Seduction

Seduction

Walking on concrete
Street noise attacking, then retreating.
Summer taps my arm.

“Look at me,” she whispers.
“I want to touch you.”

Sun’s heat
Lilacs’ sweet scent
Greens of every hue
Hidden, shaded stream emitting coolness
Unexpected flowers amidst tangled growth
Sun-bright yellows, flaunting reds, royal purples
Fuzzy cattail sausages on nature’s skewers
Deep azure skies

City noises clamor for attention.

“Aren’t you glad you came?” Summer asks,
Smiling,
Sublimely sure of her power.

Deception

                                                                                        Deception

The five years felt both brief and forever.  Our anniversary treat–a week away together.  Tonight Terry encouraged me to drive over to the lake for some sunset shots as I’d planned.  “We’ll make up for it later”, he  said with a  salacious wink and dramatic leer.  “Take your time.  I’ll see you about 9.”

Friday Fictioneers–A Noteworthy End

 Fictioneer:  n.  1. A person who participates in a weekly challenge to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt.
2. A person who  tells stories that may or may not be based in reality.
3.  A person addicted to writing once-a-week, 100-word stories.  No cure is known.

If you are not a Fictioneer, you’re welcome to read offerings other than mine by clicking on the blue link monster that follows my story.
If you read, feel free to “like” and comment.
Fictioneers love responses!

copyright john nixon

How many musical references can you find?  Don’t be afraid to be Frank.  Or…maybe not.

Word count:  100
Genre:  If you can’t tell, I’ve failed.

A Noteworthy End
(Overheard at the wake)

 “The key to it all (according to Frank) was to be natural and a sharp dresser.”
“Yeah, he always pulled out all the stops!”

“He liked to say ‘Oppor-knockity tunes but once.’”
“He also liked ‘Just duet.’  Drove me nuts.”

“Have you seen Dal Segno here?”
“Sorry, could you repeat that?”
“Never mind.  It’s fine.”

“Frank liked to fly by the seat of his pants. And he was really getting into the piano.
“True, although he didn’t always conduct himself very well.”

“But what a finale!
“He’d love it!  He always went for Baroque and besides, it’s all over YouTuba!”

Friday Fictioneers–Elezegeraffe

As someone once said…oh, wait!  I said this.

Take heart, all ye brave Fictioneers
For Wednesday is finally here.
Look at the prompt.
Create what you want.
Work through the blood, sweat and tears.

One week I’m sure that I heard,
“One hundred words? That’s absurd!
I can’t tell my story
In all of its glory
With that few,” some authors averred.

Now that the deadline is near
Even tho’ that story’s so dear
If you wield the scalpel
Relief will be palpable
And your writing all that much more clear.

EL, this picture is so you! 

copyright el appleby

 Elezegeraffe
(Ella-zee’-grr-af)

What do you give someone who might shortly need nothing?

Poking around a dusty antique store, we serendipitously unearthed the perfect cancer-fighting gift, a gift that was us.

First came Jessica, always nosy, Christmas-present-ferreter-outer extraordinaire,
Nigel, giraffe-tall and gangly,
Mom, “a real tigress” as Dad fondly called her, and
me, an adopted polyglot of colors.

We smuggled the Elezegeraffe into Dad’s hospital room, aided and abetted by willing nurses.  Today “E” resides in our side yard, reminder of a time of joy and laughter.

To this day, we remain convinced that the ensuing hilarity was the beginning of Dad’s healing.

*********************

Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.
Mark Twain

A day without laughter is a day wasted.
Charlie Chaplin

Through humor, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers.  And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.
Bill Cosby

According to some studies, laughter therapy may provide physical benefits, such as helping to:

• Boost the immune system and circulatory system
• Enhance oxygen intake
• Stimulate the heart and lungs
• Relax muscles throughout the body
• Trigger the release of endorphins (the body’s natural painkillers)
• Ease digestion/soothes stomach aches
• Relieve pain
• Balance blood pressure
• Improve mental functions (i.e., alertness, memory, creativity)

Laughter therapy may also help to:

• Improve overall attitude
• Reduce stress/tension
• Promote relaxation
• Improve sleep
• Enhance quality of life
• Strengthen social bonds and relationships
• Produce a general sense of well-being

Cancer Treatment Centers of America

http://www.cancercenter.com/complementary-alternative-medicine/laughter-therapy.cfm

Anticipating Winter

This is another poem from many years ago.  I don't recall the exact circumstances but the
sense of impending loss still seems real.

           Anticipating Winter

Even though you are not yet gone,
     my self does not know it;
     is preparing for the cold as gradually as possible.
With so many claims upon you now,
     I cannot bring any I may have to bear on you.
I must leave you as free and unencumbered
     as I can.
Since I can take none of your pain upon myself,
     the least I can do is to bear my own.

Flame–a Sunday haiku with photo

Brazen poppy flaunts

Flame-colored wrap carelessly

Luminous beauty

A good book or a great book?

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”

William Styron

Tea–a haiku with photo

Yesterday I posted my Friday Fictioneers story, a mere 100 words of flash fiction.  Today, I pare that down even further to eleven words and a mere seventeen syllables.  Tomorrow will be the photo challenge, so there may be no words at all. 

What happens on Saturday?

 

Steam from fragrant tea

Rises from porcelain cup

Unwinding my soul

Friday Fictioneers–Flying Her Colors

Flash fiction is a style of fictional literature or fiction of extreme brevity. There is no widely accepted definition of the length of the category. Some self-described markets for flash fiction impose caps as low as three hundred words, while others consider stories as long as a thousand words to be flash fiction. –Wikipedia

Friday Fictioneers asks for stories of extreme brevity, a mere 100-words, chosen with care for maximum impact. Feel free to write and and/or read. Read by clicking on the blue link critter at the end of my story or participate by going to the website of our hostess, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields: https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/.

The photo for this week’s story is mine, from a trip to New York City earlier this year. Please honor my copyright.

Genre: Sci-fi.
As always, my word count is 100.

Flying Her Colors

She’d always hidden in plain, or not at all plain, sight, gathering her information brazenly at parties and soirees.

The day they took her, someone hung her dress defiantly from the balcony. The photo, prudently anonymous in origin, became iconic.

They shipped her off-planet after hooking her on alderone, more addictive than meth from the old days.

The day she died (word somehow smuggled back), dresses blossomed like exotic flowers from balconies and fire escapes. The traitor hung as well, quite publicly. Police searched fruitlessly for the culprits.

The resistance strengthened and flourished, its flag the color of her dress.

The grammar nazi spies…

What do I spy with my grammar nazi eye?  Well, during the last month, I came across four gems to share with you.