The exercise:
Your word of the day is: snap.
We finally received a healthy dose of spring sunshine today, so we spent most of it working outside. This is more like it.
Mine:
With a snap of my fingers
Those who once lingered
Burst into hurried motions.
A silent commotion
Surrounds and envelops me
As they bring my tea.
The sparkling steaming cup
Is slowly lifted up
To my slightly parted lips
By good old faithful Chip -
Who sadly will not grow old,
For my tea is cold.
7 comments:
Sunshine is good; we seem to have lost ours again, so I'm assumed you've stolen it back :)
The first verse of your poem today is great, but the slight change in rhythm between the first and second verses threw me a little. Also, in the penultimate line, I think you need to put the "will" before "sadly" to keep the flow of the poem going.
Snap
Four men, all lawyers-at-arms, sat around the table holding cards. Each chair had a small arsenal of weaponry tucked underneath it and, in some cases, leaning up against the legs. A small pile of cards was erratically collected in the middle of the table, the eight of diamonds showing. Piles of coins were neatly stacked at the corners of the table, weighing down contracts and affadavits relevant to the game.
Jeremy Broadsides selected a card from his hand and let it fall from his fingertips an inch or so above the eight of diamonds. The eight of clubs landed crosswise on it. For a moment no-one moved, then there was a blur of activity.
"Snap!" yelled four voices in near-unison. There was a long moment while everyone worked out who was being targetted by what weapons, and then they all slowly lowered them again. Jeremy sighed as Alastair put down the rocket launcher and took the cards, wondering if they should really play Snap with wide-area projectile devices.
hi, there. been sick with the flu since last week and too weak to do anything but i would have to indulge the muse today or it will go away again.
marc, i like your poem just because i've flooded myself with tea the last several days. is Chip off "the beauty and the beast" tale?
greg, i've never heard of 'lawyer-at-arms' and maybe before i make a fool out of meself, i better check the internet (after all that's what the internet is for).
i just got off the phone with a friend and i'm using our conversation to make a little story, albeit an incoherent one. if it sucks, well, i'm sick, so there! :-)
-o0o-
"Stop it!" he says over the din of overseas static. He starts to laugh but the cough takes over. I hear a gurgling sound, at least he has the decency to cough and hack away from the mouthpiece.
"Are you alright?" I ask after a while.
"Yes, but will you stop it, please?" he says and I hear the sound of a small chuckle.
"It's just coincidence," I say then I snap my fingers again near my mouthpiece.
He makes a guttural sound then goes on to cough again and I can hear him trying to expel the pleghm out of his throat.
"What are you, a witch, for real?"
"That's what everybody tells me. So let's expel the damn cough off you right now." I snap my fingers again and he goes into another coughing fit.
After a while, he comes back on the phone. "Leave me alone, witch." He laughs.
"Take a drop of oregano oil and go to bed early. You'll be good in the morning."
"I will, but will you try not to snap your fingers anymore until I wake up?" he says and somehow I could picture his face panicking.
He is 13 hours ahead of me half a world away. We have been burning the phone lines for three months now on this long distance relationship.
"That's the power of my love, baby." I say and he laughs. "You can't get away from me now unless I let you. You're mine."
"Then come here right now," he dares me.
"My broom's at the body shop, but don't tempt me." I snap my fingers one more time, he starts to cough. I smile and kill the phone without saying goodbye.
by the way, marc, nice picture!
Snap! Snap!
And the music
Began: First the flutes, horns,
Trombones, followed by the big drums.
Last, the cymbals and triangles. The band
Marched down the avenue, head
Of the parade. Happy
Fourth of July!
Snap, snap!
---------------
It's been serious around here lately, I thought we could all do with a light-hearted poem! :)
Marc- I think its chip from B&B as well.
Greg- I don't know what Snap is but the last line did make me laugh.
summerfield- You write well, the only thing it lacked was some change in the characters or situation. Hope that helps.
morganna- lighthearted indeed
I love this blog. I feel like I am in a creative writng class, which inspires creativity in me. I let the prompt dictate what I write, so here is what came out after some editing.
Snap
Snap to attention if on marching feet
Never will they mention who yelled retreat
A statement is always given if they run away
Purposefully written to exclude cowardice always
Soon they near their shelter, and so, About face
Nothing will give reason to the fruitless chase
Anticipate resistance but fear what you don’t know
Pressing disadvantage can tend to bring you low
Some people die in battle, they ask too many questions
No one dies for chattel, they die for their perceptions
Attempt to fight for freedom, and operate unaided
Propose to be a free man and valor will be negated.
She looked so sweet sitting on a blanket in the shade of the young Birch. The flowing leaf shadows seemed to taunt the solid lined shadow coming from the brim of her hat. "Come dance with us! Sway in the breeze! Be free!" they seemed to call out. I sat on the wooden edge of the bed and watched her. She pulled out small tufts of green grass and threw them merrily in the air. They fell like little flakes of confetti, further adding to the feel of joy and celebration in the day.
Slowly she came to notice my quiet presence. I put down the yellow trowel and pulled off my gloves. She toddled over to me, more unsteady on the sloped ground than on the smooth even surfaces of the kitchen. Reaching for her, I pulled her into my lap. She pointed at the green leaves of the early summer plants that had already started to produce.
"I want," she said, her small hands clawing at the air and her eyes focused on the Sugar Snap Peas. With an awkward reach, I pulled one of the pods from the vine and gave it to her. Amazement danced in her eyes as my heart swelled with love.
Greg - you stole it first :(
That is one game of snap I'd be happy to miss out on. By about ten miles.
Summer - get better soon! I know how much that sucks.
That's some powerful snapping going on!
And thanks - it's cropped from one of the pictures that was taken on the honeymoon. I don't like many pictures of me, but that's an exception.
Morganna - I could always go for a lighthearted poem. Thanks :)
Aaron - nah, Chip just happened to rhyme with lips :)
And I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the blog so much!
I like what you did with the prompt. Lots of good lines in there.
Heather - mmm, sugar snap peas. I can't wait to have fresh ones again.
Great scene :)
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