1856 - The Watcher

 

 Image: ChatGPT

The Sunday Whirl presented these twelve words for us to use in a creative writing piece.  

greed tragedy despair presence walk calm strings earth all spirit vibrating heart 

Poets and Storytellers gave the following prompt: 

We will invite you to find inspiration in this quote: 

“The most expensive garment you’ll ever own is your own flesh.”

The Watcher

I am watching you—

Watching you as you walk

Upon the soil, upon the land,

Upon my earth, whose spirit

Once gave birth to you.

Your presence is my gift

Of life to the Universe.

You arose from my waters,

But never grasped your inheritance.

Now my heart despairs 

For what your future holds.

Your future, my children,

Hangs by a thread, precariously.

A thread thinned by the tragedies

Of war and greed, frayed 

By senseless intolerance,

Vibrating discordantly

Due to the disharmony

That mars the calm lands

That you were given.

I do not threaten you.

I can pull no strings,

Create no changes.

I am just watching you.

Waiting.

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1855 - Pivot Point

 Image: ChatGPT

The Sunday Whirl presented these twelve words for us to use in a creative writing piece.  

rooted years footsteps creaks look stir hour loop clock echo before slips

dVersepoets has the prompt "Pivot".

Pivot Point

You have to leave something behind 

to move forward.

– Bikey Thapa

Thirty-nine years—

It is time to go.

The frame creaks,

The clocks chime slowly,

They know all too well

How relentlessly time slips by.

In a daze, I walk around—

The house is partially empty now,

Old memories loop around me.

My footsteps echo too.

Boxes are filled, stacked, waiting.

The longest hour, the hardest hour, 

Is the one just before leaving.

But one must look to the future,

Take chances—if not now, when?

To be rooted to one spot is comfortable,

But comfort is where dreams go to die.

I open the door 

and step out...

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1854 - The Manifesto

 

 Image by ChatGPT (and a bit from me!)

The Sunday Whirl presented these twelve words for us to use in a creative writing piece.  

ideas remember words plague escape faith strength unity through arrest cruelty injustice

Poets & Storytellers suggest writing about the dark

dVerse Poets Open Link

The Manifesto

 

The Student (despondent)

These are dark times!

The Teacher

Yes.  This is why we need writers.

The Student

What power do they have?

The Teacher

Have you forgotten the manifesto?

Can you recite it?

The Student

Words are our tools—

Our salves, our prods, and our weapons.

They display our strength.

they define our faith.

They carry us on and through.

Once released, they resist arrest,

They answer cruelty and injustice

With the cold finger of scorn.

They help us escape the plague

Of indifference and despondency.

To write is to remember.

To write is to make ideas solid.

To write is to create unity

In a fragmented world.

The Teacher

Do not forget the power that you have.

Remember the pen and the sword.

And write.  

The Student

Yes. Even in the dark.

The Teacher

Especially in the dark.

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1853 - The Hallowed Evening

 

  Image by ChatGPT

The Sunday Whirl presented these twelve words for us to use in a creative writing piece.  

magic back broken nest seems drag news breeze life ghost need tell

Poets and storytellers invited us to build on Halloween.

I also draw inspiration from dVerse - Poet's Pub

The Hallowed Evening

“There is no death, daughter. 

People die only when we forget them.” 

— Isabel Allende

I The Ritual

A candle burns,

Setting the scene.

Magic in a way—but solemn too.

Not to recall ghosts,

Not to roughly drag up the past—

To remember.

To remember,

In silence.

II The Remembrance

To look back

Is not a reversal—

The timeline is eternal,

Recall is intermittent—

Not broken, just granular.

No need to force it,

Just a need to sit there.

To remember.

To remember,

In silence.

III The Renewal

Life, or lives, long past.

Vespers. Just a breeze in time.  Of time.

They bring no news,

Tell no secrets,

All seems ephemeral

But, bidden, the love comes to nest,

To settle gently upon me.

To remember.

To remember,

In silence.

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1852 - The Repository

  Image by ChatGPT

The Sunday Whirl presented these twelve words for us to use in a creative writing piece.  

serve medicinal gratitude mind triggers blow control shoot practice treasure you stories

Poets and storytellers invited us to use the number 10.

I also draw inspiration from dVerse - Poet's Pub

The Repository

“Ah, jar 10!”

He blows off the dust, opens it and inhales—

“Eight years old, walking home from school,

Aniseed balls, 4 for a penny!

Oh, and look, jar 23, my sixth birthday party!

So many balloons!  And sticky children!

◊

He is rummaging through treasures,

Each triggering echoes in his mind,

Unveiling the stories of his life.

The magic of the bottles—

The purpose that they serve—

Is beyond his control.

No anticipation.  No practice. No warning.

He and you are transported involuntarily

To distant places, first loves, past events.

Some smell medicinal, some smell sweet,

Some evoke gratitude, others regret,

Some leave you wallowing and teary,

Others shoot you to the stars.

But all have meaning.

◊

“Look at that, Jar 6: Granny’s fruitcake!”

Jar 3 smells of his mother, warm and embracing.

“And jar 36, that sweaty aftermath of sports day!

Oh no! Not jar 17, that’s tripe in white sauce!”

Some memories are best forgotten.

He shuts the jar quickly.

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