencil

and snapped it

so I said “Hey!”

and the gloomy hall echoed it

right into the lecturer’s batty ears

so he stopped

and stared

and flapped his wings twice

so all the students faced him

and flapped their wings once

and the lecture resumed

but someone tapped my shoulder

so I turned

and snot

or something

smacked my face

and I just

wiped it off on my sleeve

and stared at my sheet

until more slime

hit my hair

so I sat lower in the chair–easy,

because I already

had to kneel

to see above the desk–

and no one

bothered me after that.

For the rest of class.

Then it started in every class,

with dozens of different faces

all with that glittery look in their eyes.

Claws

cracked borrowed pencils,

teeth

ripped up assignments,

wings

slapped me,

and spitballs

dropped from the rafters.

But I recited to myself:

I am grateful

my skin has no rashes.

I’m grateful

I have a bed.

I

couldn’t read the assignments regardless.

My magic god theory

that got torn up in third class

was probably wrong anyway.

I am grateful

I escaped.

I am

grateful

for food

even if it’s stale.

I am grateful

my skin has no rashes.

I am grateful

I can walk,

I am grateful

I have a bedroom,

I am grateful,

I am so

grandly

excellently

grateful.

***

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