Archways of life

audiobook

Archways of life

by Mercedes de Acosta

EN·~26 minutes·39 chapters

Chapters

39 total

FADED PETALS

0:39

SOILED HANDS

0:42

REFLECTION

0:19

LUMBERMEN

0:29

SONNET

0:37

UNPOSSESSED

0:13

UNREALITY

0:37

MAGIC

0:20

PLATITUDES

0:37

A DREAM

0:37

Description

A mosaic of lyrical fragments invites listeners into a hushed inner world where love is measured in faded petals, theater curtains and the rustle of lumbermen on a mountain slope. The prose sways between intimate whisper‑like dialogues and vivid snapshots of nature, framing the ache of longing with the tenderness of a shared silence. Each image—rose‑laden mirrors, moonlit dreams, the weight of unspoken promises—echoes the timeless tension between desire and restraint.

Through shifting perspectives the narrator weaves memory, yearning and quiet wonder into a meditation on what it means to hold another’s hand in darkness and let it slip away at dawn. The work balances the sensual texture of a perfume‑filled box with the stark, almost tactile reality of soiled hands and trembling breaths. Listeners will find a reflective, poetic journey that lingers long after the final line, offering a space to contemplate love’s fleeting fragrance and its enduring echo.

Details

Language

en

Duration

~26 minutes (25K characters)

Release date

2026-05-17

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

Mercedes de Acosta

Mercedes de Acosta

1893–1968

A poet, playwright, and novelist moving through the worlds of Broadway and early Hollywood, she became almost as famous for the company she kept as for the books she wrote. Her work and memoir offer a vivid glimpse of queer artistic life in the first half of the twentieth century.

View all books

You may also like

Moods : Prose poems

Moods : Prose poems

by Mercedes de Acosta