creative writing – Page 9 – Tina Stewart Brakebill

Haiku & Other Poetry, History, tutto e niente

Friendship as a Metaphor

January 8, 2023 Tina Stewart Brakebill

Not the time or place

Friendship as a metaphor

A true love denied

“Sappho and Erinna in a Garden at Mytilene,” was painted by Simeon Solomon. As a gay Jewish artist living in Victorian England, his work was almost lost to history. Solomon, who was associated with the 19th century Pre-Raphaelite movement, had his career cut short when he was arrested twice for same-sex liaisons with men (in 1873 and 1874), at the apogee of his fame, and it tragically changed the course of his life.

After his prosecutions he no longer exhibited, although it was still collected by a select few. In 1884, he was admitted to the workhouse where he continued to produce work, but his life and talent were blighted by alcoholism. Twenty years later in 1905, he died from complications brought on by his alcoholism. He was buried at the Jewish Cemetery in Willesden.

Thanks to Linda Hill’s JusJotJan challenge for the inspiration to share this piece of history.

LOVE IS LOVE!

Haiku & Other Poetry, tutto e niente

a new year comes to florida

January 4, 2023 Tina Stewart Brakebill

Shooting guns.

Exploding stars.

Drunken girls scream woo!

Another downtown Saturday night?

Or the sounds of new year’s mo(u)rn?

fireworks display during nighttime — Photo by Saeed Khokhar on Pexels.com

Thanks to Fake Flamenco’s New Years Challenge which asked us to “write about what the new year means to you.. We will write 5–7 lines of free verse for either subject.”

And to Linda Hill’s JusJotJan challenge I admit I cheated a little and used “stars” instead of constellation. The rhythm got me 😉

Visit their sites for further info and great writing. And Happy New Year y’all.

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

Red is Definitely My Color

September 1, 2022April 27, 2023 Tina Stewart Brakebill

I was never a “convertible person.” Hot in the summer. Cold in the winter. Buggy. Windy. Nope. Not for me.

But … I had to admit, I looked good. Red was definitely my color.

A horn blasted and I shifted my gaze to the truck also reflected in the store window. Resisting the urge to flip them off, I meekly waved. They roared past me, blasting exhaust.

As that rumble faded, the sound from the trunk grew louder. Time to get back to the task at hand.

I indulged in one last look. Yes. Red definitely was my color.

istockphoto-897266106-170667a

Thanks to Carrot Ranch 99 Word Story for the inspiration.

Flash Fiction, tutto e niente

Un’altra notte rossa

July 26, 2022 Tina Stewart Brakebill

All around me, conversations swell. I understand little but instead of seeming cacophonous, the words soothe. They distract from my reality until the prosecco dulls the pain.

Then the old woman who runs the osteria stands over me, “Ciligie”?

Seeing the cherries shakes me from my stupor.

She continues, “Devi rimanere per La Notte Rossa.”

The Red Night.

Stuck in an unrelenting loop, I had forgotten the world moves on. Ciliegie abound. And the people celebrate. But not us.

The cherries taunt me with their promise of sweetness but my mind fills with another red night as darkness falls.