The exercise:
Write about: the nymph.
Spent some time weeding out our garlic this morning - it wasn't in a particularly bad state, I'm just hoping to stay on top of it this year. And, like all previous years, I suspect it will get away from me soon.
Hope, eternal, yadda yadda yadda.
Took Max to the park before dinner, where we met a nice couple, their one year old son, and (most importantly) their two puppies. Once Max gets on a roll with a certain word there's really no stopping him. Today that word was puppy.
How bad was it? Well, as they were leaving they said "Bye bye!", which he is entirely capable of saying. In fact, it's another thing he tends to get on a roll with. Not this afternoon though. His only response this time?
"Puppy!"
Mine:
She waits in the woods for a traveller to draw near. Come closer, come closer, there is nothing for you to fear! There is no danger, merely a few birds, a mouse, and a deer.
No wolves to be found, no hidden holes in the ground. She whistles without sound as she whirls and whirls around. No vines to surround you, no bodies that have drowned here, come round, come round!
Oh, the villagers have stories to tell. They say this belle will put you under her spell. "Do not go where she's known to dwell!" they shout and they scream and holler and yell. I assure you, my friend, all is safe, all is well.
So go into the woods and dare to draw near. Go to her, go to her, what is there to fear? The coast is clear, get off your rear! But go now, for it is best to not keep her waiting my dear...
4 comments:
Aww, I think Max wants a puppy now! Tell him they grow with the garlic if it's kept weeded and save yourself a job for the next three months :)
Your rhyming prose is rather nice to see again, you don't bring it out all that often! And your nymph sounds quite dangerous to me; if she's got rid of all the predators in her area that suggests she might just be at the top of the food chain....
The nymph
Dr. Hercules Conrad stood back from the microscope and rubbed his hands together. It was cold in the lab, though normally he affected not to notice it. He was, as usual, wearing a thin cotton shirt that was so old it was threadbare in places, revealing a dense musculature – he'd decided that if he had to lumbered with the name Hercules he might as well live up to it – and beige cotton slacks that were stained with various buffer solutions and the odd acid splash. His lab coat, polyester, off-white, and still smelling of acetic acid after last week's spill, was folded neatly on a lab stool.
"Success," he said to the blue-nosed girl sat in the warmest corner of the lab. "We have a nymph!"
"That's great, Dr Conrad," said the girl, her teeth chattering as she spoke. "Can we turn the heating up now?"
"No!" He looked at her, stunned that she'd ask such a stupid question. "The ice-fly nymphs don't migrate to temperate regions until they become adults. We have at least three months to go before that happens, and our new gene sequence should kick in before that!"
"What then?" The girl looked miserable and sniffed.
Dr. Conrad grinned. "It never matures! We'll have the only insect in the world that can eat an entire ice-cap!"
Her silken hair fell against her porcelain neck. Silken hair? Are you kidding me. Shut up, I’m writing here. You are writing a load of crap is what you are doing. Let me continue. Her soft features glistened in the moonlight. Seriously? She looked to the horizon, searching for signs that he will come. This is writing? What the hell is this? It is poetry. Poetry? Are you kidding me? Now you are repeating yourself, come up with a better argument. Yeah? Your writing is crap. Well, at least let me finish. Please, go ahead. He rode in on a stallion, as fair as she was. He climbed the trellis, his muscles rippling as he did. I just threw up in my mouth. I’m almost done. They met and held one another, looking into each other’s eyes and…. He knocked her up and they lived happily ever after. What? No! That’s not how I was going to end it. Well that’s the way it should have ended. Now put the pen down and never write again. You suck.
If I kiss you, all of your troubles will be forgotten for the rest of the day. You can lounge here with me by this lovely quiet pond and trail your fingers in its waters while I massage your shoulders. I will bring you luscious fruits and cool drinks, whatever else you please. I am so happy that you have stumbled upon my little house deep in these woods. All of your troubles will be forgotten for the rest of the day. You will not make it back to your office by the end of your lunch hour in time for that important meeting with the national manager. You won’t have to remember to pick up Rachel from day care. You’ll completely forget to stop at the bank to pay the mortgage that’s due today. Your mother will forgive you eventually for not calling her on her birthday. All this, in return for the kiss from a nymph. It is a rare gift, one given to few men. You are a lucky man. Bend closer, let me touch your lips with mine.
Greg - oh, he certainly does want a puppy. I've told him to put 'puppy!' on repeat whenever he visits his grandparents up the hill and we'll see what happens :P
Loved the description of your doctor. You clearly had a lot of fun with that :)
David - hah. Goodness me, can I ever relate to this mental conversation :)
Terp - welp, I'm sold!
That's some very sinisterly convincing prose you've put together there - nice work :)
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