The Answer

By Natasha Bredle

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I almost had the answer.
But as I held it in my hand,
it fluttered away. I thought
that might have been it, the fluttering.
Each whisper wing beat displacing
a breath of air. The absence.
The fullness. I didn’t have the gall
to reach out and grasp for it,
for fear it would have turned to mist.
It was enough to almost have it.
Watching it flutter away.
It was enough to almost have it.

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Natasha Bredle is an emerging writer based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work has been featured in publications such as Words and Whispers, Heart of Flesh Lit, and The Madrigal. She has received accolades from the Bennington College Young Writers Awards as well as the Adroit Prizes. In addition to poetry and short fiction, she has a passion for longer works and is currently drafting a young adult novel.