Jessica Barratt

The End of the Road | Pt 1

He was just looking for a place. A place to put his hat, as they say. A place to kick off the old shoes for a while. Just for the winter. Didn’t have to be long. He just needed the quiet. The alone time. A break. So they pointed him up the road, those whoContinue reading “The End of the Road | Pt 1”

Tearing Holes in the Tapestry

Some lives are meant only to tear holes in the tapestry. Yet someone once told me that the world is also full of menders, gently pulling broken threads back into place. And though there are times when I can only see the holes, there are others times when I can see them: The Menders, quietlyContinue reading “Tearing Holes in the Tapestry”

Sometimes I Disappear

close up of the dividing lines on a highway

I’ll watch a bird, and a week goes by. I’ll bask in the sun and find a month already gone. But I’ve always been here; it’s time that’s tricky. It’s time that spins past, so fast I can’t see. It’s time that moves, while I’m standing still. Then I look to my parents’ faces. IContinue reading “Sometimes I Disappear”

The Boy in the Water

A man stands at the water, the boy in his reflection lapping waves at his feet. But the man does not look down…

Soup’s On

We tell our truest stories when soup’s on. When the bay leaves do their thing (whatever it is), we reach into our deepest pockets and empty them all the way out. We’ve had enough time to stew, and so has the soup. It’s the warmth of it all, probably. And the waiting, because the longerContinue reading “Soup’s On”