Rubicon – dVerse Open Link Week 122

November 12, 2013freyathewriter 16 Comments

Here’s my latest entry into the dVerse Open Link – why not take a look at all of the other wonderful responses?

Please don’t panic – despite the tone of the poem, it isn’t a reflection of how I feel. Offline, I am writing dystopian fiction, so I was pondering how a particular set of characters might feel in this world that I have created for them. This piece came from there, nowhere else.

Let me know what you think…

*****

– Rubicon –

Render me empty,
Sackclothed and dull
Darker than ditchwater
Coated in oil, rainbow-hued surface
Hidden depths that boil,
As I blunder, lamed, from crisis to fall
Render me empty
Sackclothed and dull

Render me hollow,
Empty my skull
Vacuous, ransacked
Littered with spoil, nutrients stolen
My still waters roil
As I falter, blinded, beleaguered, I fall
Render me hollow,
Empty my skull

Render me soulless,
Eviscerated, null
Grey, empty, mourning
Exhausted with toil, eyes bloodshot red
From life, I recoil
As I stumble, burdened and buried, I fall
Render me soulless
Eviscerated, null

Ready, Or Not – NaNo 3VisD 1

November 9, 2013November 9, 2013freyathewriter 4 Comments

Here’s my latest offering for Anonymous Legacy‘s photo-inspired prompt, VisDare. This week, and for the rest of NaNoWriMo, she’s ringing the changes, so the rules are a little different…

Use whichever photo you like for your VisDare.

OR

Use TWO of the photos of your choosing as a combined prompt.

OR

Use ALL THREE of the photos as a combined prompt.

Hmmm…. And we have 300 words to play with, rather than 150! Never one to avoid snatching at a laid down gauntlet, I’m going for all three photos!

(see Lillie McFerrin for image source references)

– Ready, Or Not –

The clearing had barely changed since last year and a momentary element of surprise rippled his skin. Logic reminded him that the chances of another lost soul landing here were non-existent. This place was his, and his alone.

This time, he had brought the tools of modern orienteering. A sat-phone, a GPS and solar-powered batteries all added weight to his backpack, providing a comfort to his anxious mind.

His luminous watch told him that the time was nearly here. Soon, they would appear. In the dark, he checked the settings of his camera, made sure it was ready to fire off shot after shot in rapid succession. All he needed to do was press the button.

He was ready.

***

“Hey! Brad! We’ve found it! The clearing is over there, look!”

“Hallelujah! Boy, I’m gonna give Donny a piece of my mind after this. This place is hotter than Hades!”

“D’you think he had an accident, or something?”

“If he hasn’t, I’ll make sure he has one after this –“

“Holy heck! Oh my, – oh God, Brad, no, quick!”

***

“Today, we remember the soul of Donald Aitken, an explorer and investigator of the Dark Times beyond our time and realm. He pushed the boundaries in an effort to reveal the secrets of this world, and beyond. Sadly, as we know, he chased hard and fast, and this time, met his end. Donald, we salute you.”