“When did you know you were lost?” he asked (so wise),
Since he’d been there and back, a long time yore
he’d gone too far astray, his sad demise
lay fossil-like: a starfish washed ashore.
His journey was circuitous, yet sure
of his intent, he forged beyond the seams,
To sear the fabric, cutting to the core
Deluded by the cloak of fleeting dreams.
His question hit her hard, or so it seemed,
She’d hidden far too well, her fatal flaws
well-masked, and cloaked by foolish, flighty schemes,
Now suddenly in view, beyond the gauze.
Their eyes locked hard, her answer soft, intoned:
“I didn’t! Help me find my long way home.”
Speakeasy rules:
Your post must be dated June 29, 2013, or later.
Submissions must be 750 words or fewer.
Submissions must be fiction or poetry.
You must use the following sentence as the FIRST line in your submission: “When did you know you were lost?” he asked.
You must also include a reference to the media prompt.
The speakeasy is for submissions written specifically for the grid. Please don’t submit an entry if you intend to showcase it to another blog link-up. Such posts are deleted without notice and you’ll find yourself wandering the desert looking for dessert.
Please don’t post long explanations before your post. We want your writing to be the star of the show. If you need to clarify anything, feel free to do so at the end.
Sometimes it takes another person to point out something we should see, like we’ve strayed off path. I also like how you used circuitous… That’s the word I missed at the county spelling bee in 4th grade 🙂
It’s funny how memories like that spelling bee remain vivid in one’s mind. I wonder how many fourth graders today have ever heard the word. Thanks for commenting, Janna. Have a fun 4th of July.
Thank you. I’ve always been fascinated by Starfish, remembering the Starfish stories used by management to urge “making a difference”: A man walked along the beach, throwing starfish, one by one, back into the ocean; when an onlooker noted that with hundreds, thousands of starfish on the beach, it was a futile effort. When asked “what difference can you make”, the man responded, as he tossed another starfish into the briny: “it made a difference to that starfish!”
Opal Reflections 
Sometimes it takes another person to point out something we should see, like we’ve strayed off path. I also like how you used circuitous… That’s the word I missed at the county spelling bee in 4th grade 🙂
LikeLike
It’s funny how memories like that spelling bee remain vivid in one’s mind. I wonder how many fourth graders today have ever heard the word. Thanks for commenting, Janna. Have a fun 4th of July.
LikeLike
I agree with Meg. The starfish metaphor was resounding!
LikeLike
Thanks. ‘ Resounding’ is a wonderful word!
LikeLike
I really like this poem! I love the way you make the rhythm and rhyme flow so smoothly together, and I really love the last line ❤
LikeLike
Thank you. It was an interesting prompt, and I loved the photo.
LikeLike
Another beautiful poem, Joanne! I love this line in particular: “Deluded by the cloak of fleeting dreams.” Wonderful take on the prompts! 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Suzanne.
LikeLike
A sonnet! I especially like this aside (so wise) in the first line, and the turn at the end.
LikeLike
Thank you…I had to give it an iambic pentameter Rythm.
LikeLike
Lovely rhyming. I liked this best:
he’d gone too far astray, his sad demise
lay fossil-like: a starfish washed ashore.
LikeLike
Thank you. I’ve always been fascinated by Starfish, remembering the Starfish stories used by management to urge “making a difference”: A man walked along the beach, throwing starfish, one by one, back into the ocean; when an onlooker noted that with hundreds, thousands of starfish on the beach, it was a futile effort. When asked “what difference can you make”, the man responded, as he tossed another starfish into the briny: “it made a difference to that starfish!”
LikeLike