In The Tall — Grass

She took one step.

Somewhere in Kansas, a granite stone lists the names of the lost. And if you listen close, past the highway’s hum, you can hear a woman’s voice, patient now, inviting. In The Tall Grass

The boy’s voice came again, closer now. “I’ve been here so long. You’ll help me, won’t you?” She took one step

And somewhere deeper, a baby made of roots suckles the dark soil, growing fat on time, waiting to be born wrong. past the highway’s hum