"Human Song," originally published in Smokelong Quarterly, is featured in Short Edition's series, The Current. Shannon McLeod was born in Detroit and is now a writer and teacher in Virginia. You can find her on Twitter @OcqueocSAM and at www.shannon-mcleod.com

Originally published in Smokelong Quarterly

Also available in

Italian
We pull off at the side of the highway in Somewhere, Maine looking to sing to the snails. There's a deep shoulder of gravel here, so we assume it to be a parking lot. The sky and the water and the rocks are all the same homesick color. I remember how the bookstore owner had described it earlier when he suggested adding this stop to our trip, and I think, Any place can be scenic, depending upon the scenes in your head.I follow Caleb onto the rocks towards the water. I'm wearing worthless sandals that slip off and keep finding places to get stuck. The whole trip Caleb's been pointing out my lack

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