20090113

Walk to the Water

by Sean Ulman

Motivated to improve her dour mood, a college student home for break walked to the ocean edge. Battling persisting blues, she meandered to the marina docks, gazed at a rakish yacht and trembled. At one instant she thought the craft was a sleek, sublime, dream ship, a vehicle to a healthier mental place. A moment later, she found it vulgar and grotesque, a symbol of that worldly evil, wealth. She spit toward the boat, the erratic irascible wind flung the saliva backwards onto her cheek. Laughing and crying the girl clumped along the docks, attempting to stomp out her atmosphere of contradiction.

6S

Sean Ulman received his Master's in Creative Writing in 2005 from the Stonecoast MFA Low-Residency Program of the University of Southern Maine.