Monday, November 25, 2024

1341 - Not in the spirit.

 

Image by ChatGPT

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

This weeks words are: 

hungers until garden frayed tattered belonging spirits body salvage history walk stories


Not in the spirit.

"Until the lions have their historians, 
tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter,"  
-- African proverb.

History is a succession of stories.
Agincourt belonging to England;
Caesar a tattered body in the forum;
The garden of Eden, snake and apple;
Moses walked the desert for forty years,
A trip Google says should take six hours.
In a society that hungers for glory
The fabric of truth is frayed but protective.
Until we have a way to verify the stories
There is no way to salvage the truth.
But we don’t want the truth,
We want the triumphant, the glorious
And so the stories live on.
Somewhere, ancient spirits 
watch and weep.


Saturday, November 23, 2024

1340 - To all in tents...

 



Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

To all in tents...

There was an old bugger named Jim
Who headed to the coast on a whim.
With three ladies in tow
There was no way to know
What the Fates had in store for him!


See you in a fortnight.  Perhaps.

Friday, November 22, 2024

1339 - Einstein's Sauna

 

Image by ChatGPT - no idea where ºA comes from.

Poets and Storytellers United has the prompt "Opposites".
I take the view that a lot of what we consider opposites
are not really opposite at all.

Background note: 
34ºC = 93ºF,   55ºC = 131ºF


Einstein's Sauna

You surely cannot be serious?
You'll be certified: mad & delirious.
The day's getting warmer
And your having a sauna?
It's all relative, says Albert, politely.

It's fifty five inside, let us say,
So when you leave to continue your day
The thirty four's a relief
(Though it is rather brief)
It's all relative, says Albert, quite rightly.


I tried this and it really does feel nice to step into 34ºC from 55ºC.

Monday, November 18, 2024

1338 - The Sea Within

 

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

This weeks words are: 
stirs, scents, unrelenting, nudged, magic, stretch, face, words, space, edge, sense, end



The Sea Within

Currents.
Currently flowing.
Waves. Beating, unrelenting,
Wash over me, through me.
Words, emotions, senses, 
Stir, nudge, jostle me
Fight for space in me
Tumble through my mind.
Sounds, tastes, even scents,
Toss and turn, end on end.
It is both magic and scorcery.
But I must wear it, face it.
It takes me to the edge,
Teeters and then re-centres,
Stretches me, contracts me,
Creates me.
Deserts me.


Friday, November 15, 2024

1337 - My Favourite Things

 

The Poet's and Storyteller's prompt is "what delights us".


My favourite Things
(Apologies to Rodgers & Hammerstein.)

All types of cheese and sesame snaps,
Red wine in glasses and crispy lamb flaps.
The ability to silence a telephone's ring—
These are a few of my favourite things

Watching a cat walk, eating cream slices
Uncomplicated electronic devices
Magpies that chortle and choirs that sing—
These are a few of my favourite things

Home made spaghetti and parmesan cheese
A day without pain in either of my knees
Breasts that bounce like jelly on springs—
These are a few of my favourite things

When the soup burns
What the cat brings
When I'm writing bizarre
I simply remember my favourite things—

And pour a glass of Pinot Noir.


Wednesday, November 13, 2024

1336 - Tapestry, Unstitched.

 


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

This weeks words are: 
Cloaked, ruins, ancient, lace, communes, stitched, spirits, wind, drive, curling, icy, ground


Tapestry, Unstitched.

In the tapestry of life, we're all connected. 
Each one of us is a gift to those around us 
helping each other be who we are, 
weaving a perfect picture together.

-- Anita Moorjani


Communes in the bush
Green tea, tofu and reflection.

Ancient ruins in the jungle
Cloaked in a fig-tree lace.

Spirits soar by the sea
The wind is driving, icy.

A fire on the ground.
Smoke curling, swirling, gone.

Are they all linked?
Yes and no.  But mostly.


Sunday, November 10, 2024

1335 - Details? You want details?

 


Details?  You want details?

Husband:
What's for dinner?
Oh, by the way, Betty's had a baby.

Wife:
A baby!  
Boy or girl?
What name did they give it?
How long was the labour?
How long was the baby?
How heavy was the baby?
Did she need painkillers?
Was it a Caesarian?
What hospital is she in?
What colour was the delivery room?
Was there music playing?

Husband:
Um...

Wife:
You didn't ask these questions?

Husband:
Um...
Betty's had a baby!


Friday, November 08, 2024

1334 - No News is Good News

 


The Poet's and Storyteller's prompt is "holding your breath".


No News is Good News.

Sort of to the tune of The Piano Man 

It's six o'clock and the news has come on,
The stories are alarming and grim.
There's chaos and mayhem
And world wars are about to begin.

The stories are dark and so fearful,
The main common factor is death.
Maybe there's a story of kindness and hope
But I wouldn't be holding your breath.

Chorus
Give us some news 
That will give us a lift,
The current would hardly be missed
There must be a good news story
That will stop us from slashing our wrists.

The news reader sits there quite calmly.
But the war in Ukraine is unending
And the Gaza affair brings only despair,
I ask could the world be now ending?

I can't help but sense it's unreal
There's no end to the stories of woe
I want to pack up and quietly depart
But I haven't got somewhere to go.

Chorus
Give us some news 
That will give us a lift,
The current  would hardly be missed
There must be a good news story
That will stop us from slashing our wrists.


Monday, November 04, 2024

1333 - On the other hand...

 


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

This weeks words are: 
sighs, fire, flip, ravaged, blue, floor, emerge, mask, ashes, soak, skin, weave


 
On the other hand…

"We suffer more often in imagination than in reality"
-- Seneca
 

Objectively, we have emotions, feelings.
Subjectively, masks often emerge to hide them.

Objectively, when learning new things, we make mistakes.
Subjectively, we wish the floor to open up and swallow us.

Objectively, we have been soaked to the skin,
Subjectively, we respond with a flood of tears.

Objectively, we have been robbed.
Subjectively, we feel violated and ravaged.

Objectively, we tried but didn’t win.
Subjectively, second place, our mouth tastes of ashes.

Objectively, we are retrenched for economic reasons.
Subjectively, we have been fired and judged as wanting.

Objectively, we are left out of the team.
Subjectively, we are disappointed, we sigh, feel blue.

Objectively, someone tooted us on the road.
Subjectively, we flip the bird and disparage their parentage.

Objectively, life happens.
Subjectively, we weave meaning to it.