Tag Conflict

Disastrous – Five Sentence Fiction

freyathewriter 8 Comments

conflict_analysis

“This isn’t working any more.”

“But Carrie, I don’t understand – what did I do wrong?”

Nothing, Jay, nothing at all – everything runs out of steam eventually.”

“But what am I supposed to do now?”

“Go down to the goddamn store and buy a new TV, duh!”

————–

For some people, a broken TV is a calamity! I hope you enjoyed my sideways look at life’s little problems.

Here is my latest entry into the lovely Lillie’s Five Sentence Fiction, where she has provided this latest photo for us as this week’s inspiration. Please do visit here to read more entries – and do take part – it’s fun!

In which nobody is satisfied – VisDare 63

freyathewriter 9 Comments

4a68062ee2c258ecd67a401cb6b5e7fa-2Photo Source

worker ants are we

carrying our load

that over the years

has become leaden, unwieldy

and grown knife-sharp

burrs digging into skin and necrotising flesh

eroding and abrading

laden with expectation

wants have transformed into needs

more urgent than water

than the very air we breathe

infinite possibilities are subsumed

in unrelenting grey dolour

as unstoppable as time itself

 

it takes strength to resist

to walk away from the pressure

and those who say ‘just do it’

and those who say ‘it’s not that easy’

are both right

each from their own perspective

each from their own prison

each hearing, but not listening –

empathy is necessary

more so these days than ever, perhaps

and yet the white noise deafens

we are hoodwinked and blinded

and through wilful isolation

we choose to fail to realise –

we are not alone.

——-

Here’s my latest entry into VisDare this week, the prompt run by the lovely Angela. I have chosen to write in poetic form this time, but of course, I have met the guide of using 150 words or less! Please feel free to read, comment, critique or just enjoy, whatever you prefer.

I am going through a bit of a political phase on my blog at the moment, as you will see from here  and here. Of course, all of life is political and politics invites people to disagree with your opinions. Wouldn’t life be dull (or horrific) if we all had the same viewpoint? I’m not great at arguments, they do put me in turmoil. But life requires you to be brave, right?

Remembrance Day – for Combat Stress

freyathewriter 2 Comments

I was not just enshrined in black and white
trained to react to a whistle
and launch myself over the top
I didn’t just stare at No Man’s Land
jumping at every falling leaf
nerves shot to pieces, trembling with fear
I was not just shipped hastily to Europe
attempting to aid our Allies
in facing down the Nazi machine
I was not just despatched to the Mediterranean
sand-whipped and sweating
to fight in a theatre far flung from home
I am not a romantic notion of old boys and idealism
telling war stories of camaraderie
I am not decades past.
I am the young man hobbling down the street
I am the hands held out for a bit of spare change
I am the woman bound to a wheelchair
I am the mental health patient facing down the day
I am sitting next to you on the bus.
I am here.
Remember, I am here.

****

I first wrote this poem for Remembrance Day last November, but I noticed that Monday 12th May 2014 marks 95 years since an amazing UK charity, Combat Stress, has been helping armed forces veterans overcome mental illness. I (or Freya’s real-life, living, breathing, alter-ego) will be making a donation to this charity, because it is vitally important that their work continues. In World War One, some soldiers were put on trial, even executed, for desertion and cowardice when exhibiting symptoms of shell shock, or what we now know to be PTSD. People who volunteer their lives for us should be given all the help they can get. I hope you will spread the word.