Handiwork
The rain pulls the leaves down. Beneath the leaves, salamanders. Knowing they’re there, you sweep carefully. A path through which you might walk and not step on anybody.
Used to be, before we knew better, we believed salamanders were the source of fire. That when they thought about this world, underneath wherever they were, they would just think about it, they’d smolder. People walking above them would feel this heat, maybe even they’d get the point.
But the next day, more leaves. More sweeping. Slopes of leaves along the path grow and grow. You wonder how the salamanders are doing, if they appreciate the work.
Imagine if someone did the same for you. What would you say when they lifted you up, and wanted you to tell them your opinions of their handiwork? And they wouldn’t remember that you once had a mind dwelling of fire.
Hugh Behm-Steinberg’s writing can be found in X-Ray, The Pinch, Roi Fainéant, Heavy Feather Review and The Offing. His short story "Taylor Swift" won the Barthelme Prize from Gulf Coast, and his story "Goodwill" was picked as one of the Wigleaf Top Fifty Very Short Fictions. A collection of prose poems and microfiction, Animal Children, was published by Nomadic/Black Lawrence Press. He teaches writing and literature at California College of the Arts.
You can see more of Hugh's work in 11.4 and 11.4 and 5.2 and 5.2 and 2.4 and 1.1