Write about: going off-road.
Interesting afternoon and evening around these parts. As of ten o'clock we could still see small patches of flames on the hillside just to the north of us.
I went out in the orchard before dinner and snapped a few pictures of the water bomber, with this probably turning out the best:
Hopefully things are totally under control by morning.
Mine:
Eyelids drooping,
Shoulders aching;
Thoughts are fuzzy,
Daylight's fading.
Another bend,
One final hill;
I press the brakes,
Go faster still.
Corner coming,
Brakes are burning;
Panic takes hold,
No room for turning.
Hold on real tight,
We're shifting modes;
It's time for us
To go off-road.
3 comments:
Wow, that's quite dramatic to have happen near you. I guess overall it's something that happens now and then, but even so.... The picture's good, but not your best I think. It's not like it's an easy shot to get, either!
The poem is fantastic! The last line of the second verse is just perfect after the steady, slightly drowsy start, and the energy it picks up after that really works well. Lovely work!
Going off-road
Is it off-road if there are still roads and houses and lawns and telephone poles? This is Big Pit, which was a mining town back when my Grandpa was a young man and was a ghost-town by the time he moved twenty miles south to start his family. There's no real roads that lead here now, but if you struggle along the dirt track, or follow the rusted railway track as we did, you can find it still. And the roads are still asphalted, if a bit holey here and there, and the houses are still standing. The lawns are a puzzle though, as someone must be mowing them.
There was me, Tim and Adele. We'd come here because Grandpa had been talking about it again and we wondered what was left. We were stood on the corner of Main and Coal outside a three-storey building with a faded blue sign outside with a caduceus on it.
"Hospital?" asked Adele, looking at the tightly-closed doors.
"More likely a doctor's surgery," said Tim. "Hospitals are expensive. I remember hearing of a couple of outlaws, years ago, who got into trouble for riding into a up-and-coming city, parking their horses in the city fountain and accidentally burning the hospital down."
"We going in?" I said. I was feeling itchy, as though I was being watched. It was probably just sunburn.
Adele found a window two down from the doors that popped open when she tried it, and Tim cheered a little.
"Gonna be easy," he said. "Who's in first?"
That was me, so I was stood there in the gloom of the old ward when Tim and Adele bundled through the window and started looking around.
"This is... weird," said Tim.
"Yeah," I said. "Who the hell has chains on a hospital ward?"
I found myself wanting to spend eons replying to our friend Charley (aka SpookOfNight on Protagonize) and thought to myself – why? well because I want to do something a little more creative – a creative break if you will. So rather than lament that she hasn’t replied (She’s on holiday after all) I figured – Let’s get back into Marc’s site!
And wouldn’t you know just how appropriate the prompt is? (bummer about the fire, I do hope it’s under control now)
Going-Off road
Riding a motorcycle
Over the hills
Up one, down one,
All around the trees.
River crossing, mud splashing
Well above the knees!
Sitting at the campsite
Listen to the tales,
Happy faces, happy bikes
Remembering the trails
Old riders, young riders,
Even the youngest tike!
Had fun riding their dirt bikes!
Last weekend we went dirt bike camping – in coal mining country @Greg. My husband claims our 5 year old son got in more riding in than he did. They were happy boys. And I was happy to pitch a tent in the old Mine Truck garage as it was raining the night we arrived. *grins*
Greg - thanks for your kind words on mine :)
All I can say about yours (other than point out my appreciation for the West reference) is that I was sorely tempted to continue it.
Cathryn - good to hear from you again :)
That sounds like an incredibly fun adventure. Consider me jealous!
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