Roberta Beary
1883 Diary Fragment—Belfast Lunatic Asylum
Serious Bids Only
It is Sunday, day 10 of solitaire and milky porridge. Last night I metamorphosed into a phantom sleepwalker of empty hours. Now my brain is housed in catatonic reveries. Bits of fragmented bone decay the wretched inferno of my 40 years. I vow that when my young bride returns, I will fashion for her pleasure a silver tray. Of rattles and rosebuds. Once more will she warble notes of yearning. Until then I weave my waiting hours into a basket. Sometimes nightmares. Sometimes joy.
threading the narrative runaway moon
Note: Painting by John Collier, 1883, The Child Bride. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
About the Author
Roberta Beary is the longtime haibun editor of Modern Haiku. Born in Queens, New York, they identify as gender fluid and divide their time between the USA and Ireland. They are the co-author, with Lew Watts and Rich Youmans, of Haibun: A Writer’s Guide (Ad Hoc Fiction, 2023). Their fourth collection, Carousel, is now available from Snapshot Press.