Recent stories
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Value of a Penny
Today I was tutoring a young writer in Thinking Small; writing about small details to open up their writing. She then pondered the value of a penny.
When you are one penny short, you cannot buy an item. The penny seems very valuable; an unattainable goal…
Posted 7 years ago -
The Knowledge of Choice
Sadie watched Tenever trudge upstairs, spreading a collection of maps and notebooks across the dining table. Astarlane's grindstone faded into the background while she carried out the convoluted process of making a best guess at the next day's route.
Haz…
Posted 7 years ago -
Fall Be Kind
The flutes surrounded me in a way that, despite ideas of reality and sanity, made complete sense. Notes fluctuated, voices trialed in and out, distanced claps, all-enveloping smiles. It worked in the same sense drowning in a pool solves every problem you …
Posted 7 years ago -
The Death of Knowledge
Tenever took the first watch, stretching out in the ruined woodwork of the upper floor. Through the blackened crater, there was a good view out over the Hills. His rifle lay within easy reach.
He sat, silent, reflecting on how things had changed. Once, t…
Posted 7 years ago -
The Restfulness of Death
After the meal, Sadie cleaned her rifle, Tenever patched up his tactical vest and Astarlane ran a grindstone over her sword. Few words were spoken, each preferring to leave the others in a companionable silence.
Astarlane remembered the smiles and laught…
Posted 7 years ago -
Rhythm Reader: Dusty Vinyls
When I was younger I used to sneak up into my grandparent's attic to where they kept the old records. Next to the old wobbly bookcase was a wooden crate that held all of my grandparent's favorite songs. I would sit up in that attic listening to the reco…
Posted 7 years ago -
Lost in the Crowd, One of Many
One of the nameless faces in the endless sea of nobodies caught my eye.
Must be nice, I subvocalised. Neural implants in my speech centre picked up the message and squeezed it through a short-range encrypted radio burst.
What, being one of them? cam…
Posted 7 years ago -
Dog Kettle Door
My hand was burnt on the kettle
Just as it began to boil
My hand was bitten by a dog
I’d always thought was loyal.
I stepped on glass in my bare feet
Where it was safe before
You said, “I’m always here for you;”
Then you walked out the door.
Posted 7 years ago -
Gunfire: The Procession
In fairness to them, the shot was quite a technically demanding one. Both the origin and the destination were moving platforms, and there were wind currents between the ships that made the opening shot a coin-toss for a hit and a miss.
Once I had the hit…
Posted 7 years ago -
Gunfire: The Warning
It wasn't Neptune who found us first, though.
A pirate craft dropped down on us a few days later, plummeting from a heavy cloud bank where it had been lying in wait. It arrested its fall neatly and elegantly off our starboard side, heliographs stuttering…
Posted 7 years ago -
A Cut Above, A Breed Apart
They strolled into the mess hall nonchalantly in dress blacks that had the exact opposite effect of their understated design. The crowd opened up for them, the same thought flashing through the entire room.
The corporation's special forces were the stuff…
Posted 7 years ago -
Robin Redbreast
Each Robin has a red breast, dripping blood,
And ev'ry beaten heart, a bony cage,
And still we sing and bathe ourselves in mud;
From heart to fingers, ink still stains the page.
The pump has sprung a leak for you to read:
A farewell note to say it's n…
Posted 7 years ago -
Beneath the Boards
Forbidden freshness cools beneath the boards
Unwilling hornets sting the burst balloon
And gnaw the captured heirs with sated swords,
Projected slowly into sprightly tune.
It's just as if he'd never left the stage,
The flaccid vaccination of the ill--
W…
Posted 7 years ago -
Starwaves
I remember the grey light. I pulled her close to me in the aftermath of our lovemaking. It was then that I told her I was leaving, not yet knowing I was wrong. Our lives were not yet to diverge.
She cried.
Her face pressed against my shoulder, I felt he…
Posted 7 years ago -
The castle grounds
You sometimes lost your way, but when you make it to a place like this, arriving without knowing how and why you arrived, you know you're not lost anymore. The air has an inimitable quality to itself, seemingly contained with the light of a day beginning …
Posted 7 years ago -
The shards of yourself are still pieces of you
Really, when you look at the shards of mirror on the floor, you see yourself returned, only when there was one, there is now many. It's foolhardy to assume such a collectivism as a denouncing of individuality; the whole is greater than the sum of its part…
Posted 7 years ago -
Outset
It's time I made a different kind of move.
I'll go pursue my int'rests and forget
That I have duties here. I seek a diff'rent groove
Than I have heard before. There's promise yet!
Posted 7 years ago -
Undersong to Oversong
I need some music
Some music for food
To fill me up
I’m in such a mood
But I’m too far down
To pick out a song
And if someone helps
Just to move me along
I’d thank you to spin me
A tune that will lift
Me out of the doldrums
A personal gift
I’m stuck he…
Posted 7 years ago -
A Talent for Love
They say she's got an awesome knack
For giving people love
How can we know if this is true?
Just take it for the truth,
Or is there some way we can test
To verify the claim?
But yes, of course. Just listen to
The way she says my name.
Posted 7 years ago -
No Going Back
I do believe the time for hope has passed
Desire she may to hear its lost refrain
Our friendship like the clouds is overcast
Abandoned love can only end in rain
Consider now the change that time revealed
No outcome of our battle left to chance
Deep wounds…
Posted 7 years ago -
The Simplicity of Rest
Sadie rolled her eyes at the wizard's theatrics, depositing her assault rifle on the table before slumping into a chair. This had been a nice house once, presumably housing a hard-working and respectable family. Now the upper floor had been partially blow…
Posted 7 years ago -
The Dangers of Simplicity
"That's a powerful spell."
"I'm sure it will come off with a bit of scrubbing," Sadie answered.
The wizard Tenever wiped a hand slowly across the tabletop, causing the scratched inscription to flare and spark angrily. Sadie was ready to protest, but hel…
Posted 7 years ago -
The Darker Side of Luck
He knows you by your many names
It's nothing new, you've stayed the same
Protection, be it shield or mask
Will be undone, it is his task
The soldier's rifle cannot aim
The maiden pure is lost to shame
The royal family line will fail
The captain's ship no …
Posted 7 years ago -
SkyFire
I saw the sunset blazing like fire. It was beautiful, with its warm reds, oranges, pinks, purples and blues.
Splashes of yellow here and there dancing like flames between burning logs as the clouds drifted by
The wind was biting, but somehow there was wa…
Posted 7 years ago -
Three Word Prompt: f14 POETRY Verna: Heart, Tart, Sweet
My heart's been touched by many a gentle word
Of kindness and acceptance. Gentle folks
Have hastened to my aid, all undeterred
When I've had trouble; they've been strong as oaks
When I've been both exhausted, frail, and grieving.
To all my patient pals…
Posted 7 years ago