Wordsworth

On Holding Nothing ~ prosery

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 23 Comments

On Holding Nothing

Behind me, decades. Around me, the same. Past and present seemed as one. A life may change, but making this change, from one moment to the next, meant an adjustment that I could not make overnight, even when I knew it had been a long time coming.

Harmony can be deceptive, and an underlying discord had been woven through ours for many years. It had been much easier to dismiss it than to face it head on, but there it was. Holding on to something that, in truth, was long gone, I wandered, lonely as a cloud in skies that seemed to hold only darkness.

Yet, as time passed, I came to realize that the darkness had been there for a long time. Once I let those decades slip away, I left the storm clouds behind. Ahead of me were nothing but blue skies.

 This is my response to Winter Be Gone!, the prompt from Lillian at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, where the challenge is to write a piece of flash fiction with a 144-word limit (here, exactly 144 words). Included in the bit of prose is to be a complete line from a poem. For this prompt, the line to be included is the opening  line from”I wandered lonely as a Cloud,” by William Wordsworth.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
– William Wordsworth

Photo by Aakanksha Panwar on Unsplash

And… YAY!! New laptop.  It feels good to have those problems behind me.

More Than One Day ~ prosery

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr / 25 Comments

More Than One Day

The ills that have befallen our world are a direct result of our actions, from discarded waste that would choke the creatures we profess to cherish, to weather conditions that will not improve, no matter how heated the discussions, if nothing is done to change the practices that harm the very air we breathe. We are partners in her course and must turn it in a direction that would cherish nature.

Some will talk of the labors that have brought advances to mankind and ask why we should not enjoy those benefits. If that be your stance, then take a holiday. Just one day. And bring no book, for this one day we’ll give to idleness, mindful that for every day that follows we must accept our responsibility and put forth the effort needed to reverse those ills we have placed upon our world.

 

This is my response to Prosery: Bring no book! With Prosery, the challenge is to write a piece of flash fiction with a 144-word limit (here, exactly 144 words). Included in the bit of prose is to be a complete line from a poem. For this prompt, the line to be included is from”Lines written at a small distance from my house,” by William Wordsworth.

And bring no book; for this one day
We’ll give to idleness
                            – William Wordsworth

Also shared with earthweal weekly challenge: NATIVE TO THE NOW.

Image source: The Conversation