Here is Colleen Chesebro’s 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge #7. I used In the Sky words from the season list for my tanka poem 5/7/5/7/7: autumn wind and ice or icy.
icy autumn wind
ahead of winter’s visit
stripes the tree’s glow
carelessly tosses those leaves
where gleeful children frolic
Hi,
I decided to do a second challenge today. This is Teagan R. Geneviene’s Halloween Creativity Challenge. We were asked to write a story, poem, advertisement, song, or whatever we liked. There was a chart and we were to go by the letter of our first name and get: a Halloween thing, a hero, and a costume. Mine for D were: Horror Movies, Postman, and Ninja. Although, I never mentioned horror movies, but I felt it read like one. I started out as a short haibun but it grew. Here is my story that ends with micro poetry or a really long haibun 🙂
A Halloween Walk Through the Woods
The wind’s chill cut through my ninja costume. My black boots clicked against the icy cement path that took me through the dark forest. The only light came from my cell phone flashlight. Why did I think taking a shortcut from my house to my neighbor’s Halloween party was a good idea? A loud crack came from behind me, and my heart took off like my heavy feet wanted to do. It sounded like something large had stepped on a tree branch. A bear or… No, that’s a question I shouldn’t ask.
My step quickened, and I wished I had the actual weapons of a ninja. A laugh vibrated through the trees. Unless someone dressed as the wicked witch was behind me and was perfecting their cackle, I was in trouble. At least I had on all black. I shut the flashlight off and made a run for it as fast as my old heart would allow. The laughter crept closer, and I veered off the exposed path into the thick trees.
Then I hid behind the biggest cedar, or maybe it was a pine. I didn’t care. I took a deep breath and slowed down my haggard breathing. My eyes adjusted to the darkness as the laughter and a dark figure were right where I had just been.
A baritone voice called out, “Are we playing hide and go seek tiny ninja? What a fun game you’ve given me on Hallowed Eve. It will make your blood taste all the better, little human.”
I remained silent. It was my only chance. Right then, the heavy cloud cover parted. Moonlight hit the thing directly as its laughter grew louder, echoing off my soul. His pale skin was jagged, like an alligator. Nothing is that tall, nothing human, that is. That was no costume. I had to close my eyes, or what I was seeing would drive me mad.
The next part is unbelievable, but it happened. A woman wearing a light button-up shirt and black pants carrying the same bag as our mailman with a pulsing blue wand marched right up to the monster.
“I surrender.” The thing fell to its knees and held up his arms.
Four letters on the bag glowed in yellow that brightly lit the scene: USPS. The woman with dark curly hair nodded and opened her bag. The creature dissipated into spinning green sparkles that flowed into the bag’s mouth.
“You are safe now,” she said and waved in my direction. “Time to make a delivery.”
Before I could decide how to respond, the evil and the woman were gone.
mail carrier hero
possessed a magical bag
saved me in the woods
I chose from the list of words provided this week and went with apple bee. After some research, I found it was a wasp. It is like our very active ground wasps that have earned the name meat bee here. They enjoy apples but also any meat. They make eating outside impossible and football BBQs a challenge. I have talked about them before in a previous post.
They are at the doors. The moment I step outside, they are already bumping against me in a warning I take seriously. This has been the worst year I can remember. Their attacks usually increase this time of year before their ground hives die down, leaving a queen and some workers for next spring. Many people I’ve talked to have been stung, that includes me. It isn’t just one sting, but several at once. Not sure what made it such a terrible year for them, but it sure is.
Here is the very first of Colleen Chesebro’s 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, No. 1 Tanka Tuesday.
We are to write poetry using the current season words. A list was provided. I decided to use “harvest moon,” and this is a tanka 5/7/5/7/7.
parched forest’s rapture
beneath autumn’s harvest moon
nimbus clouds emerge
sparkling stars disappear
Mother Nature’s magic trick
Embrace your inner child with poetry. D. L. Finn
I didn’t plan on extra posts during my blog tour, but I couldn’t pass this up. Here’s Colleen Chesebro’s Special Birthday Prompt #TankaTuesday Weekly #Poetry Challenge No. 316. The prompt was: Create a syllabic form with 65 syllables, or a combination of words that amount to 65.
I went with 65 syllables. I combined three senyru 5/7/5 poems with two repeat seven-syllable lines that connected them. I used a “birth” and “faerie” theme 🙂 Title not included in count.
CELEBRATION
dazzling sage eyes
captivating windswept smile
loving elation
forest faeries celebrate
magical moment
nestled amongst mighty redwoods
under the mushrooms
forest faeries celebrate
food, presents, balloons…
welcome the baby princess’
first enchanted breath
Here is this week’s Colleen Chesebro Tanka Tuesday Weekly Challenge No. 307. It is Synonyms Only and the words to work from are: change & grow.
the shift was subtle
as the world nurtured our years
sprouting our wisdom
This week’s Colleen Chesebro Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge # 306 is Colleen Chesebro Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge # 306—a photo prompt.
The blood-red petals
beguiled the barren landscape
beacon of beauty
pollinates life sorrows
Bringing forth love’s healing blooms
Hi,
Today I submitted a short story of 1300 words over on Vocal. The Challenge was to start the story with “If walls could talk…” and then write it from their point of view. It is a mixture of the paranormal and a touch of horror. Stop by and offer a like, share, or comment if you can.
Hi!
I just posted a new poem over on Vocal for a challenge. Next week I’ll be posting a short story I’m working on, and will let you know when it goes live 🙂 I’d love for you to stop by and say hello.