In my first life I was a dragonfly, skimming above the scud of a verdigris pond. I danced on rising columns of streaming air and rested on damp loam. I thought of little.
In my first life I ended as a deep black swallowed me, and I wish a thousand and one eternities of suffering upon that beaked creature still.
In my second life I was a hero. I vanquished conquerors; I helped the sick and the poor. Poets sang songs in my honor, and none could match my skill with bow or blade. Where I went, justice followed; where I rested, peace lay.
I died felling a great beast, to save the life of a single innocent.
On Monday I will have a shift from 12 to 7:30, where I will smile politely at people and pitch my voice up and do what I am told to do.
In my third life I was a feral dog. I snapped at anything, I howled like I was dying, and I always bit the hands that fed me.
I died mad and raving and free.
On Tuesday I will have a shift from 12 to 7:30, and I will get caught in traffic on my way home. The light will change twice before I move, and I will daydream about a roadtrip that I don’t have the budget for.
In my fifth life I was a swift swallow, flinging myself through eaves and over streetlamps. Nothing could catch me when I was in fleet flight, and come autumn I winged over whole continents with ease.
I died peaceably, in the throes of a deep dream.
On Wednesday I will have a shift from 12 to 7:30, and a customer will complain about a problem that is not my doing. I will smile politely, and say something placating in response.
In my eighth life I was a god. I drank tea made from rosewater and tears, and I smote my enemies with lightning. Worshippers cracked skulls open like eggshells over my altars, and my reign lasted aeons.
The people pulled down my statues, smashed my images, and burned my holy words until I died, satisfied.
On Thursday I will have a shift from 11 to 6, and a coworker will say something scathing when I am not perfect. I will smile politely and say something apologetic in response.
In my thirteenth life I was unbearably cruel. I broke promises when it pleased me; I looked after no cause but my own. I laughed in graveyards and cursed my elders and spat in the faces of the meek. I stamped birds to death beneath my feet just because I could.
The townspeople dragged me in ropes down a road for miles before burning me in a copse of dry wood.
In my twenty-first life I was unbearably kind. I kept every oath that I swore; I looked after all causes but my own. I cried in graveyards and helped my elders and smiled in the faces of the meek. I fed seeds to birds from my hands just because I could.
The townspeople dragged me in ropes down a road for miles before burning me in a copse of dry wood.
On Friday I will have a shift from 11:30 to 4, and a manager will say something thoughtless to me. I will smile politely and say something apologetic in response.
In my thirty-fourth life I wore a crown of gold. My rule was fair and just; my wisdom as infinite as the skies. I commanded the awe of my subjects; I ordered the building of wonders. All prospered in my dominion.
I was consigned to a thousand hells for my sin: I dared to hold power over another.
On Saturday I will have a shift from 11 to 5:30, and I will turn away a homeless man asking for food because it is company policy. I will go to hell; of this, I am certain.
In my eighty-ninth life I was a doll, made of finely-crafted porcelain with dense lace sleeves. I hid my face behind my face and moved only when I was moved.
I wore away to dust on the side of a road, left behind without malice or intent.
On Sunday, I will rest. In this life I am an employee, but just for today: I am also a person. I will paint a lion dancer to hang on my wall, and try out a new jambalaya recipe for dinner.
In my one-hundred-and-forty-fourth life, I wove rope out of grass and bored holes in clam shells to make beads. I scratched pictures in the sand and danced badly in the mornings.
We starved to death in the winter, but until then: it was incandescently peaceful.
On Monday I will have a shift from 12 to 7:30, where I will smile politely at people and pitch my voice up and do what I am told to do.
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