← Back to the archive
Visual interpretation of "Access Revoked": A girl skipped a stone across a crystal lake,; the ripples shatter the surface of your skin.

No. 115

April 5, 2026·18 lines·1 min read

Access Revoked

the ripples shatter the surface of your skin.

A girl skipped a stone across a crystal lake, the ripples shatter the surface of your skin. You look down at the puddle in the starless darkness— suddenly illuminated in a flash of orange light. The flames sluice their flicker through your eyes. Physiognomy's the one true science when you practice blindness. Did this really happen again? You made this mistake so many times. The unanswered calls across the sky— you don't know why— staring up at Babel spiraling into the infinite. The pen strokes written in clouds of smoke Her choice : revoke revoke revoke. But you remember how sunset bathed the ocean as you hold the ghost in your arms.

Stay in the room a little longer.

Checking who has held this poem...

Part of your record in the archive.

Sign in if you want your name to stay with the record.

Keep this one close.

Saved on this device. Part of your shelf.

Send the line onward, save the story image, or pass the poem to someone who needs it.

Share on XPinterest image

 

Sign in if you want shares and story actions to carry your name in the archive record.

If this poem stayed with you, the next one will find you.

A quieter way to stay close to the work. One poem at a time.

New poems and explorations

Delivered by Substack.

Hear the poem in one breath.

A studio reading for the archive, voiced with care and restraint.

Studio reading
Access Revoked0:00 / 0:46
Part of a living collection since September 2024.

A way further in

Not the final meaning. Just a closer read, a better question, and a few nearby poems worth opening next.

Listen for what the poem handles gently. That is usually where its real weight is.

Opening line

Where the door opens.

A girl skipped a stone across a crystal lake,

Center line

Where the temperature changes.

The unanswered calls across the sky—

Leaving line

The line to carry out with you.

as you hold the ghost in your arms.

If you came here carrying something

If you need something soft without it being weak, this is the shelf to open first.

MemoryBodySurvival

A good place to begin when you want language that can soothe without lying.

Stay in the archive a little longer.

If this one stayed with you, keep it. Then either leave a note, keep moving through the archive, or ask the Studio where to go next.

Notes for Collection No. 115

A guestbook for the poem itself. Leave a response, an image prompt, or an image link if it belongs in the same room.

A girl skipped a stone across a crystal lake,

A good note starts where the poem stayed with you.

Loading notes...

Every note becomes part of the room's memory.

Say what stayed with you, what it opened up, or what line you are carrying out of the room.

Sign in if you want the room to remember your name.

The reading room

Loading notes...