The rugged stone face sneers overhead, eyes fixed on a distant point, perhaps a different time. Covered in cracks, its chipped body dwarfs me and in a sense, it is mighty, but no mightier than I. My flesh is living, breathing, uncracked. Able to turn and go, I do.

Karlie Taylor is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She holds a bachelor’s in English and currently works as a substitute teacher.