Monday February 10th, 2014

The exercise:

Write about: the fever.

Max managed to get past the 15 month mark without contracting a fever, so I guess I can't complain that he didn't make it to 15 months and three days. We're pretty sure it's related to teething but we're going to keep a close eye on things and have him checked out if it persists or gets too high.

He still managed to have a good time tearing around the coffee shop with me in town this morning. But then, he's never really been overly bothered by being sick.

During the daytime, anyway.

Mine:

I am a beach, besieged by a burning ocean's fiery waves. They crash down on me, again and again, until the passage of time dies away and each moment becomes forever. Each wave suffocates me for an agonizingly long heartbeat before receding, always taking a souvenir of my flesh with them as they go.

They are wearing me down, slowly but with complete certainty. There is no hurry, no reason to rush. They are supremely confident of the end result: they will continue until there is nothing of me left to drag into their depths.

One might think I would grow numb, that the heat would subside. Not so. Each wave burns as dearly as the last. The wait for the next arrival is torture.

Distant voices whisper empty promises of relief. Of treatments that will save me from this place. Let them try! the waves scream as they charge the beach once more. They fill my ears with roaring, mocking laughter.

Let them try.

4 comments:

Greg said...

Fifteen months is a pretty good run for fever-free, and if it's got an identifiable cause then that's much easier to manage. I hope it's just a mild one and clears up quickly! Certainly if he's still running around and being himself it can't be too big a problem for him :)
Well, for all you saying that my descriptions were vivid yesterday, you seem to have fever-bright descriptions of your own today! The first couple of paragraphs are almost hard to read, they convey the unpleasantness of the fever so well.

The fever
In the room where dark and light
Cannot be distinguished,
The softest touch persuades the fevered brow
That heat can be extinguished.
Slick sheets press tight against hot skin;
Cool pillows are a dream away.
Disease's furnace burns like hate,
The butcher waits to slay.
The mirror cracks from side to side,
Reflecting incoherent thoughts,
Stormclouds gather in the brain
Preceding Fever's holocaust.

In the room where dark and light
Cannot be distinguished,
Relatives have all drawn close
To see this life extinguished.

[Um. That turned out a little bleaker than I expected. Sorry.]

Anonymous said...

Wow! I love your daily writing promps! Even if I dont do them they still get me focused on words. I especially loved your piece today! Keep it up and never give up! God bless - De.

Anonymous said...

I went with your promp for my first bit of writing today so here you go :)

The Fever:

In the heart burn a fever,
maddening and clear,
its confusion makes us shiver,
we search a cure yet hold it dear,
in the heart burns a fever.

In the head burns a fever,
and muddles up our life,
it lies us down and we quiver,
it is an awful strife,
in the head burns a fever.

In the hands burn a fever,
an itching “have to do”,
it makes you a frantic driver,
and mean friend too,
in the hands burn a fever.

In the feet burn a fever,
up from the hot pavement,
you are the worlds best runner,
race of the winners tent,
in the feet burn a fever.

In the eyes burn a fever,
a lust a trap a woe,
in the eyes burn the fever,
wherever you may go,
in the eyes burn a fever.

In man burns a fever,
which falls not from heavens skies,
in man burns a fever,
and that is why he dies,
in man burns a fever.

(I plan to post it bit by bit to my blog this week) Thanks again - De.

Marc said...

Greg - he seems to be doing better now, but these most recent teeth have been hell on him. Very much looking forward to this stage being behind us.

And thank you for your comments on mine :D

That is quite bleak, but it's so very good that I can hardly complain! Nice work :)

Onthewaytothere - thanks very much, and I hope you do find the blog useful!

Thanks for sharing your poem with us. I really enjoyed the format you used, and each stanza works nicely as a standalone piece as well.

Very impressive debut on the blog, leaving me looking forward to your next entry :D