The Desperate Place

Selected for the Pushcart Prize series, 2023


[de- + sperare; de = reverse the action of + sperare = to hope]


I can’t see a way out of this.
Things will not necessarily get better.
This is my life, but I may not get to do what I want in it.


This is the language that speaks to you in the desperate place.

A place from which you lack the means or power to escape.

A place in which you realize that someone you love does not, and will not ever, love you back.

A place in which you acknowledge your steep falling off in health, or strength, or status. A place in which you must accept that you are losing ground, losing face.

People on couch
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