previously published in Moonbow Magazine (2023)
My mother says my life is disappearing
not in a mean way she is just concerned
she thinks I’m doing nothing when
I am doing so much
How do I explain to her,
how could my life disappear
when Skyrim has an Anniversary Edition
in Skyrim, Solitude is a capital city
& I am revered
even though I don’t even do the main questlines
I’m not even saving the world
just frolicking with my pet rabbit
picking flowers
& baking bread
& casting useless spells just for fun
I, too, thought it might be lonely to be alone
to be not in love with anyone
but I play Skyrim Anniversary Edition
& my entire heart explodes
the world is in my throat
like the tallest mountain in all of Tamriel
See I have fast travel at my fingertips
I have so much to explore
I have quest markers in my head
I’m just taking a leisurely detour
Life is a lot like Skyrim Anniversary Edition
so many purple mountain flowers everywhere!
& blue mountain flowers! & red mountain flowers!
& maybe even some tundra cotton!
& if you’re patient & you pick them all you will be rich!
In Skyrim Anniversary Edition you stop & fight a ghost
& suddenly you have a whole farming enterprise
which is a metaphor for abundance upon reflection
sometimes I’m climbing a mountain
& I just stop & stare at the remastered snow
which is quite simply sparkling
is there not such beauty in these miniscule things
& when the time comes to be a completionist
to accomplish shit & have conflict
I shoot my dreams so straight like an arrow
I get a cinematic kill shot
oh I am so OP
oh I’m taking my sweet time about it but
I’ll slay dragons
I’ll write my life like lore
& little nerds with too much time on their hands
will read it like books on shelves in Skyrim
& when they put the book down
they’ll look at the purple mountain flowers just like I do
& think huh
what abundant wonders in this open world.
Devon Webb is a 25-year-old writer & editor based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her work has been widely published worldwide & revolves around themes of femininity, vulnerability, anti-capitalism & neurodivergence. She is an in-house writer for Erato Magazine, an editor for Prismatica Press & is currently working on the final edits of her debut novel. She can be found on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok & Bluesky at @devonwebbnz.
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