| Here is my poem for Suzanne Burke’s ‘Fiction In A Flash Challenge 2021.’ New Image Prompt Week #32. |
This is another Haibun Poem that is a prose paragraph(s) and Haiku/Senryu that connect based on the picture below.
THE ESCAPE
Darkness was closing in on Dara as the purple sunset’s last streaks gave way to the stars peeking through heavy clouds. The branches clawed at her arms and legs as she pushed her way through the brush. Her sweatshirt couldn’t hold back the icy chill that threatened snow. Dara had escaped that crazy man who grabbed her at the bus stop. She’d walked all day through the thick forest and was positive she’d put enough distance between her and evil, but now she was lost. A chill raced through Dara as she remembered his garbled words behind the clown mask.
“No one will hear you scream here, Little Miss.”
He hadn’t even bothered to learn her name. Dara rammed her foot into a log that sent a jolt of pain through her body. Tears ran freely down her face as she sunk onto the crunchy forest floor. Her hand bumped into a cold glass object that had the bitter scent of kerosene. She felt its handle and base. It was a lantern just like her grandma would use when the power went out. There was a package of matches taped to the top. She struck the wooden match and was rewarded with the scent of sulfur and an orange flame. Hopeful, she turned the knob and held the match to the wick. It worked. The night became a little less scary in the lantern’s warm glow. Please show me how to get back to my family.
Her prayers were answered
When the magical lantern
Brought her safely home.
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