The exercise:
Let us give the First Line prompt another go. Start your poetry or prose with: Under the cover of darkness...
So there's a pretty decent chance we'll get our first frost tonight. With that in mind, I went out this afternoon and harvested our remaining onions and shallots, the biggest cucumbers I could find, the best peppers our plants had to offer, and a giant bag of stir-fry greens (for our own use).
I'm hoping our garden will avoid the worst of it and keep on producing, but at least some of the more tender stuff was saved. We'll see what the morning brings.
Mine:
Under the cover of darkness, they approached on silent feet. Moving as though a single brain operated all of their limbs, the men and women soon had the house surrounded. When they were within twenty feet of the building they eased to a halt without any apparent commands being issued.
And there they waited.
The forest watched them for a while before losing interest. The stars took note of their presence, then conferred amongst themselves at length. Just as they reached an agreement to continue monitoring the situation, an apparently oblivious breeze pushed a thick layer of cloud between the watchers and the watched.
And so the darkness in the woods deepened.
A chill slipped through an open window and ran carelessly through the house. Some of those inside were sensitive enough to feel it and became suspicious, hands moving to weapons. Others, those less attuned to such warnings, continued with their tasks, or their meals, or their sleep.
And so, as one, the men and women in the woods descended upon them.
Good luck with the frost Marc!
ReplyDeleteI'm in a lot of a hurry today as I have to fly back, so this will only be a short continuation.
Continued...
Like a silent avalanche the men and women moved in concert, squeezing the house between them like a fat child squeezing the jam from a filled donut. They fell upon it with a calm and stillness that utterly belied the ferocity in their eyes. The leading pair, two brothers with sea-green eyes and salt'n'pepper hair, reached the front door first and thrust it open, strong arms more used to chopping wood and strangling bears at the county-fair punching out in unison.
"Surprise!" yelled the crowd as one.
Well I liked MArc's start, it's mood fits the mood ofmy peice, but I"m thinking Greg cheated a little bit in doing a continuation... though the last line is erm... exatly what the last line says it is. *grins*
ReplyDeletePromise of Defeat
Under the cover of darkness, in silence they crept.
No moon or stars to light their way.
Rain nor snow would hinder them.
A scream,
The flutter of a thousand wings,
Marked the time in the empty streets.
Residents all sleeping deep.
In silence they crept, under the cover of darkness....
No guards or dogs in their way.
Walls nor doors would hinder them.
A bark,
The pecking of a thousand birds,
Mark the beginning of the end.
Residents all dying in their sleep.
Under the cover of darkness, their promise they kept.
Greg - since you were in a hurry, I'll forgive you for misreading the prompt. Just this one time, though :P
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed your descriptions, you've got some nice metaphors in there.
Cathryn - we'll let him get away with doing a continuation on a first line prompt this time ;)
Love the format you went with, I think you pulled it off nicely. Great progression and rhythm.