Memories flooded my brain as the smoke from the flickering candle enveloped me. The hint of menthol cigarettes lingering in the air only amplified my déjà vu. My cowardice urged me to turn and run, but before my feet could obey this frantic command the sight of the Two of Swords reminded me of the weight of the choice ahead of me. I couldn’t let one bad incident stop me from seeking guidance. Maybe if I had listened that time, instead of mocking, I would have taken a different road, so instead of taking flight, I sank into the chair. Holding my question in my mind, I shuffled the cards and made a promise to myself: this time, I would listen, really really listen.
I had fun today, creating a six-sentence story and incorporating some additional word prompts that included CARDS, AMPLIFY, CHOICE, and INCIDENT. Visit the site below for more info and more great writing.
Determined to shake off the misery for just one day, Margaret vowed to adhere to her self-imposed 24-hour digital detox. Word puzzles filled her first hour. A quick trip to Trader Joe’s for flowers was next. All was good, but then she caught sight of her woebegone expression in the revolving door. Without thinking, she clicked on Insta and the dopamine rush cast a temporary “woe-be-gone” enchantment. Damn, she had failed again! Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
As it often did, the whoosh of the burner sent Linda’s mind back. He wasn’t her type, but she had promised her roommate she’d be the fourth for one double date. Standing in her shared college kitchen, he had said “do you mind” as he had casually leaned over the stove and lit a cigarette on the pilot light. Linda had always hated smoking but something about that casual lean gave her a thrill. Now forty years later, the thrill was still there. Thankfully the cigarettes were not.
Written for dVerse MTB and David’s W3. I’m not sure if I did either justice, but I tried!
Laura, our host, at dVerse says:
Today’s MTB prompt is poetry with a colour motif:
take one or more literal colours (not a fancy colour name)
repeatthe colour word(s) throughout the poem (e.g. refrain; anaphora, epistrophe)
use colour synonyms
employ colour with its specific meaning to the poem’s theme
let your colour motif(s) also become symbolic
Lisa, our POW, at W3 says:
Fall always feels like a season of both endings and beginnings, doesn’t it? For this week, let’s explore those transitions in a Quadrille—a 44-word poem, a form first shared with us by the wonderful d’Verse Poets Pub.
Your poem can lean into endings, beginnings, or the mix of the two.