Remembrance Day

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.

****

Tomorrow is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK, and of course Monday is 11th November, Armistice Day.

Copyright - Nicola J Cutts

Copyright – Nicola J Cutts

The Light Fantastic – Five Sentence Fiction

It’s time for my latest offering to Lillie McFerrin’s Five Sentence Fiction, a weekly prompt where there is no word limit, just a limit on the number of sentences. Plus, although she provides a word prompt, it is just for direction only – you don’t have to include the word itself in your contribution.

This week, the prompt is  – DANCING.

old-couple-dancingImage Source

Do let me know what you think of my offering below – and whilst you’re at it, why not take a look at everyone else’s offerings (I’m sure they’ll be fabulous), and even give it a go yourself…

*****

– The Light Fantastic –

Maeve hummed to herself as Georgie guided her round, completing the reverse turn and feather finish to perfection, their signature move.

The music played on, the lights shone, her dress sparkling and glinting as it swayed around her calves – soft kisses against her skin.

Finally it came to an end, and she prepared her stage smile to acknowledge the applause from enchanted audience.

“We’re just too avant-garde for them, sweetheart,” whispered Georgie, as they marched across the dance floor, heads held high.

Silence followed their departure – 1930s Blackpool was just not ready for the sight of two women dancing together in public, not yet.

Lillie McFerrin Writes


Ricochet – Friday Fictioneers

Here is this week’s entry into the weekly challenge brought to us by the lovely Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

Here are the rules: Use the photo as inspiration, write a hundred(ish) words – and share! Here goes my offering for this week – and I welcome your comments again!

Copyright - Sandra Crook

Copyright – Sandra Crook

– Ricochet –

“Hello!”

…..Hello! Hello!

“Can you hear me?”

…..Hear me? Hear me?

“Come on, Sal, we haven’t got time to play echoes now.”

“I’m not playing.”

“Well, what are you doing, then? You did this when we visited that other amphitheatre last year – it was so embarrassing!”

“That was different. I was just wondering –“

“What?”

“I was just wondering – if Hitler had practiced his Nuremberg rally speeches somewhere like this and his words came back to him, do you think he might have listened to himself? Even changed his mind?”

“I wish I could say yes, but…”

“No. Me either.”

—-

Click on the blue froggy below to read others’ offerings!