55 - Aloft

I told him he wouldn't get very high
in that big wicker basket he just had to try.

As I watched him climb in, I refused to lie:
No way would he ever sail up to the sky.

He insisted on going. I stifled a sigh.
I gave him a kiss, then wished him good-bye.

About Friday Flash 55: The challenge is to write a complete story in fifty-five words. If you've written a 55-flash, go let The G-Man know!

Love Poem

You touched my hand in the rain
and told fine fairy tales.

(lies and ghosts of lies)

Each burning night
was followed
by cool torment
of showers in afternoon.

(you said you were the one)

From the brown murky shadows
of my most foretelling dream
you haunted, made me think forever.

(stories for credulous children)

In the end I was left with

Only me.

Today I will climb up on my rooftop
in the glory of a spring morning.
Free of who I thought you were,
I will bind my heart to nature's truth

And dance.

This is a Sunday Scribblings post.

55 - Don't Feed the Animals

She watched with anxious eyes as they made their way to a table. There were good things on their plates, she just knew it! But although they waved at her, snapped pictures and jabbered in their nonsensical way, they never offered to share their bounty.

"Please Don't Feed the Animals," read the sign.

Damn tourists.

About Friday Flash 55: The challenge is to write a complete story in fifty-five words. If you've written a 55-flash, go let The G-Man know!

Stolen Key

A few stolen moments,
ten stories high.
The gravel crunches underfoot
and air conditioners hum.

we're not supposed to be here

Drifting through the early sky,
pink and golden clouds
look succulent, delicious,
like the flesh of a pilfered peach.

hush and watch the sun rise

Skyscrapers glitter at this hour,
columns of reflected fire.
No worries yet of profit and loss,
only a faint troubling smell of coffee.

don't let the morning go

Drink the golden air.
Stop today's arrival.
Forget the life that waits below,
where headlights pierce the gloom.

don't say it's time to go

Before we can breathe again,
this moment will have passed.
Just another sunrise
stolen by the day.

This is a Sunday Scribblings post.

55 - Night Road

Delayed along their journey. Too many stops for food, photographs, the rare clean restroom. Now behind schedule, their reservation in doubt, they press on, their high beams the only light on the darkened road.

Certain of the rightness of their persistence, she counts the reflectors, sighs and takes his hand.

They'll be there before morning.

About Friday Flash 55: The challenge is to write a complete story in fifty-five words. If you've written a 55-flash, go let The G-Man know!

55 - Almost Famous

The boy was brought before the tribal council. The charge: defacement of property. His so-called "art" wasn't even very good. He was a disgrace to his people!

"Young man, what do you have to say for yourself?" the tribal leader asked.

The boy just lifted his chin and smiled. "Someday my art will be famous!"

About Friday Flash 55: The challenge is to write a complete story in fifty-five words. If you've written a 55-flash, go let The G-Man know!