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(FLASH NONFICTION)

BASK IN THE COLOR OF THE TABLE

​KEVIN J. KELLEY


Maud Martha and I share a kitchenette, and no, it wasn’t the one we wanted.

Underneath the gray is always hope, hope for a different color. Should I not be thankful? Are we only able to appreciate and have joy from those things which we control? Should we not bother ourselves too long with bombs dropping on other countries, and worry more about when we will see another movie? Maud Martha and I finally head out to a grand theater, and we try to hold our pride against those who might think we don’t belong.
 
Dignity can be such a box.
​
Maud Martha cannot look beyond the small things in her life, but if that’s all she has, that’s all she has. If that’s all I have, then that’s all I have.

Kevin J. Kelley is an activist, educator, violinist, and a lover of quiet mountains. He has published in Thin Air Literary Magazine, and Crixeo, and is a producer for Wyoming Public Media's Spoken Words podcast.

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