Better, Alone
There’s always been a lonely place, but light would enter from the periphery, and that was good.
It appeared that all was well, but the words did not always agree, and insistence otherwise did not change the imbalance hinted at by those words.
Eventually, things righted themselves, and the lonely place was not so lonely. This is not so unusual, once one has opened the doors to the outside world.
And the words reflected this. They held light and possibility.
But just as there is darkness inside, there is outside, and it has let itself in, has become a reminder of that original darkness. And so, the doors are closing. The lonely place may be more confining, but smaller is better, more insular. The better to wallow in one’s darkness.
So these words would say. If it’s darkness we’re having, let it be extravagant.
This bit of flash fiction is my response to Prosery: Meet Jane Kenyon, presented by Victoria at dVerse. With Prosery, the challenge is to write a piece of flash fiction with a 144-word limit. Included in the bit of prose is to be a complete line from a poem. For this prompt, the line to be included is “If it’s darkness we’re having, let it be extravagant” from Jane Kenyon’s “Taking Down the Tree.” My flash fiction also meets the additional challenge of hitting the 144-word mark, exactly.
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Love this!
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Thanks!
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Bravo on the 144 word mark in this well written prose. I saw you had not intended to post for this–I’m glad you changed your mind!
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🙂 Thank you, Victoria.
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I like this… it’s a wonderful and sad thought that in the end we shut the doors to enjoy the comfort of darkness… a powerful metaphor of fear.
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Thank you, Björn. Yes, and a need to reject negative influence.
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Impressive swings from dark to not-so-dark to dark-again, each swing with its appeal. And I’m left feeling another swing entirely possible if and when deemed preferable … perhaps another 144 words on that down the line?
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That’s an interesting thought. I know I’d rather put myself in that frame of mind over what I did for this! I’ll have to think about a (continued) scenario.
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So insightful on so many levels. The thoughts of a mystic. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe.
Perhaps one facing the encroachment of forces intent on their own satisfaction without concern for others.
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I like the weaving of light and dark as inner and outer, one we can adapt the other we live with, and an choose to wallow in. Ah, the human condition.
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Thank you. The challenges never end.
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So true.
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“But just as there is darkness inside, there is outside, and it has let itself in, has become a reminder of that original darkness. And so, the doors are closing…”
but then, I go back to these words ” things righted themselves” It is difficult to live between the two but often necessary, I think.
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Thank you. Yes, while not always possible, a positive attitude is important.
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Loved this.
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Thank you.
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