Abyss Shawna O’Neil Together on the brink     look over the edge     cold burns through many layers     billowed white breath intertwining. Blank quilted blue sky     pale in nothingness     rolling hills and speckled bursts     of color wave in time with    ice-cold heaven breaths. Bare feet swallowed by sand     stalks of overgrown brush whip against     pale ankles angrily     sending shivers up our backs. Surges of unknown energy     lash out at nearby foliage     one last rustle of funeral skirts     overbearing to our ears. Neither move to block the noisy exit clinging to cold breaths of momentary freedom. Far below the river roars angry for our happiness reaching to pull us from the sky of joy. One last glance at a forbidding orange sun and down the escarpment, sisters hand in hand.