Author: Tina Stewart Brakebill

Haiku & Other Poetry, Random Rants, tutto e niente

Already Lost

Tina Stewart Brakebill

170502143433-03-soundtracks-kent-state-jackson-state-orangeburg-large-169

the battle goes on

but we’ve already lost 

as bullets rain down

This month marks the the anniversary of the Kent State and Jackson State killings. This week, another shooter shot up another campus and the week before that another shooter shot up … and so on and so on…. Plus, I live in Florida where the @#*#@ legislature passed some truly awful things this week including arming teachers and stripping away voting rights with what is essentially a poll tax! I’m in a hopeless kind of mood and Linda’s SoCS prompt to write about something that “falls from the sky” and Fandango’s FOWC prompt  “battle” inspired this sad little haiku.

monochrome photo of statue
Photo by Alain Frechette on Pexels.com
Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

Bad Decisions

Tina Stewart Brakebill

God she was exhausted. The constant questions. The scrutiny. Knowing she was being judged. Constantly.  About every single thing.

Her friends had tried to warn her but she didn’t listen. “It’s not like I’m new at this this.” Her naïve arrogance dripping off her words. But California isn’t like New York they insisted.

Now she believed. Too late.

What it would feel like to escape it all? Just run. Dive in.  Sink. Just rest.

Free? Quiet?

on-the-beach-with-sandra

“Ms. Emma? … Ms. EMMA!”

The kids weren’t even the worst. It was the parents. Private school teacher in Malibu. Worst decision ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Inspired by the beautiful photo prompt courtesy of Sandra Cook via Rochelle’s Friday Fictioners Challenge and by Carrot Ranch’s Flash Fiction Challenge. As a former teacher, the first thing I thought when I saw the word prompt “exhaustion” was teaching! Don’t get me wrong, I loved it BUT exhausted I often (always) was!