Breath & Shadow
Summer 2022 - Vol. 19, Issue 3
"Hermit"
written by
Megan Denese Mealor
I have grown a little eccentric,
a little discontent, I suppose,
since I moved my corner rocking chair
to the very center of the den
near the growling, grinning heater
to cover the carpet’s balding bald spot
and began turning the volume to heaven
to drown out the absence of snoring
in the fireplace glow of yellow-orange
and flashing turquoise tongues.
I must admit,
I have also grown
a little unnerved
by the eerie reverie
of snow-silent cats.
Previously published in The Scarlet Leaf Review, May 2017
Megan Denese Mealor echoes and erases in her native land of Jacksonville, Florida. A survivor of Bipolar Disorder I, she often incorporates her kaleidoscopic emotions into her writing. Her poems and short stories have been featured worldwide, most recently in Spillwords, Ginosko Literary Journal, Eunoia Review, and The Stray Branch. Nominated twice for the 2018 Pushcart Prize, Megan has authored two full-length poetry collections: Bipolar Lexicon (Unsolicited Press, 2018) and Blatherskite (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, 2019). She is currently studying English at the University of North Florida while caring for her autistic son and serving as volunteer reader for several literary magazines. Megan, her husband Tony, son Jesse, and three cats Trigger, Lulu, and Hobbes occupy a cavernous, yet cozy townhouse ornamented with ads for Victorian inventions.