1379 - The Garden

 

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

 

This week's words are:

remember, gown, ball, runway, floating, light, mound, crown, bare, chic, stars, spirit 

The Garden

"Flowers are restful to look at. 

They have neither emotions nor conflicts" 

- Sigmund Freud 

Hollyhocks grow here.

Spikes of flowers,

As if covered in ballgowns,

Reach for the light.

A geranium grows here too,

Heart-red and glorious,

Struck from a gifted cutting.

Poppies, delphiniums, 

Daisies and campanula, 

Asters and phlox—

Some plants are mounds of life.

Others, tall arches of joy.

Some are crowned with fuzz,

Some stand bare, to one side,

Waiting their turn.

Bees and butterflies go about,

Intent on their business,

Sometimes they float—

A little unsure,

As if enchanted,

Sometimes darting

Sure of their mission.

Finches flit back and forth,

The chic stars of the show.

It is a place for the heart

To soar, to revel, to remember.

A runway for spirit and memory,

To lift and rise, 

To love and be loved.

To cherish.

◊

1378 - The Single Candle

 

Based loosely on some of the prompt words presented by Elephant's Child.

The Single Candle

A single candle, lit with love,

Burns silently beside me.

A reminder of life's mismatch,

As we juggle calendars, life

And distance.  Distance

That separates but doesn't divide.

I look at it, comforted,

When the world around

Seems harsh and uncaring.

I look at it, thoughtful,

When I ponder the beauty

And fragility of life.

I look at it, thankful,

Knowing you will hear me

When I need to reach out

And touch your name, 

in silence.

◊

1377 - The Offering

 

Image by ChatGPT

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

 

This week's words are:

Wordle 707

legacy, scars, altar, sky, mercy, burn, mimic, rustle, gleam, gaze, shadows, train

The Offering

He walked deep into the woods,

Where light dapples but furtively,

Where shadows merge darkly

With yet more shadows,

Where the trees gently rustle,

And the sky is but a rumour.

There, in the enfolding of the trees,

A small patch of green moss, an altar

To times, to people or to gods unknown.

Flowers were laid there, still fresh.

By whom?  Who had laid them he wondered.

Were they respecting a legacy?

Were they a request for forgiveness,

A quiet ask for the gift of mercy?

A recompense, perhaps, for scars,

Given or received long ago?

Did a flame still burn here?

He found a flower, knelt

And added it to the offering.

He gazed at it in silence.

Behind him was the gleam

That entered the woods

From the world outside.

He turned and walked towards it—

He had a train to catch.

◊

1376 - Magic

 

Image by ChatGPT

dVerse - Poet's Pub had the prompt 

"to consider...magical moments of intimacy you’ve experienced."

Magic

Her head on my lap—

I run fingers though her hair.

Both feel the magic.

◊

1375 - The Canal Dweller

 Image by ChatGPT

Elephant's Child presents 5-10 words for us to use some or all in a creative writing piece.  

This week's words are:

Elbows, Imagine, Canal, Heavily, Population, Mocked, Months, Annex, Support, Casino, Pink

The Canal Dweller

He has lived there

For many months now.

Gently bobbing up and down

With the wake of passing boats.

Away from the population 

That thrives on shops,

Sports arenas, and casinos.

His craft is a personal annex

To the more inhabited centres.

Not mocked but not engaged,

He provides his own support

And is the better for it.

There is an inner peace 

to be found on the water.

Another day draws to an end—

The sky is orange and pink,

The birds are heading home.

He rests on his elbows,

Taking it all in, savouring,

And can’t imagine anything better.

◊

1374 - The Request

 

Image by ChatGPT

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

 

This week's words are:

underworld, realm, beasts, raze, maps, storytellers, saints, emeralds, hood, voices, serpent, mist

The Request

A traveller, tall, intense,

Wearing a hooded cape,

Stands looking at the vessel.

The ship’s captain waits.

The traveller turns to him and speaks:

Traveller

I wish to go to that land

Recounted by the storytellers.

Will you take me?

Captain

There be dragons Sir,

With eyes flickering like emeralds

And with a thick fiery breath

That can raze whole villages.

Traveller.

I fear no dragon.

Will you take me?

Captain

And serpents, and fierce beasts

Beyond you imagination…

Traveller

I do not expect saints

Nor do I fear devils singing 

With the voices of Ulysses’ sirens.

Will you take me?

Captain

It is realm of mists, of tormented souls,

Beyond the edge of our maps.

An evil and a diabolical place

Worse than the underworld 

Of Hades and Cerberus.

Traveller

So I have been told.

Will you take me?

Captain

No.

◊

1373 - Drylands

 

Image by ChatGPT

Elephant's Child presents 5-10 words for us to use some or all in a creative writing piece.  

This week's words are:

Beating, Evidence, Remaining, Temperature, Stench, Excessive, Oppressive, Exposure, Dryland, Cover, Pink

Drylands

He stands: still, sombre.

Looking at the landscape

That lies parched and cracked;

Landscape that was once green,

Was once lush, was once supportive.

Now the sun is beating down—

Relentless, oppressive, piercing

His heart, his soul, his land.

The wind carries the stench

Of dead sheep.  His life.

And yet, despite all the exposure

He says there is no evidence,

“Just like the drought of ‘44” he says.

The temperature climbs,

Crows eat his dead sheep.

When there is nothing remaining

Will he change his mind?

◊