Author: Michael Murray

It is early. Way too early. Our bedroom is still pitch black, and with the window open a crack, it’s also very, very cold. Another night of rolling, insufficient sleep, and all Rachelle and I want to do is dig deeper into the duvet, into dream, and sleep until we’re rested. We could rise in…

Last week one of Iran’s top military men was assassinated by the USA. Qasem Soleimani. I had never heard of him before, nor do I suspect had the vast majority of people who like me, live somewhere within the mainstream. And so, the media gave us blanket coverage of his assassination, and in short order,…

These are the text messages I received from my wife Rachelle the other day:**************************************************** Rachelle: Who is Alexis? Rachelle: The Bluetooth speaker thing that talks? Rachelle: Pickle, her name isn’t Alexis, it’s Alexa. Rachelle: Yes, I am sure. Rachelle: Well, I don’t know why you think it’s Alexis. Did you ever stalk an Alexis when…

The limbo between Christmas and New Year’s. The city drifting the quiet days before one thing changes into the next. It’s twilight, and the trees outside are inky silhouettes set against the sky. Beautiful and uncanny, they resemble x-rays. The leafless branches, each one like a vein stemming off a parent artery, each one revealing…

They’re tearing about the gym in the moments before the recital. Running and sliding, their shoes squeaking on the floor, they collide and bounce off of one another. Smiling, drinking the air, they radiate simple, animal happiness. Every cell in their bodies humming, every cell glowing. It’s hard to tell when this fun stops and…

Michael Murray, age 53 The Dream: In this dream I am a fighter pilot. Tom Cruise–Maverick from the Top Gun movie– is my commanding officer and I am his wing man. We are in a pitched battle with an alien race we know little about. We are the world’s last hope. The dogfights are intense…

A small, college-aged woman is skateboarding down the street. She’s going fast. Each stride is so powerful, so confident. Her foot slaps the pavement in perfectly timed intervals as she gathers momentum. Moving faster and faster, everything in concert. She sails past trees, houses, parked cars, evades ice patches. She is an element of nature.…

The dreams of Heidi, our Miniature Dachshund Heidi dreamdreamdream. She digging perfect hole. Best hole in world of two-legger or beast. Hole so good. Heidi don’t know where it goes. Heidi don’t care. Heidi just dig. Heidi so young again. So strong. Restored and complete, full of glory. Heidi hot again. So Heidi digging Hole…

n the delirium of fever I always try to summon angels. But it’s not working. I see colours and textures. Earth tones. Curved, like the interior of a cave. The sensation of rock, earth and clay. The mineral walls breathing. It feels primal, maybe pre-human. Ancient beyond numeration. And then it shifts, becomes a flamed…