Philippe Labro: The Rule of Engagement
The Rule of Engagement, along with the coat and tie dress code, was one of the university’s two unbreakable traditions. It involved saying “Hi!” to everyone you encountered, or – if that person were first to greet you – responding in kind. I was taken aback at first, not so much by the idea of saying hello to a stranger crossing campus, but by the mindset that required me to say it, and say it, and say it again, all day long, no matter my mood and no matter who it was coming up alongside me.
Emmelie Prophète: The Villages of God (excerpt)
I was not afraid. I’d grown used to the sound of guns. I grew up in this Cité where there’s never been a truce, where death does the rounds at noon just … Continue reading
Aidan Rooney: Reliquary (after Ida Faubert)
Here, in a small rosewood box
lined with silver satin,
your locket still attached
to a closed gold chain.
Aidan Rooney: Chestnut Tree (after Ida Faubert)
The courtyard’s chestnut tree,
already shedding leaves
in dulcet sunset heat,
stands tall and grieves.
Aidan Rooney: Tropical Evening (after Ida Faubert)
Come breathe with me the sidewalk scents and
exhale into the night my erratic soul.
Aidan Rooney: Think Back | Emmelie Prophète
Think back, some day,
to this dismembered city,
its sounds, squalor and dolor.
Aidan Rooney: Human
I knocked at your door,
I knocked at your heart,
looking for a good bed,
looking for a good fire.
Vox Populi 