Monday July 1st, 2013

The exercise:

Welcome to July, happy Canada Day, and write about: the light.

Just getting everything out of the way right up front today. I need to get some sleep.

Mine:

There's a strange light in the sky tonight. I don't know where it is coming from - certainly not the sun or the moon. Perhaps it originates from some human contraption on the ground. That seems... unlikely, somehow.

It is a distraction, nothing more. I keep telling myself that but still my eyes are drawn to it. Still my imagination is consumed by its possibilities, by the mystery of it all.

It matters not. It means nothing. A fluke reflection, or refraction, or whatever it might be. There's no hidden meaning, no ominous warning hanging above us as we go about our private businesses in our separate, unconnected lives.

Unless, of course, it is all that and more.

Which is why I cannot drag myself away from the sight of it.

4 comments:

Greg said...

Heh, you nicely capture a childish sense of wonder in an older narrator there, it's really fun to read!
And I hope you sleep well, given the warm temperatures that you're experiencing.

The light
Claudio taps his pen on his desk; the papers there are discussing Ancient Lights and covenants. He solved The Times crossword in under ten minutes this morning, and despite being nearly sixty he's feeling very James Bond. He wonders if he's not wasting his time solving legal conundra (mental note: check if he can get conundra introduced as the new plural for conundrum) when he could be out shooting at spies and villains instead.
The intercom on his desk buzzes, and he stabs the Respond button with his pen. There is a moment of satisfaction.
"There's a maintenance man here about the light," says a deep, masculine voice. Claudio is sure he wanted a female secretary. "I'm sending him in." Claudio is also sure he wants his secretary to stop taking control over so much.
The door opens, and a man in neat blue attire, carrying a stepladder comes in. He winks at Claudio, who is a little taken aback and then wonders what James Bond would do. Shoot him, probably.
"Don't mind me," says the maintenance man easily. "I'm just checking the electrical connection and changing the bulb. Lucky you've got such big windows, hey? Lovely day out there."
It's raining.
Claudio lays the pen down and decides that perhaps Ancient Lights and Covenants aren't such a bad job after all. He picks the papers up, and casually notes that adhering strictly to the letter of the law would upset Lambeth Borough Council intensely. And isn't MI5 in Lambeth...?

morganna said...

The golden light of sunset reflects from the trees and mountains and lends an amber glow to the huge old sentinel rock in the meadow.

Aaron said...

Light burns and won't go out
I leave it, it stays
Waiting, drowning it's victims in
Pure Radiance.
So I eat it all
With my eyes
I eat it all with my heart
I am a vortex of mind
and the Light is my nourishment.
In the darkness I am empty,
In the Light I am Full.

Marc said...

Greg - I quite like this Claudio fellow. Your 'There was a moment of satisfaction' line was perfectly placed, by the way.

Morganna - that's a lovely starting image. Not sure what exactly it's the start of, but I like it regardless.

Aaron - some great turns of phrase in there, with some really nice imagery as well. Good work!