Beginning at the End of Things: A Rondel

by Scott Hughes

So it all comes down to this: Life begins
to dwindle—the heavens no longer turn.
The seas and clouds and thoughts refuse to churn,
and, underfoot, the earth has ceased to spin.
Our blood is suspended beneath our skin.
But the cosmos is none of our concern,
and it all comes down to this: Life begins
to dwindle, the heavens no longer turn.

The planet loses its pull on us—then,
like dying suns, our bodies ebb and burn,
becoming more than flesh, the mortal urn.
We travel—our essence boundless, golden.
So it all comes down to this: Life begins.

In 2004, Scott Hughes received an MFA in creative writing from Georgia College & State University. His work has appeared in apt, Chiaroscuro, Crab Creek Review, Crazyhorse, elimae, Exquisite Corpse, The Raleigh Quarterly, Redivider, Strange Horizons, and Word Riot. The first novel in his young adult fantasy series, Magellana and the Mergonauts, is being represented by LJK Literary Management.
Back to Issue One: Fall 2008