#bitter grounds

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

Have you read "Bitter Grounds" by Neil Gaiman?

Yes

No

I've never heard of this

Voting ended onApr 4, 2024

[abirdinabirdcage]

In every way that counted, I was dead. Inside somewhere maybe I was screaming and weeping and howling like an animal, but that was another person deep inside, another person who had no access to the face and lips and mouth and head, so on the surface I just shrugged and smiled and kept moving. If I could have physically passed away, just let it all go, like that, without doing anything, stepped out of life as easily as walking through a door, I would have done. But I was going to sleep at night and waking in the morning, disappointed to be there and resigned to existence.

Bitter Grounds, Neil Gaiman

[torpublishinggroup]

Here's some Halloween reading for you: Neil Gaiman's "Bitter Grounds", a story about coffee, New Orleans, and zombies.

[geoxx-carrboro]

Arctic Affection - By Geox

—a glass of cold comfort that chills more than it cheers The cubes were sharp, the glass was frost,A frozen love, a warmth long lost.It kissed your lips, but numbed your tongue,A frigid song that can’t be sung.The sip was clean, the finish stark,A fleeting hug that left a mark. It whispered care, it whispered close,But froze you through, and nothing more.The coffee sat, detached, austere,A…

Arctic Affection - By Geox

[geoxx-carrboro]

Summer Doldrums - By Geox

—an iced cup of exhaustion pretending to refresh you The glass was tall, the cubes were clear,You swore relief was waiting here.The sun was loud, the sweat was worse,You sipped a drink that couldn’t nurse.The coffee thin, the flavor gone,A shadow brew that dragged along. It promised cool, it promised spark,But left you stranded in the dark.The ice dissolved, the taste grew meek,A sip so tired,…

Summer Doldrums - By Geox

[geoxx-carrboro]

Nitro Nightmares - By Geox

—a smooth, cascading trick that settles in the gut like insomnia in disguise It hissed, it foamed, it poured out clean,A velvet dark, a nitrogen sheen.You watched it fall, a golden show,A pint of calm you thought you’d know.But silence came with hollow weight,A sleepless night, a restless state. The sip was smooth, the taste was lush,A satin lie, a cooling hush.Yet halfway down, the buzz took…

Nitro Nightmares - By Geox

[geoxx-carrboro]

Icebound Intentions - By Geox

—a cold cup that promised clarity, then froze itself in place The glass was clear, the cubes were sharp,A frozen hymn, a brittle harp.You swore you’d sip, then set it down,And break the cycle without sound.But every clink, each crystal crack,Reminded you of turning back. The coffee cold, the flavor neat,A chill that settled in your seat.It spoke of plans you’d never keep,Of buried oaths and…

Icebound Intentions - By Geox

[geoxx-carrboro]

Almond Amnesia - By Geox

—a nutty comfort that forgets itself before you even swallow It smelled of sweet, it poured out light,A toasted note that felt polite.You drank it down, you felt a glow,But ask you now, you wouldn’t know.The flavor thin, the echo faint,A sip erased like wet paint. It promised care, it promised cheer,But vanished fast, as if not here.No depth to find, no strength to keep,A drink that whispered…

Almond Amnesia - By Geox