The exercise:
Now write about: the leprechaun.
We're having our farmer market friends over for dinner tomorrow night and we're very much looking forward to hanging out with them again. Hopefully we'll get some more blue skies and sunshine tomorrow, but that's not what they're calling for.
But what do they know, right?
Mine:
He's a nice little fellow,
Though his teeth are quite yellow.
He'll never ever grow old;
Tired of hiding his gold?
Yeah, just a wee bloody bit -
So don't ask, or you'll get hit.
Oh great, he's drinking again -
No stopping 'til who knows when.
So let's just slip out the back
Before he starts his attack
On the banks and all that -
Here, I'll let you wear his hat.
He hides
ReplyDeleteBehind the shrubs
And in the rose bushes
If you leave your shoes out at night
He'll fix them up for you but don't thank him
Or he'll run away forever
If you try to catch him
For his gold pot,
He hides.
Marc- You made me smile today. I wonder who is doing the narrating though.
ReplyDeleteMorganna- I thought elves fixed shoes? I really like it when you write poetry using this shape.
I finally sit down to write and wouldn't it figure I leave town for a few days tonight. I hope to still write something, but the internet connection will be fairly unreliable.
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Annoyed, she hefted the heavy bag over her shoulder before dropping the thank you note on the floor. Her nerves were electric from the scare of the two large dogs that had chased her throughout the day. Now they lay on their beds snoring loudly. If she would have been welcomed, she would have climbed into the bed and gone to sleep herself. Fatigue filled her tiny, slender body. It was hard work to stay out of sight and still pull the pranks the taller versions of herself and family adored so much.
She slipped her legs over the edge of the table and tossed her bag down on the broad plane of the chair. Rolling over to her stomach, she slid over the edge of the table until her toes felt the top of her bag. She let go, landing softly on her supplies. Next, she would move to the floor. Her muscles tightened in anticipation. As she felt for the first rung of the chair, she wondered again what had happened in the history books.
She looked at the card laying on the floor. A young male of the Leprechaun species smiled up at her. A pot of gold sat at the end of a rainbow. In shaky letters it read "Thank you!" At least the kids had used her favorite color green. With a small thump, she landed next to the card. Looking into the brown eyes of the drawing she said, "Why does everybody think Leprechauns like rainbows and gold? And why are we always depicted as males?"
She opened a flap on her bag and pinched a small amount of powder. Returning to the face of the young man she added, "Leprechaun juice, paper waterfalls, weaving, poetry, letters, scavenger hunts, and on and on. All of it carefully planned for a year, magical powders carefully measured, care for the children and elderly arranged, and the men are thanked. The men who have nothing to do with it. It's enough to make me want to scream." Sprinkling the powder over the card, she whispered a string of vowels and watched as it shrunk to a more manageable size. Opening the center flap of her bag, she packed it with all the other notes, then slipped out the dog door and headed for home.
Sorry Marc, that's the second time I've clicked submit and the page has come back saying it cannot complete my request. I'm running too short of time here to retype; I'm honestly sorry.
ReplyDelete--g
Nothing is forthcoming re leprechauns :) but thought I'd share this link instead of a flash mob that happened here in Sydney :) They're hardly leprechauns but they sure are talented with their fancy footwork! Enjoy! :)
ReplyDeleteMorganna - I have to second Heather on that one. You really do those well.
ReplyDeleteHeather - I do enjoy making people smile :D
I quite like your protagonist. I wouldn't mind reading more of her story.
Greg - bah, that sucks. I hope it stops doing that immediately.
Watermark - ha, that was excellent. Thanks for sharing :)