Just a Matter of Time

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are buckle, evade, wedge

Just a Matter of Time

He tightened his buckle

trying to evade my gaze

eyes anywhere but me

the big clock was ticking

time dripping, eroding

the soft swaddling fabric

that we had used to disguise

the huge wedge, driven deep

into the tiny hairline cracks

that had now opened up

wider than a chasm

Jingle Bells - Saturday Centus Week 34

Week 34 of Saturday Centus the prompt is to use up to 100 words (not including the prompt) using the line "The white-bearded fat man rolled through the church doors..."

JINGLE BELLS
The white-bearded fat man rolled through the church doors. . .

He'd known it was going to be one of those nights as soon as his wife handed him his freshly laundered red suit, one look had told him that it had shrunk.

The children all over the world were expecting him, he had a deadline to keep!

So she'd handed him her flowered bath robe assuring him that it was dark and no-one would know.

It had been fine until the Hendersons chimney but now the whole town was chasing him, forcing him to seek sanctuary. . .

In hindsight he realised that he should have remembered to put on his pants.

Lessons to be Learned

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are educate, object, silence.

Lessons to be Learned

The tree and its arthritic branches
clawed at the thick white sky
hoping to educate the
young and foolish,
teach them of winter
and her hard fingers.

And they who were dreaming
of snows soft blankets
to swaddle them
and make them beautiful,
had not yet heard the silence.

Towering evergreens protecting
the feathered flying ones,
they knew the secrets.

And those who had been blessed
to bear the blood red berries,
must learn to never object
to the pecking of the
sharp yellow beak
of the blackbird,
as he swallows
their fruits
whole.


Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are educate, object, silence.

Choice - inspired by Three Word Wednesday

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are dabble, lean, utter.

C H O I C E

She could no longer bring herself
to utter his name
or let the galloping wild horses
of her impatience
continue to assign the blame
for it was she
who chose
to dabble
with glass
and with darkness
and the cracks in the curtains
just made her lean further
away from
the light

When Darkness Falls - Inspired by Three word Wednesday

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are judge, nightfall, safety.

W H E N D A R K N E S S F A L L S

Who am I to judge the safety of nightfall

with its yawning mouth and abrupt silence.
Do I not see myself reflected?
with my inner corridors chock full
of absolutes and things that lurk.
Ecstasy too is a possibility
pleasing and assured
the knife edges and all
the forgotten adventures
kaleidoscopes that dazzle
with their fearless symmetry.
Nightfall holds promises that the day could not conceive,
for that is when the things dare to show their true face.
Where illumination is not the reason nor the rhyme,
it is just the gentle breathing of the darkness
and the inevitable quieting of my mind.

Do You Remember - Saturday Centus week 31

* * * * *

Do you remember that night?
It was so cold that my breath froze
and fell sparkling like tiny diamonds
in the clear night air.
My hand in yours, we stopped and listened
to the freezing white silence
and overhead there were a million stars
twinkling in the endless sky.
We made our way through that wonderland
leaving our footprints four inches deep.
Red holly berries singing against the snow
towering evergreens, the reminders of forever.
Then a warm fire crackling, dancing reflections
in your laughing eyes.
And just to think that all these memories
are stored away, deep down in the bin of
tangled up holiday lights.

* * * * *

Week 31 of Saturday Centus the prompt is to use up to 100 words (not including the prompt) using the line "The bin of tangled up holiday lights..."

Jump - inspired by Three Word Wednesday

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are demise, effort, revival

J U M P
Was it such an effort
such a monumental leap
to jump from the mountain of you
to those low flat plains of me
did you fear your demise
or was the instant revival
of your once flagging spirits
all the reward you needed

Trophies - Magpie Tales 42

Inspired by this weeks Magpie Tales and the photo below.

They meant so much to you
the trophies.

The exhibits
of bravado
and merit.

You
believed
them
to show
your worth.

You used them
as a mirror
to see
yourself
reflected.

You kept them
in an ornate
glass cabinet
where they
could be
seen
but
never
touched.

Rather
like
your
feelings.

Linked to the poetry pantry at Poets United

Silence - written for Sunday 160

Another sunday
sprinkled
with the
stardust
of silence
a vast
empty hall
echoing
just waiting
for me to break
this quietness
with the sound
of my voice

Written for - Monkey Mans - Sunday 160
where you must use only 160 characters (including spaces) and post on Sunday.

Words and image - Susannah Bec

Stop - Inspired by Sunday Scribblings

Inspired by Sunday Scribblings prompt 242 - What a difference a day makes

S T O P
So, what a difference a day makes in this ice cream world of mine, where yesterday slithers down my arm like melted vanilla. The lights are on red and I wait. Sit tight. Don't let the revving of the engine unsettle me. Today will be different. I say that every day. Today is different though, I can feel it. Eyes watching for amber. Green explodes and foot down, I roar. Through empty streets peopled with puppets. Over bridges that span black water. Between towering trees the road snake slithers. Finally round the bend. Obstacles long gone. Outside your peeling gate. I stop.

Gone inspired by Three Word Wednesday

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are clutch, delight, happy

. . . . . . . .
Open hands don't clutch
G O N E
The deep delight of you
The loving bones of you
The happy home of you
G O N E
Far as a long dark mile
. . . . . . . .

A Trick of The Light - Saturday Centus wk 28

Week 28 of Saturday Centus the prompt is to use up to 100 words (not including the prompt) using the line "The early November sunshine cast golden rays..."

A Trick Of The Light

The early November sunshine cast golden rays

liquid yellow, pooling on the ruffled white sheets

white mountain tops of my memories, illuminated

I am caught in the moment, tangled in the threads

of another autumn, and ghosts of then burst forth

like maple leaves, red, orange, yellow and beautiful

I watch as the light shifts, and the spell, it is broken

the long gone days, retreating, as if blown by the wind

leaves are falling again, the unsought magic is dissolving

and I am here, and it is now, and the snow covered peaks

are once again, just sheets on the bed that I'm about to make

Linked to the poetry pantry at Poets United

All That Glitters - Magpie tales 40

Inspired by this weeks Magpie Tales and the photo below.

. . . those fierce gold words were collected like thoughts in silent bottomed boats that rode the endless seas searching for land that did not swallow you up with quicksand thoughts and leave you longing for all that sparkled but did not burn . . .

Disillusioned - Three Word Wednesday

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are gesture, immediate, treasure

D I S I L L U S I O N E D

The gesture was blatant

The effect immediate

The treasure of you

was

lost

Peace inspired by Three Word Wednesday

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are fragile, rampant, tremor.

P
E
A
C
E
peace
so fragile
has escaped me
it spills through my fingers
rampant, no longer contained
it is free running
and it pours
.
.
.

tiny
pyramids
mounding like
molehills at my feet

I tremor at the thought
of the mountains they will bring

then I put a halt to the rushing tide
I create barriers with my breath
and with the soft brush
of my attention
I sweep and
I gather
until
all the
peace is
once again
contained inside.

This Story - Inspired by Saturday Centus

Week 25 of Saturday Centus the prompt is to use up to 100 words (not including the prompt) using the line "this is the scariest story I've ever heard"

T H I S...S T O R Y

Autumn wraps itself around me like a cloak.

The spent leaves, falling, illuminated shards of stained glass, gently swirling.

Firebrand fingers touch the ground where you walk, tracing your steps.

The long shadows, stark and blatant as you grasp my cold hand and speak words that fall from your gentle lips like bombs, detonating on impact with my open heart.

You are going to a far off land and I must stay here alone.

In the vast space that opens in the silent tick of these chilling seconds, I realise that this is the scariest story I've ever heard...

and I fall into your arms like a stone.

(Exactly 100 words without the prompt)

Reflecting - Magpie Tale # 37

Inspired by this weeks Magpie Tales and the photo below.

Those silvered reflections of you

still exist, strands of spidered silk

woven and so delicately knotted

tracing my veins, footpaths edged

beside the crimson rivers, blood

bound and fluid, still guided

by the high wire touch of you

imperceptable tightropes

where once you walked

Microfiction Monday # 53

This weeks picture prompt from Microfiction Monday at Stony River
The task: a tweetable 140 characters or fewer inspired by the picture below...

They watched through the window as she struggled with herself.
The loaves looked so appetising but it'd taken ages to slim into that dress!

Signposts - Sunday 160

Written for - Monkey Mans - Sunday 160
where you must use only 160 characters
(including spaces) and post on Sunday.

There are always signs
if you look for them
pointing
this way or that
which gets confusing
that's when to use
your intuition
and stop
looking
and start
feeling

Neither Trick Nor Treat - Saturday Centus

Week 24 of Saturday Centus the prompt is to use up to 100 words (not including the prompt) using the line "Trick or treat!" they shouted as the door opened"

Neither Trick Nor Treat

Trick or treat!" they shouted as the door opened...

He watched the flickering shadows play across their eager little faces, ghoulish disguises not able to mask the innocence of their expectation.

Sparkling eyes still trusting life to hand out good things whenever they asked, he could not bear the thought of what he knew life would do to that.

It broke his heart.

The knocks, the hurts, the shine that would tarnish.

He longed to make them hardy, like plants he overwintered in his garden.

So he gently shook his head as he looked them straight in the eyes and he mouthed 'go away'.

Then he shut the door.

(exactly 100 words)

Unleash - inspired by Writers Island prompt 25

Inspired by Writers Island prompt 25 Unleash
and this wondrous image entitled “Lost Boat” from Spanish artist Silvia

Unleash that vast ocean of you and
pour yourself onto my waiting shore.
I welcome the crashing waves of you,
eager for your salt water onslaught
to irrigate the parched land of me.
Too long on shore, I have become dry,
no rushing water or gulls cry in my dreams
until you arrived, with your fathomless depths
and the tidal wave I see in your blue green eyes.

Perhaps a follow on from this one written yesterday.

Colour - Thursday Think Tank

The Thursday Think Tank - This weeks prompt #19 is - colour

The soft
blue green
ocean waves
of your eyes
are all the
colour I need
on this stark
greyscale
morning

....

Lightcatcher - Magpie Tale 36

Magpie Tales hosts a weekly writing prompt, the challenge is to write a small vignette or poem using the photo below as your inspiration.

L I G H T C A T C H E R

Impetuous now
trying to catch the light
audacious arms
outstretched
like
barren branches
coveting
those yellow strands
aching to feel
those
soft ribbons
of warmth
draping
like
Summer

Spotlight - Inspired by Three Word Wednesday

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are absolve, hiss, ridicule

S P O T L I G H T

Your outlandish garb inspires no ridicule
just the sharp hiss of exhaled breath
as you stun with your presence.
Your charisma worn like a cape
drapes in stylish folds
around your frame, concealing
the human beneath the glamour
but it does nothing to absolve you
from their expectations.
You deliver, faultlessly,
inimitably, as you always do,
and your place on the pedestal
is preserved once again.
.

Microfiction Monday #52

This weeks picture prompt from Microfiction Monday at Stony River

The task: a tweetable 140 characters or fewer inspired by the picture below...

She was SO excited
the butterflies in her stomach
could get her there without the train
emails were OK but soon she'd be
in his arms at last

(140 characters)

Under Our Feet - Sunday 160

It is easy to forget that under our feet
and under the floors and tarmac
and pavements
under the grass of the fields
and flowers
under everything...
lies earth


Written for - Monkey Mans - Sunday 160
where you must use only 160 characters
(including spaces) and post on Sunday.

(exactly 160 characters)

If I Had a Hammer - Inspired by Saturday Centus week 23

Inspired by Week 23 of Saturday Centus - use up to 100 words and the line - If I had a hammer...

If I had a hammer grasped tight in my trembling hands

I would knock in the nails that protrude from everyday life

so they didn't scrape and puncture things with searing holes

I would sand down edges, polish mirrors, clean surfaces . . .

spray scented water to eliminate the bad smells, so we could breathe

Lay down soft cushions on hard floors, so landings would always be soft

Blur the edges, so that sad things could be borne with ease

so that the business of living was smooth and safe to be around

So that hammers were not needed and all of the sharp things had gone.

(exactly 100 words excluding prompt.)

Beneath - inspired by Writers Island prompt #24

Inspired by prompt 24 envision and this image from Writers Island

B E N E A T H
behind the image, another layer
always much more than meets the eye
layer upon layer, each appearing solid until
you peel them away to reveal the one beneath
the onion skins keep going, one on top of the other
each revealing another reality, another truth, another
level of understanding, shifting focus, malleable, magicians
in the making, pulling rabbits out of hats, realities from expectation
scene shifters, movie makers, stage set designers, projectionists, humans.

.

Reverie - Magpie Tale 35

Magpie Tales hosts a weekly writing prompt, the challenge is
to write a small vignette or poem using the photo below as your inspiration.

R E V E R I E
Beneath the fluttering wings
of this red gold leaf blown afternoon
lie the soft white feathers of memory
drifting down on the breeze like seeds
looking for fertile ground to take root
and they find it in my willing earth
and all at once it is another time
and that eager upturned face
and those sparkling eyes
belong once again to me
and I am back home
and you are there
. . . . .

Artists Soul - Three Word Wednesday

Written for Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are hint, lust, sheen.

A r t i s t s S o u l

She felt a lust for colour, her heart raced at vast expanses of cobalt blue, her breath quickened at vivid orange, and sunshine yellow made her smile.

In quieter moments she bathed in the neutral shades, tranquil with just a hint of pigment, enough to show the form and shadow of passing light, enough to make it sculptural.

A glimpse of raspberry pink caused her to gasp with delight. Midnight blue flecked with a tracery of gold threads bought forth great surges of passion.

The sheen of light on shiny sufaces excited her, made her head spin with desire.

She was in love with hues and shades and tones and her wide eyed appreciation gave her food, that nourished her and filled her soul with joy.


Written for Three Word Wednesday this week's prompt words are hint, lust, sheen.

Where Art Thou Muse - Carry on Tuesday #73

This weeks prompt for Carry On Tuesday is -'Where art thou muse...

Where art thou muse in empty days
when colour and verve have gone
when landscapes are flat and lifeless
and the birds are without song

Where are thou muse in darkest night
when clocks and silence roar
when unwritten pages line the room
and crowd the dusty floor

Where are thou muse when comes the dawn
when light and hope abound
when I am weary now of searching
and I am waiting to be found

Where are thou muse when you disappear
when the shadows coat the land
when I give up hope of your return
and struggle to understand

Where are thou muse in my doubting mind
when I am sure you are trying to hide
when I think you have abandoned me
and then I find you here. . . inside

Microfiction Monday #51

This weeks picture prompt from Microfiction Monday at Stony River

The task: a tweetable 140 characters or fewer inspired by the picture below...

I am SO glad we decided to test drive

a new greener form of transport.

Now what about the emissions?

Well, that depends on what we feed him.

Flashback - Sunday Scribblings #235

Written for Sunday Scribblings prompt 235 - Flashback

Perhaps

the people

we once were

stalk our inner corridors

walking them like ghosts

holding on

to fragments of memory

and strains of music

that we

can no longer

hear

and perhaps

the nuances and scents

of times past

permeate

hidden inner corners

awaiting

the subtle moments

that trigger recollections

of things long gone

things

that maybe

we would much rather

forget

.

Also shared at the poetry pantry at poets united.

His First Time - Sunday 160

Monkey Mans - Sunday 160 - where you must use only 160 characters (including spaces) and post on Sunday.

His First Time

He'd heard it was the latest craze,

all the hip cats were doing it,
he'd seen pictures online, pages of them.
Purring, he plucked up courage and gave it a try.

My cat Sammy after hearing about the infamous Cats in Sinks
.

The Pumpkin Fields - Saturday Centus #22

Week 22 of Saturday Centus - this weeks prompt is to use up to 100 words using the photo as a prompt.

The Pumpkin Fields

The tour bus glides to a halt and through a crackling microphone the guide explains. . .

"Now don't be alarmed at all the blank faces you see here.

These are the pumpkin birthing fields, this is where they live until they big enough to be chosen and taken home.

This is what they look like before they get their personality carved out.

Before they get their individual faces.

Before the light inside them is lit and shines out through their eyes. . .

You will get a chance to choose your own pumpkin at the next stop."

. . . The bus creaks and moves on.


(exactly 100 words)

Soar - Writer's Island - Prompt #23

This was written for Writer's Island - the prompt this week is “Soar”

.: S O A R :.

We walk a path for so long

it becomes deep and worn
familiar and comfortable
our feet step into moulds
made by all the yesterdays
and the scenery is forgotten
it has become routine, known
we begin to forgot how to see
for we know our route so well
that we could walk it blindfold
and being unaware, we often do
the towering sky and soft birdsong
become background, wallpaper
and the well trodden path
becomes a rut
deep sided
stifling
but
climbing
up and out
seems daunting
we are so sure of this path
we know it like the back of our hand
how will we know where to put our feet
when we are not following the others
when the route is not marked out
this rut is feeling like a grave
so we clamber up and out
and realise that things
look different here
unfamilar and new
we can feel energy
bubbling to the surface
fear and excitement mixed
and we look around and understand
that any direction would be a good one
that there are no pre-plotted right paths
that all the paths are made by walking
our mind throws off its shackles
and now no longer tethered
our spirit begins to rise
full of possibilities
and finally free
we take flight
and we soar
. . .

.

Extinguished - Magpie Tale #34

Magpie Tales hosts a weekly writing prompt, the challenge is
to write a small vignette or poem using the photo below as your inspiration.

E X T I N G U I S H E D

The night will sweep in unannounced, for the lantern will not be lit tonight.

No warm glow to shine in the unforgiving windows, no gentle warmth to kindle hope.

The moths will bump and fizzle elsewhere, they will not meet their doom here tonight.

The porch will be dark and its emptiness will ring and echo like a cavern. . . and homecomings will be forgotten.

It will be cold and unwelcoming here tonight.

And the path that leads to our door will not be lit by the liquid yellow pools that declared the love that waited inside the cold stone of what was once a home.

And the gate will not open and shut with a satisfying click, and the rest of the world will not be left outside the fence.

No, not tonight.
.

The times they are a changing - Three Word Wednesday

Three Word Wednesday where you write something using the three prompt words.

This week's words are engulf, imminent, tamper

THE TIMES THEY
ARE A CHANGING

freedoms ferocious roar

is no longer distant

it is hurtling head long

toward my small self

open armed and willing

my surrender bears fruit

and it will engulf me
and I will dance

and the words will be echoing

in empty places and deaf ears

evolve or die, bare faced, naked
its imminent arrival looms

there's no need to tamper

with the mechanics

go where it's going

follow the flow

just let go
and ride

.

Backbone - Carry on Tuesday #72

This weeks prompt for Carry On Tuesday is ...
'It started out as a feeling which then grew into a hope'

B A C K B O N E

She
felt
it
start
inside
her
.
and
crawl
naked
up
her
spine
.
clinging
to
her
on
the
inside
.
It
started
out
as
a
feeling
.
which
then
grew
into
a
hope
.
up
through
the
dark
inner
spaces
.
a
tiny
seed
seeking
the
light
.

Also shared at the poetry pantry at poets united.

Microfiction Monday #50

This weeks picture prompt from Microfiction Monday at Stony River

The task: a tweetable 140 characters or fewer inspired by the picture below...

She was so glad that in spite of everything she'd never given up.
Patience had paid off and now here it was!
Her ship was coming in at last.

.

Love - Sunday Scribblings prompt 234

Written for Sunday Scribblings prompt 234 - LOVE

L O V E -1980's style

You loved me despite
the blustering bravado
that carried me forward
all hormones and big hair
dramatic black eyes that
Siouxsie would have loved
I was eighties chic and wore
the fishnet tights to prove it
crimpers were vital for styles
that screamed of quantity and
winklepicker shoes carried me
through those long long nights
in dark corners of seedy bars
where the music was too loud
and the mohicans moved and all
of my dreams were coming true....

Also shared at the poetry pantry at poets united.

True Story - Sunday 160

I am back again participating in Monkey Mans - Sunday 160 - where you must use only 160 characters (including spaces) and post on Sunday.

T r u e S t o r y

Before saying goodbye to the place for the last time,
she visited her beloved garden - and saw the
moss heart growing where she used to sit.

.

Birthday - Saturday Centus Week 21

Week 21 of Saturday Centus
this weeks prompt is to use up to 100 words
(not including the prompt) using the line . . .
He never dreamed when he blew out the candles on his cake

B I R T H D A Y

He never dreamed when he blew out the candles on his cake the fiasco that would ensue! If he hadn't been wearing the joke teeth and false beard combo, then it could all have been avoided, (it was easy to realise that in hindsight). He had taken a big breath and as he blew, the teeth shot out and landed slap bang in the middle of Marjorie's much slaved over sherry trifle. He then leaned in to retrieve them and the beard caught fire! Well you can imagine the scene... and Polly did the only thing she could and liberally doused him in lemonade as Marjorie valiantly tried to resurrect the trifle.

(exactly 100 words) .

No Waiting - Friday Flash 55

My first time joining in with Friday Flash 55.
This is a true story from earlier this week, I hope you have had your breakfast. ;-)

No Waiting

The doctors waiting room was silent until the young child gripping the table holding the magazines yelled. . . Mum. . . Poo!

I stared, expecting the mother to grab her hand and whisk her off to the toilet

. . . then I noticed the childs look of concentration

. . . the red face

. . . and the nappy

and knew it was too late!

.

Suspicion - Magpie Tales #33

http://magpietales.blogspot.com hosts a weekly writing prompt, the challenge is

to write a small vignette or poem using the photo below as your inspiration.

S U S P I C I O N

Those dark places

the tightly shuttered screen
I know just where it is you've been

Those perfumed wrists

did you know that I can tell
the disguise you use to mask your smell

Destiny - Three Word Wednesday

Three Word Wednesday where you write something using the three prompt words.

This week's words are gait, nudge, ripen

D E S T I N Y
She altered her gait to match his, lengthening her stride as they crossed the steel bridge with clanging footsteps and anticipation. The afternoon was heavy with the scent of blossom and the curious dragonflies that shadowed her were iridescent and shimmered like spun glass as they danced in the air around them.

They stepped on to the winding path and their footfalls were softened by the springy grass underfoot. She felt her excitement building when she heard the drums in the distance and the soft ethereal sound of the flute blowing on the breeze. The pale blue sky peeped through the canopy of fresh green leaves, dappled and lit with sunlight, they threw a kaleidoscope of light filled shapes at her feet as she walked.

He was there, strong and silent beside her as always, his silver hair a striking contrast against his cloak of the deepest blue velvet. He had slowed his pace and the flickering sunshine on his face threw his features into sharp relief. She was so glad that this day had come and that he was there to walk this path with her.

It had taken many years to gain the knowledge, to ripen her understanding so that it may now bear the fruit of the lineage she was born into, and now she was finally ready and felt the joy rise through her body like a thousand white butterflies heading toward the light.

They were getting close and the sounds of the drums seemed to be beating in time with her heartbeat, the rhythmic cadence of the flute echoing her breath. She heard the soft chanting and it pulled her forward through the twisting branches and out into the clearing. She was finally there...

Silence fell as soon as she appeared and the circle was hushed, ribbons decorating the four quarters lifted and fell in the breeze, it was the only movement in this sacred place. The trees were draped in garlands and the smell of sweet incense permeated the air. The faces of those gathered were turned toward her and she saw the expectation in their waiting eyes.

She felt him behind her and heard his soft breathing.

"It is time" . . . his rich voice reverberated around the silent grove.

The women began the gentle chant and heart beat drums joined the wash of sound that swirled around her as she looked down at her white gown and the girdle she had so intricately woven with delicate spring flowers. She could feel the weight of responsibility hanging in the air.

From the corner of her eye she saw him walk forward to stand by her side, he looked deep in her eyes and slowly nodded his head before reaching out and with a gentle hand gave her an almost imperceptible nudge forward.

She was unable to move, rooted to the spot for what seemed an age.

. . . and then from out of the shadows came the dragonflies, effervescent and joyful as they cut the heavy air with their light, they bought their sparkling energy, their magic and their blessings. It was the sign she was waiting for and her heart leapt and she smiled and stepped forward into the waiting circle and her destiny.
.

Clean - Sunday Scribblings #233

Written for Sunday Scribblings prompt 233 - clean

C L E A N

I have been dirty

but now I am clean

I have been invisible

but now I am seen

I have been confused

but now I am clear

I have been far away

but now I am near

I have been my ego

but now I'm my soul

I was broken in pieces

but now - I am whole

For more on the subject of clean - read my Magpie tale
- it seems to be a trending topic this week!

Image - Susannah Bec

Microfiction Monday #49

This weeks picture prompt from Microfiction Monday at Stony River

The task: a tweetable 140 characters or fewer inspired by the picture below...

He was high
as he watched
the people go by
and the sky was blue
and the pink clouds
were swirling and
he wanted this
moment to last
F O R E V E R

Shadows - Sunday 160

My first time participating in Monkey Mans - Sunday 160 - where you must use only 160 characters (including spaces) and post on Sunday.

Lately, I have been unsettled by the shadows
those fleeting glimpses at the periphery of my vision
for there seem to be ghosts living in the corner of my eye...

,

Fisherman - Writers Island Prompt 21

This was written for Writer's Island
prompt 21 - Fisherman

. . There is stillness on the banks

. . . . . . ..... . ..... . .of the flat shallow lake

. . . . . . ..... . beneath the towering branches
. . . . . . ..... . under the wide open skies
. . . . . .with the sun beating down
. . . and the gentle rain falling
and the birds singing

he sits and whistles
. . . . . . and he watches
. . . . . . ..... . and he waits

and the watching sky is full of silk
. . . and the spinning threads reach down
. . . . . . . . . . ..... . .and wind him round, binding him
. . . . . . . . . . . ...weaving him into the tapestry
. . . . . . ..... . in readiness for the cocoon
. . . . that will give him back
when the day is done

Shifting Sand - Magpie Tales #32

http://magpietales.blogspot.com hosts a weekly writing prompt, the challenge is
to write a small vignette or poem using the photo below as your inspiration.

. . . S h i f t i n g S a n d . . .

The kitchen was her much longed for shiny dream... all polished granite worktops and artfully shaped taps delicately hovering over a sink so new she hardly dared use it.

She didn't want water splashes ruining that perfect surface. It had suddenly seemed very important that she shouldn't, mustn't do anything to mar its gleaming newness.

She perched on one of the new impossibly high kitchen breakfast bar stools that she had yearned for while poring over the brochure, they had looked so beautiful almost like sculptures and 'just perfect for the space' but under her ample bottom it felt spindly and unwelcoming.

She surveyed her new domain from her teetering vantage point and when she noticed how the slant of sunlight bought out little glittering flecks of quartz in the granite, she felt a real rush of joy... but just as quickly her mood plummeted and her heart fell like a stone as she noticed the crumbs...

She knew she was being irrational as soon as the prickling tears began, but he had known that she hadn't used the toaster yet - she hadn't wanted to right away, they could have cereal for breakfast she thought, just until.... until it felt ok for her to use it.

He must have deliberately made himself toast to spite her before he left for work. She fought back the sobs as she carefully swept the crumbs into her hands and took them over to the bin. It was proving too much for her and she visibly crumpled as she pressed the stylish button that opened the lid to the most beautiful bin she had ever seen and realised that she didn't want to put anything in it.

She held onto the door frame with one hand, the other clung grimly to the crumbs as she made a snap decision and headed outside into her neglected garden and opened her clammy hand and brushed the three tiny crumbs onto the grass.

.

Individual - Three Word Wednesday

Three Word Wednesday where you write something using the three prompt words.

This week's words are demure, offend, volatile

I N D I V I D U A L
She was never one for pastels, her colours were bold
too volatile to have ever been considered demure
she screamed when others merely whispered
it was not her intention to offend, it was just her way

August bought forth a fiercely individual spirit
she couldn't, wouldn't, dull her shine for anyone
her voltage was high, she contained the electricity
but you could still hear it, popping and crackling

Under the shiny surface a golden heart was beating
as it pumped the ruby red lifeblood through her veins
Dancing flames licked around her head, a fiery halo
while all around her ankles the angry ocean roared

She walked the winding road, with bells on her fingers
and rings on her toes, painted toenails gleaming against
the rich dark earth, a carefully thought out disguise
that fluttered through the blank pages awaiting her pen

She came alive when poured into words, she breathed...
sentences became her tree lined avenues of expression
and houses filled with buddhas and peacock feathers
sprung fully formed from her swift and elegant fingers

For more of my poems
please visit Out of My Ocean

Microfiction Monday #48

This weeks picture prompt from Microfiction Monday at Stony River

The task: a tweetable 140 characters or fewer inspired by the picture below...

Eileen had the gun and Jenny the plane tickets.
After the bank job they took the three million pounds
and headed straight for the bahamas.,

Treatment - Sunday Scribblings # 232

Written for Sunday Scribblings prompt 232 - Treatment - this is part three of an ongoing story...
Part two - prompt - Wait - Read it here
Part one - prompt - Faith - Read that here

T R E A T M E N T

He had once sat her down in the corner of laroks bar, twisting his glass on the sticky table as he tried to explain that jumble of feelings she engendered in him.

He told her of the longing each time she left the smoky bar and walked out into the sparkling night without him. He reminded her that he was only half a person when she was not there, of how much he wanted to possess her to make her his and for her to stop her wandering and stay with him.

He talked of the dreams he had about her...

She sat very still for once, static except for the lights from the games machines that flickered across her porcelain skin and she listened intently to his words. She let him finish before turning her chair toward him and whispering in that throaty voice of hers.

Look honey, that is your play, your game and there aint no treatment for that...you got the medicine. I'm just the screen you are throwing these projections onto, you don't want me, you want what I represent. Find it inside yourself honey...

She got to her feet like a ballet dancer and kissed him gentle on his cheek and before he could say another word she was gone, out into the sparkling night alone.
.

I Have - Magpie Tales # 31

http://magpietales.blogspot.com hosts a weekly writing prompt, write a small vignette or poem using the photo below as your inspiration.

I H A V E

I have closed my eyes
and cut the ties
that bind me
to you

I have snipped and
cauterised the
fraying ends
with fire

I have asked forgiveness
for the hurt I caused
and I have forgiven
you in turn

I have mentally released
you and said goodbye
but it seems you
have never left

.For more of my poems
please visit Out of My Ocean

Packaged - Three Word Wednesday

Three Word Wednesday where you write something using the three prompt words.

This week's words are charm, feast, robust

P A C K A G E D

I am bound around with sticky tape marking me fragile

this sturdy parcel of me is not robust, It bends and tears

If I am handled roughly, little things inside me shatter

I'm swaddled in wadding. . . the extra padding helps

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

If I am handled with care, moved gently, not jolted

my tune plays, the ringing charm of me begins to sing

the air becomes light and sparkles, fractured with laughter

the peaceful gliding doves land and feed without danger

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Scattered seed, strewn like confetti a feast on the dark earth

the soft grey feathers of them, a balm that dresses all wounds

dark night swooping, falling in graceful folds around my neck

the tattered, battered, packaging of me falls gentle at my feet

H A N D L E W I T H C A R EH

For more of my poems
please visit Out of My Ocean