1920 - Immoral Compass

 

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

velvet compass echo random rust silver shadow pebble stone drone clip dry

Immoral Compass

The ribbons are faded.

The velvet liner too.

The pins are rusted.

The silver is tarnished.

Recompense for a life lost.

◊

Somewhere, 

With a well-clipped lawn

And white pebble paths,

A headstone

Declares the dry truth

Of a life cut short

By the random whims

Of the greedy or ambitious.

Their decisions

Cast long shadows

And echo through time,

Through broken families

For generations to come.

◊

Marcus liked to equate

Human society to a hive.

There is some truth in that:

Queens have drones and workers

To do their bidding,

To die for her, if needed.

Kings have soldiers.

◊

Footnote: Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE), 

Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, 

frequently used the beehive as a metaphor for human society.

1919 - Curved Downhill

 

MLMM Monday Wordle #492
presents the following words for us to work with:

biscuit, passed, duke, found, slight, princess, curved, sheet, alone, downhill, happy, companion

Curved Downhill

9:30am

The morning tea trolley

Is found

Moving room to room:

Tea, coffee, biscuits.

Room 403 – Mr Ellington.

“Good morning, Duke!”

“Good morning, Princess!”

The slightly built lady smiles—

“The usual?”

“Yes, please.”

He is alone.

His wife, companion

Of forty years

Passed away last year.

He is waiting.

Not unhappy.

Just waiting.

◊

3:30pm

The afternoon tea trolley

Is found

Moving room to room:

Tea, coffee, biscuits.

Another—longer—trolley,

Passes by.

Its contents covered by a sheet.

The tea trolley

Reaches Room 403.

It is empty.

◊

1918 - Time Machine

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

waves cake strays strand churning spot buzz colors sudden flow early stirring

D'verse Poets has an Open Night too.

Time Machine.

I

The Kenwood—it was hers.

It shudders and buzzes

As it churns the thick mixture.

Given the chance

It would walk off the bench.

Did once.

It has a fruitcake mixture in it.

Granny’s recipe, by inheritance,

Mrs Kiers’ recipe, by attribution.

Butter, sugar, eggs, flour,

Spices, strands of peel,

Lots of fruit.  

No brandy, she was Methodist.

Finally, too much for the machine,

I take over the stirring.

The mixture flops, not flows

(fruitcake mix does not flow)

Into the paper lined tin,

And into the oven.

Then comes the aroma…

◊

II

The aroma coming from the oven

Is a time machine—

Suddenly the mind strays 

To earlier days—

To memories that come

In the waves and colours

Of a special spot, 

A kitchen in my childhood:

Her work-worn hands,

Her face lined by life,

Her practical frocks and aprons,

The patterned lino floor

Of the kitchen where fruitcakes

Just magically appeared

From her old gas oven.

Same recipe.

Same Kenwood.

◊

1917 - The Gift

 

MLMM Monday Wordle #491 
presents the following words for us to work with:

cash, huge, monkey, much, grin, shovel, birthday, carry, took, back, trailer, grab

The Gift

Why a monkey?

He stared inside the box.

Huge monkey teeth 

Grinned back at him—

A birthday present

From Uncle Leo in Botswana.

It tried to grab him and then,

Much to his horror,

It took a leap 

Up onto his shoulder

And perched there

In the manner

Of a pirate’s parrot.

Last year, Uncle Leo

Had a trailer full 

Of elephant manure

Delivered to his driveway

And he had to shovel it away

To get the car out.

Maybe the monkey

Was a step up?

Although it was apparent

That the monkey expected

To be carried everywhere.

Why couldn’t Uncle Leo

Just send him cash

Like a normal uncle?

The monkey was silent

On the matter.

◊