From my bulkhead window seat I smile,
I buckle up, take a breath and sigh.
This sparkling crystal morn will be imprinted
on my ever-wakening mind’s eye…
Forever.
New paths (i’m told) will spread ahead for me,
I gladly (if warily) seize this dawning day,
Doors will open, closed doors soon will fade;
My fears should soon be allayed…
For now.
Yet all is changed, as soon I starkly stare
Her gaping, gashing, billowing, belching wound.
The moment gone, blue sky erased, as if
by artist’s charcoal smudge, without a sound…
Forever.
I soon will see, and re-see images of grief
Mid piles of steel and twisted, rusted truss
Brave souls will don impotent woven shield,
Their mask from falling ash of human dust…
For days.
Our dreams of blinded trust are all but gone,
We’ll live the pain and face down vicious hate.
We’ll stare it down, chase it from it’s lairs
of distant dirt and smokey, stoney slate…
For years.
My mundane trepidations cast aside
by smokey darkness, faded now to black,
As all who lived and died that dire day
will ne’er retreat, will ne’er, e’er go back…
Never.
〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰
Written in response to Trifecta Challenge:
MASK (noun)
Definition 3 a : a protective covering for the face
b : gas mask
c : a device covering the mouth and nose to facilitate inhalation
d : a comparable device to prevent exhalation of infective material
e : a cosmetic preparation for the skin of the face that produces a tightening effect as it dries
Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
The word itself needs to be included in your response.
You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.
On his crown, the Blenheim spot. His loft: a perch to watch the world go by. Until… “Want to go for a walk?” Dashing to the doorstep, Tail wagging, He welcomes his tether.
🐶🐶🐶
Trifextra Weekend Challenge: This weekend we’re asking for 30 of your own words plus the three following words for a total of 33 words.
Tether Loft Crown
It was a very windy, sparkling clear day, on the cliffs overlooking Villfranche sur Mer, when we stopped into the lounge for a sip. As we sat by the tall arching windows atop Eze Village at Le Cevre d’Or, we ordered our wine and were surprised to be served these delicious morsels. Not pictured here, was also a savory bowl of tasty olives. The sunlit plate screamed to be photographed, so I gave in, despite the fact that my only camera on hand was my iPhone. And that moment in time, in April 2012, was indeed captured to become part of our travel memories.
While most folks were enthralled to walk through the recently opened ‘gate’ to the new FantasyLand and its novel attractions, my camera lens was drawn, instead, upward from the ground to the flag at the top of the dramatic parapet, outlined so brilliantly against the summer Florida sky…truly an unusual POV!
Oddest creature: She spreads her lanky legs, Falling clumsily to her knees to slurp up water-gulps. She survives.
Tallest mammal: Sprinting across the savanna, Reaching tree-clumps; razor-sharp teeth gathering meals at dusk. She survives.
Strangest denizen: Darkening spots, unique as fingerprints, revealing her true age. She survives.
Nascent birth-giver: Sentinel of her species, Standing, dropping her calf to earth from harrowing heights. She survives.
Selfless mother: Awkward creature of grace, Gently bending her long neck To nurture her nestling babe. They survive.
Trifecta Writing challenge:
GRACE (noun)
1a : unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification…b : a virtue coming from God…c : a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace
2a : approval, favor …b archaic : mercy, pardon…c : a special favor : privilege …d : disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency…e : a temporary exemption : reprieve
3a : a charming or attractive trait or characteristic….b : a pleasing appearance or effect : charm …c : ease and suppleness of movement or bearing
Globule jiggling
Reflections wriggling
Within black-rimmed sphere.
Kaleidoscopic shimmer
as images glimmer
through the bubble.
Horizon dipping lower,
Rim receding, slower
and lower still.
Vision quest paced
As floaters erased:
My eye-view mending.
Notes: Beyond The Bubble.
Though retina surgery is not something I would normally opt for, It was with relief that I listened to the diagnosis: “Stage four macular hole.” To the uninitiated, this sounds dreadful. But I was relieved, because my earlier self-diagnosis (macular degeneration, an incurable, progressive condition) was wrong!
Vitrectomy, the remedial procedure for a macular hole, involves removing the vitreous, clearing macular debris, and replacing the vitreous fluid with a gas bubble; followed by 8 days of face-down positioning and three months of recuperation. The pressure of the gas bubble against the macula forces the hole to close.
Today, two weeks post-op, I am dealing with the minor inconvenience of seeing life through a gas bubble, that will dissipate slowly over the next three months; during which I must avoid flying, swimming, and working out. I take two sets of eyedrops three times a day, and must wear a bright green wristband, warning of the presence of the bubble.
Each day the bubble grows visibly smaller and each day I can see a little more over the diminishing rim of the jiggling sphere. As I peer over the pseudo-horizon of this fluid prism, I realize that I am truly the girl with a kaleidoscope eye – a small price to pay for repaired vision!
Cotton cloud-puffs, or
Roiling storm clouds on the boil,
Sunbeams or showers?
⛅⛅⛅⛅⛅
Trifextra Weekend Challenge:
This weekend’s prompt comes from Hello, Cheney, whose lapse in memory was a happy accident for us. This weekend we’re asking you to harken back to your grade school days and write a haiku. No word restrictions, just stick to the structure as defined below. And check out Cheney’s turkey post for an example.
HAIKU (noun)
: an unrhymed verse form of Japanese origin having three lines containing usually five, seven, and five syllables respectively
That’s when she noticed him for the first time – the first time in a decade.
As ten year-olds, they had known each other and ‘liked’ each other, when they co-starred in their 4th grade Christmas skit. Even then, she felt compelled to be near this cute little boy; so in response to Sister Grace’s threat to recast her role, she behaved and stopped giggling. Together they played their parts perfectly, never missing a cue.
Now, as he rose to take on the “Turkey Challenge” she noticed him – again – remembering cute Robert; wondering if he remembered too. His buddies were cheering and hollering, as he stood on the brink of making the ‘Haynes Lanes’ Hall of Fame’. Retrieving his ball for the third time, he stood straight and tall.
She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
He carefully took his practised place, just to at the right of the center mark, trusting that his natural curve would pull his ball right into the pocket, like a magnet sucking in iron shavings. In the pocket!
As he fielded congratulatory high-fives, their eyes met. She smiled. He smiled back.
Three years later, on the eve of their wedding day, he gave her ‘something old’, his Mother’s string of pearls. In the bottom of the box, lay a folded, yellowed-with-age scrap of paper – his forth-grade diary entry. Tears welled up, as she read the scribbled words:
“Today I got my seat changed. My girlfriend has red hair and red freckles.”
Yesterday, Raggedy Ann and her handsome Christmas Eve hero celebrated their 46th Wedding Anniversary!
🎳🎳🎳
Written in response to week 96 Trifecta Challenge:
This week we are asking you to have a little fun with us. The English language is chock full of words with unexpected meanings, and this week we’re giving you one to play with.
TURKEY
1: a large North American gallinaceous bird (Meleagris gallopavo) that is domesticated in most parts of the world
2: failure, flop; especially : a theatrical production that has failed 3: three successive strikes in bowling
4: a stupid, foolish, or inept person
The “wizard game” was still standing at the end of the boardwalk.
His quarter clattered into the clanky contraption. He closed his eyes. He made his wish:
Make me a boy again!
👵👵👵
Trifexta Weekend Challenge: This weekend, we’re enlisting your help in shortening our considerably lengthy bedtime routines by giving us a children’s bedtime story in exactly 33 words. It can be an old favorite reimagined or a work that is entirely your own.
It is late August, as I languorously sip my morning coffee on the bedroom porch, noticing the slightly nippy breeze that foretells the fast-approaching end of summer. I ponder how best to respond to this week’s Photo Friday prompt, “FROZEN“, and realize that the changing seasons color the epitome of that word, for me:
SUMMER: Only two weeks ago, we sat at Cap’n Jack’s in Downtown Disney, sipping icy cold, Golden Margueritas. We toasted to end of an era, as this treasured landmark would soon be closing.
AUTUMN: Soon, Indian Summer will wane and the cold winds of November will knock, as they did last year, when after Hurricane Sandy, we wistfully witnessed an early snow cover over the empty pool deck, with vague whispered memories of splashes and delighted squeals of slippery children, nipping at our memories.
WINTER: Mother Nature’s icy force will soon follow, blanketing the deck where I now sit, with half a foot, or more, of sparkling wet snow.
SPRING: Finally, and predictably, as our appetite for cold dissipates with the hope of revitalizing warmth, the thawing icicles will drip, drip, drip, from the very eaves that now shield me from the rays of sun.
Opal Reflections 