Tag: coronovirus

Haiku & Other Poetry, tutto e niente

only the grass

Tina Stewart Brakebill

I

as elephants brawl

and the foolish close their eyes

only the grass aches

view of a graveyard
Photo by sergio souza on Pexels.com

II

monsters laugh with glee

when the preying buzzards swirl

o’er the barren shell

gray scale photo of trees
Photo by Ian Turnell on Pexels.com

This haiku set was inspired by current times. Read into them what you will.

Thanks to FOWC and the prompt of “crazy” for which I substituted “foolish.” (Hope that’s OK with Fandango!)  And thanks to NaPoWriMo and their challenge to find an idiomatic phrase from a different language or culture and use it as the jumping-off point for your poem. I chose the following:

Kenyan proverb: “When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets hurt.”

Meaning: Fights between the powerful only hurt the little guy.

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

after now

Tina Stewart Brakebill

The view looked like some kind of soulless painting. Beautiful but no signs of life. She used to know the names for artistic stuff like that. Photorealistic, maybe? Hell. It was all apocalyptic now. Unexpectedly, tears blurred her vision. She thought her grief had run its course but seeing those empty chairs. So expectant. So normal. Just waiting for someone with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.

Closing her eyes, she shut down those thoughts. She was rooftop for recon. Not useless nostalgia. Before was done. It’s after now.

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PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

Thanks for the inspiration. Visit Rochelle’s Friday Fictioner for details about joining in the fun. Plus while you’re there, you can read lots of wonderful stories.

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

Whatever Gets You Through the Night. It’s Alright.

Tina Stewart Brakebill

Frustrated, Jane muted the tv and glared at her roommates.

Returning Jane’s glare, Peter lit up a joint and took a deep hit before blowing the smoke directly into her face.

“Damn it! Pete. You know I’ve got a Zoom meeting.”

“Not my problem. Shield your face. Wear one of those damn masks you keep sewing.”

Ignoring Pete, she returned to the muted tv. But watching the orange faced idiot gesticulate wildly just made it worse. Feeling the rage building, she closed her eyes and surrendered. Humming “whatever gets you through the night” she whispered, “Pass me that joint.”

selective focus photography of man lighting cigarette
Photo by Kam Pratt on Pexels.com

Thanks to Linda for giving us the word “joint” for her SoCS challenge.

PSA: I live in a weed-legal state so I’m not advocating breaking the law! 😉

Combining joint with the Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction challenge to write a story about telling someone to “shield your face” resulted in this (thinly veiled) comment on our times. It basically popped into my head almost fully formed, so I only had to delete a couple of words to get it down to the required 99 words. (Meaning, I feel like I also adhered to the spirit of the SoCS rules.) Check out each of their sites for more info and more writing.

Plus thanks for making me think of this fabulous Lennon tune.

Whatever Gets You Through the Night

 

Random Rants, tutto e niente

The Head Beside Me

Tina Stewart Brakebill

I’ve been taking a sculpture class (read more about that at Great Cheeks! ) and before the world collapsed and it got canceled I managed to get my first piece fired. I brought it home and on Friday I “bronzed” it (using acrylic paints ) as part of our first pandemic-sponsored-at-home-art-day.

Behold it in all its glory as it sits beside me.

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And stares.  

And stares some more.

He never blinks. Always he stares.

And that is not at all unnerving ….

Really. Seriously it’s not at all.

But … if he starts talking …

Thanks to Linda’s SoCS challenge for giving me an excuse to write about what’s beside me!