Raping Spring #poetry
http://cherishwords.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/tulip.jpg
another flower was trampled just the other day
beautiful, young, bright like spring
a temptation to the taker
taunting her
brushing aginst her bloom
smelling her
but not too close
until the right time
when she would …
open her beauty for him
desire his praise
a draught so sweet
he sipped deeply
then tore the petals
threw them away
walking down the pathway
toward the next fresh tulip
Thanks to over at Cherish Words for the beautiful Tulip photograph
Cold Case #flashfiction
I was days before my proposal for the multimillion dollar grant
I always cleaned to calm jangling nerves
So I went to the basement of the place I was subletting from a friend
Surprising a med student had time to organize
A box toppled cascading bones everywhere
No wonder he was top of his class
I realized this 55 would be a great prequel to my last week’s 55. Who knows what will fall or be tagged next Friday ( hopefully only fiction )
and…
Thanks to G-Man who weekly keeps the masses entertained and hosts an excellent site for Friday Flash Fictioners
I accessed the photo from Stock Photography
Damaged Goods #poetry #flashfiction
It hung limply
collar-bone unnaturally protruded
sockets where lights had beamed
dangled with no spark
fingers that had grasped another’s in trust
Clear notes like fine crystal
hopes of Opera
smoky bars and sleazy dumps
croaking semblance of sound
talent
beauty
dreams
DOA the tag on her toe hung from under a cold lifeless sheet
Flash Fiction certainly isnt DOA as it is in the capable hands of the host G-Man. Who tho on the road manages 55 words none-the-less
The End in Sight #poetry
the gold band broke in pieces
too easily
pictures of a couple
in separate frames
bottle where tears collected
shattered from overuse
dreams discarded in rumpled newsprint
don’t look back
our love was already gone
The Grand Finale #flashfiction #saturdaycentus
It had been the longest playing off broadway show she had starred in. The show had a bit of everything romance, intrigue, deception and murder
“This will be our last performance” the stage manager said to the cast wiping his face with his sleeve.
It’s been a good run one of the leads said nervously peering over his shoulder. It’s always better to close the show before they stop coming.
“We know where all the bodies are buried” was written in lipstick on her dressing room mirror.
Somehow she always knew…
Tonight’s last performance would include the death of two leads not the traditional one.
Thanks to Jenny Matlock who hosts Saturday Centus. This weeks prompt: “We know where all the bodies are buried “
Have A Ball!!! #football #superbowl #flashfiction
Hands ready to receive the ball
Feet Ready to hear the call “goal”
Fans ready to eat, drink and watch some plays
old timers remember the days
Crews ready for live interviews with Tom and
Eli
Coaches ready for the yellow flag to fly
all because of a ball the shape of a brown ellipse
Happy Super Bowl watching to all of you football voyeurs – otherwise happy flash fiction writing.
(Each week some very talented writers share flash fiction with GMan. Everyone is welcome to join the 55 word challenge)
On The Edge #centusSaturday #shortstory
A light pierced the fog
“come to shelter “
turning toward darkness
my arms grew weary
groping in a mist of confusion
“come this way”
“but there is nothing to light the way”
changing direction
my feet stumble on a root
the cliff just inches behind me
slipping toward the edge…
I’m sorry I missed the first part of this prompt but I will attempt to hang the reader off the cliff for Jenny Matlock’s Centus Saturday
Ebbing Tide #flashfiction
You once sat with me on a piece of flotsam
Telling me stories about the ship that had sunk in the stormy sea
“All were lost”
you said with a tear on your cheek
I never knew you never told me
All had not been lost
A small boy and his scruffy dog had floated into the bay
A fisherman and his wife found the two survivors and raised them as their own
One day you went out to sea looking for something you had lost
You never told me what you were seeking
“All were lost”
I carved into broken wood
A piece of flotsam where we will never sit again
“Please take me out to sea faithful tide
where I can be joined with the one
I have lost…”
Photograph~ “Winter Tide” L. Moon copyright 2012
Graced by Her Face
It looked back at me
from an earlier time
Who is she?
The lips curled in a familiar smile
It was not so long ago
that we shared this face
come on a journey
with your fingers trace
Little ones holding hands
laughter filling the air
never put away
the love that you freely shared
This was a practice piece for a portrait my mother did of my son and I.
Memories fill the air when you look back on the past and who you once were.
Thanks to G-Man for hosting yet another week of Flash Fiction where the only thing that gets between you and a masterpiece is the number of words you are allotted. Happy Friday!
***To those of you who are faithful friends and writers – please forgive my absence over the past several months. I am in the midst of a major change. I am enjoying the life of a transient and though my writing abounds my time when a computer is available does not.
I Will Tango Tonight #New Year #2012 #flashfiction
A ball will fall
Happy- my lips will linger on
one who offers me
a dance
caring little for what I wear
what matters
the heat on our breath
New is our tango
lower me to the ground
smell my eau de chaud
I taste your latte
This Year
come in alone
but leave…
and as we see another year out an applause of thanks is given to Mr Know it All who manages to host a fantastic Flash Fiction every Friday and has done so for more than 4 years. Happy 2012 to All!!!
Nothing But Words #poetry #homeless
Do you realize
that some of us
eat food from a can?
No not the kind you open
the kind you pull refuse
with your hand
I didn’t chose
cold loneliness
a life of no address
a closet in my car
atop my college degree
oh isnt life a mess
but who cares
do you want to see
the list of things I’ve done
the families, children
whom I’ve helped
yes I have aided some
the system I promise doesn’t care
I’m a number
they’d wish they’d lost
I’ve paid so many dues
there’s nothing left
oh dear what this has cost
and so my friends
words it seems
are all that I have left
stories and verse
I hold so close
I’ll steer clear of bereft
Photo Courtesy of Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/elcarlitoxloco/5258963772/in/photostream/
O Holy Night #poetry #Christmas #loss
Oh Holy Night
The Stars are brightly shining
The moonlight is catching the tears on my cheek darling
It is the Night
Of our Dear Savior’s Birth
Long lay the world
The News isn’t good dear
In Sin and error pining
it’s spread through my entire body
til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
I have three or four weeks
the thrill of hope
the weary world rejoices
for yonder breaks a new and glorious light
my love will be a distant star
Fall on your knees
I have no strength to stand
Oh hear the angels voices
I will be singing with the angels next Christmas darling
oh night divine
tonight we have each other
oh night when Christ was born
Oh Night Divine
Oh Night – Oh Holy Night
It won’t be long – hold me against the impending dawn
The Senses of Christmas #flashfiction #Christmas
Can you smell it, feel it, hear it?
Of course I can
It’s the senses of Christmas
Gingerbread and shortbread in the oven
Pine from the tree
Spices of hot cider congealing
Seasoned wood on the fire
Bing Crosby singing with his smooth as scotch voice
one more thing
Our Family gathered enjoying being together
Wishing all of you a joyous Christmas. A time to celebrate time with friends and family. A special thanks to G-Man who looks upon all his followers as good friends.
Merry-Go-Round with #Healthcare #flashfiction #cancer
“Do you know how many times I have heard the words “you only have a few weeks, maybe months”???? I am tired of the fear evoked by practitioners who are not up to date on diagnosis and bed-side manner (as in looking at all the data thoroughly!)
I’ve given my dog a heart attack. I fed the cat something that killed her. I didn’t realize I left the cage open until I ran over my bunny. My friends and family think I’m cancerphobic.
Can’t somebody get it right?”
“Slow down sweetie. I’m telling you this because my mother had the same symptoms as you. she died in four months ‘cuz she had a male doctor who wasnt thorough with the tests.”
A tear fell “If I’m going to die, I’d like to know. I am so tired of the merry-go-round of maybes.”
“The test I’m doing will tell us.”
“Can I bring my parrot to the office until we know?”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davydubbit/3121796325/sizes/m/in/photostream/
A Look at the Past #flashfiction
…A moment
A memory…
That was all there was.
“Look back it’s our fragrant past but sadly not our promising future.”
A tear streamed down her face
knowing she had misplaced an old friend’s plans.
He had waited all these years to hear
“you broke my heart once there is nothing left to hold dear.”
Photo: “Lonely Bench” L. Moon copyright 2011
Each Thursday night 8pm EST there is an opportunity to share with others your work of flash fiction. It’s short, it’s only 55 words, it’s a challenge. So instead of your Sudoku for Friday try a flash fiction hosted by G-Man aka Mr. Know it All.
Watching Time #poetry
They wont move while you watch
my mind wills the hands around your face
tick tick I can’t wait
open the glass face and let me in
move now move quick
my life is in your perfect sphere
midnight… one… two… three…
dawn rises beautifully clear
as you pull me close to thee
forever
As The Dice Fall… #flashfiction
They had fallen
fate placed in your hands
not mine
How would the outcome have been different?
Would the sacrifice have been this high?
No!!!
For the dice would never had spilt innocent blood had I rolled
But you are the high roller
caring little for the lives of others
only caring for
your gain…
Thanks to the weekly fun hosted by G-Man flash fiction at its best
Edge of Winter #poetry #photography #iphone
She was the last of her kind
bravely she poked her head through stormy mists
victorious she smiled
“I am free,” she exclaimed with glee!
A solitary ray of sunshine touched her velvety skin
He was looking for a place to light
For one suspended moment she danced in his flickering glow
His fingertips radiated with color
Life seemed to appear
“Oh warmth I long for your embrace”
Too soon he was gone
A tear fell down her ivory visage
“What will sustain me until spring?” she moaned
no one to hold
not a soul to care
her head went limp
knowing that she too would soon
wither
and
die
Photography “Edge of Winter” & “Dying Rose” Copyright L. Moon 2011
Dream Machine #flashfiction #magpietales
“I had a wonderful dream,” I said to my roommate my hair in a very mussed state.
“Oh but then you are always having dreams,” she grinned.” What was the dream this time?”
“It was more dreamy than usual. It was if a fog machine was on in my room.
The hottie who is always in my dreams was in a three piece suit. Ive never seen him dressed like that.
He told me he loved what I was wearing.
Then the fog rose. I didnt see the rest of my own dream. Must have been X rated.”
“Well in your case roomie PG-13.”
I laughed ” I guess you are right. I woke up fully clothed.”
Thanks Tess for the great picture prompt for this week’s Magpie Tales
More Than Food On Thanksgiving #microfiction
We gather together to ask the Lords blessing…
I heard the song and heard her singing, I had not heard her in more than two decades
She taught me to count my blessings
“I’m trying to remember grandmama
some days are more difficult than others”
I delivered several boxes filled with food for Thanksgiving for a struggling family of 8.
No one knew that on Thanksgiving all I had were two cans of soup, a box of cereal and a quart of milk
“…I ask for your blessing dear Lord”
Thanks to Jenny Matlock for hosting Saturday Centus each week
Hollow Reality #flash fiction
The room was filled with smiling faces
Each appeared so sincere
Every eye filled with laughter
“Why do I feel out-of-place?” she wondered
It seemed every where she went she never belonged
Then by chance she happened to see a placard on her way out
“leave your masks at the door when you leave!”
Thanks to G-Man @ http://g-man-mrknowitall.blogspot.com ( sorry my hyperlink isnt working)who always throws a great party over at his place. Bring your words no more than 55 tho. Masks are optional
Thank You to Carlos Castillo for the fantastic photo!!! Please enjoy other work by him. http://www.flickr.com/photos/chato/30622339/
Woman in the Mirror #shortstory
It was a wet rainy day. I really was not intending to browse in the musty antique store but at that moment I was passing there was a fierce downpour which forced me indoors. I tried to take a deep breath but the dust clogged my nostrils; I forced myself to breath as little as necessary.
“Welcome” the old shopkeeper smiled an aged, toothless smile. I gathered she was as old as some of the pieces. “Please tell me if I can be of assistance deary”.
I walked around the cluttered rows of dingy furniture. ”Ah light,” I gasped as I took the stairs two at a time. ” Maybe there will be something worth looking at up there and perhaps less dust.” I said in a hushed voice realizing her hearing was also ancient. “Squeek, clop, clop” I sounded like a horse on wooden slats.
At last I was upstairs. I turned around in a room that seemed so airy and springlike. I could almost hear birds chirping. The sun was streaming in from a skylight. “How is that possible?” I shook my head as if in a fairy tale. I minded little the time I might spend here. I looked at item after item – each “one of a kind” in my estimation. Then I felt warmth as if a hand touched mine. I looked down and my hand was resting on a beautiful yellowing mirror. The lines from the elephant tusk were obvious as I ran my hand over the smooth ivory. I felt the need to see if the mirror was cracked so I turned it over. As I gazed at myself, I was shocked at what I saw.
“I dont own a brocade, three-quarter sleeve gown. What am I thinking? I dont own any gowns.” I heard a whisper from behind me. It must be an open window. Then I heard it clearly.
” Come close let me look at you.”
” Who are you, ” I asked trying to keep the trembling in my voice down.
“My name is Janille Constantine.”
” My name is Malina.”
” I like that name Malina. I have never heard that name before. Have you seen him today?” she asked in a beautiful lyrical voice.
“Have I seen whom?”
” My lover of course. We are supposed to meet here so that my intended would not see us.” Janille giggled with mirth.
” No I am sorry what does he look like? “
“He is very handsome. He rides the blackest of stallions and his blue eyes carry mischief and love.”
” I’m sure if I saw him I would remember him.” I had to look again into the mirror as I was certain that I could not be carrying on this conversation with myself.
“Yes he always wears a bowler hat and carries a smart cane.”
“Where do you live?” I asked.
“Why on Jersey shore of course my dear. I am from the Constantine family; we live in a darling home on the sea-shore in the summer and we return to our plantation in the fall once the disease has left the lowlands.”
“My what an exciting life you must lead. I would love to see your home. “
“Yes alas I believe once papa knows about Roland he will send me away to my aunt’s.” her r rolled in a perfect southern drawl.
“What about your intended?”
“Oh Joseph. He is a good boy but he is not a man who knows the world. He is protected by his mama.”
“Oh” I started to smile. I had dated someone like that and was glad the “love of my life” lived on the edge.
“Then why don’t you break it up with Joseph? “
“Well I have discussed it with Roland he always tells me no and tells me to shush.”
Just then I heard the sound of a gun shot.
” Oh my what am I to do? What is it?”
“A man has been shot outside of the shop. You must hide – please hide.”
“Where? “
“Under a bureau!”
“Yes I will.” I held my breath waiting as I heard the pounding of footsteps on the stairs as suddenly as they came up they went back down.
“No one is here. That scoundrel Roland.”
” He’s dead.” I heard a mouse like voice.
“ Murielle your husband was a cheat and a gambler. It is better this way come home with your older brother.”
I heard crying as a face came back into view. “They killed him my Roland. Who was the woman? Oh my I guess he was married. I never knew.”
“But you are safe Janille.”
“Yes I am I will return to my papa’s home in South Carolina. I will never return here again.” She tried to sound brave but her voice could not countain the soft cries.
“Goodbye Malina.” a sweet voice said and then the mirror went dark.
When I went home I googled the name of Constantine. There it was the picture of the beautiful, young woman I had spoken with. She had unexpectedly died by gunshot in the street in New Jersey on her way home.
I looked up the name of Roland and found several who lived in the area then I saw him. The most daring and compelling blue eyes and I knew why she had loved that captivating man.
I went back to the antique store on another rainy day. I was curious to see whom I might meet…
This short story was inspired by the elephant tusk mirror that was an heirloom and an archived poem I wrote.
Photograph: “Gradma’s Mirror” L. Moon copyright 2011
View from Deja Vu #micro fiction #poetry
How had i gotten here
To the place of my dreams
i have been here before
In my childhood it seems
***
A meaningless game
Of chairs and of song
My chair it is missing
From the play i am gone
***
i am found in a field
An ominous place
Empty chairs everywhere
Not a single Child’s face
***
i have been here before
My chair it is missing
Not a single Child’s face
there is No One who is listening
Thanks to Tess Kincaid for the weekly prompts on Magpie Tales / This one has many great words without a single sound
