Hello, word artists and admirers! When working through a lengthy
project or task, sometimes I’ll think about what the moment of finishing looks
like. What is the task I need to complete that officially marks the project as done? Since I’ve been
thinking a lot about what done looks like for me, I shall ask you to do the
same in this week’s optional prompt. Shape your words around the phrase, “the
finishing touch” (you don’t need to use the exact phrase). As always, prose and
poetry are welcome here, as are fiction and non-fiction. Just be sure to keep
your word count to 369 or fewer and one entry per person please.
Next week, Rosemary will ask us to be inspired by the phrase "Broken glass crunching under the boot steps".
I had planned
to tell you that this wasn’t another excuse to add some of the books you love
to my to-be-read list. But it’s rather late (and I’m
way too tired for fibbing), my dear poets and storytellers. So, here
it goes: for today’s optional prompt, I invite you to write poetry or
prose which includes the complete title of one of your favorite books. And
if you’re feeling extra generous, tell me why your chosen title is a favorite.
Let
your contribution be new or old, fiction or nonfiction, short or longish(369wordsorfewer). Share the direct link to your post. One link per
participant, please. After you share your words, visit other writers, read the
pieces inspired by their favorite reads, tell them how you like it.
for next week, Rommy says, “the phrase is ‘the finishing touch’.
Write something inspired by it.”
My commiserations to all those in North America who have recently been suffering smoke-filled skies. How strange and startling to see images of even huge cities covered in haze, the sun ghost-like!
How do you feel about cities anyway?
I prefer to live in a small town nowadays, probably because I grew up in one (or thought I did! I've since learned it was classified as a city even then). However, I’ve fallen in love with particular cities in the past: Venice, Cusco, Edinburgh, Kathmandu … all places where, when I first encountered them, I dreamed of living happily forever after. I am told I might not like any of them so well now, when they are much more crowded and polluted.
There are some cities I dreamed of seeing but never did. Above all, I’d have loved to visit Paris: so legendary in so many ways. My late husband, Andrew, dreamed of taking me to Spain, particularly Barcelona, which he had loved as a young man spending time in Europe. That never happened either – though we did see together, and love together, those cities I’ve mentioned above, to which I longed to move permanently.
I used to enjoy living in the city of Melbourne when I did live there, which was most of my adult life. Since I left, it too has become more crowded and polluted, as I know from visits back to see family and old friends. I’m glad I don’t live there now. (Just the traffic! OMG.) Even back then, I had a theory that no-one actually chooses to live in Melbourne: they're either born there, or somehow they just end up there.
I’ve been away from Melbourne almost 30 years, nearly as long as I lived there. Yet some nights, over the years since, I've dreamed that I'm in my car, driving through particular Melbourne suburbs in the area where I lived the longest, where I brought up my children. This puzzles me when I wake, because although it was an important and eventful part of my life, much happened before and since which, in my waking hours, I'm more inclined to dwell on. (And it’s not as if I’ve ever been all that keen on driving – though, as a young mum, I was called on to do a lot of it.)
How is your relationship to cities? In general, do you find them thrilling or are they the stuff of nightmares?
Are there particular ones you dream of exploring, or recall with delight? Is it your own city you love? (It’s no secret that some of us, like Jim and Rajani, are well-travelled. And our Magaly, of course, lives in the quintessential city, New York.)
Are there cities which pop up in your sleeping dreams, as Melbourne does in mine? Perhaps even imaginary cities?
Do you, perhaps, cherish a Utopian dream of the ideal city?
Your optional prompt this week is to tell us which city (or cities) you dream of — in whatever way.
Guidelines: 369 words maximum please, excluding title; one post per person; link (below) to that post on your blog; please take time to read some other responses too. You may also leave us a comment here, or a quick hello.
Have fun!
Next week, Magaly will invite us to write poetry or prose which includes the complete title of one of our favorite books.
A view of the city of Melbourne, and the Yarra River
Hello, Word Artists and Admirers! In my last blog post I had
mentioned that I wrote a tanka in honor of a fellow tea student getting her tea
name. What I didn’t mention is I also had the huge honor of performing the thin
tea portion at one of the gatherings to honor her. Being the host at a tea
gathering was one of the things on my bucket list (and an experience I hope to
repeat again).
So for this week’s optional prompt, I’d like you to consider
your bucket list—either something you’ve already crossed off or something yet
to be done—and use that to inspire your words. Poetry and prose are welcome, as
is fiction and non-fiction. Just please keep your words to 369 or fewer and one
entry per person please.
Next Week, Rosemary will ask you "Which city do you dream of?"
While staring
at a rather long list of things left half-done, and with no idea of
how to get started again, a Christina Rossetti quote comes to mind: “Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work
never begun.” So, I guess, the sadness is less than total.
I’m
still struggling with the issue. In fact, trying to figure out how to tackle
the problem has been consuming a lot of my thinking time. Which explains, my
dear poets and storytellers, today’s optional prompt: write poetry or
prose inspired by an unfinished project or 50.
If
this prompt doesn’t speak to you, then share a piece that sings. Your
contribution can be new or old, short or longish(369wordsorfewer), fiction or nonfiction. Share the direct link to your post. One link per participant. Visit other poets and storytellers.
next week,
Rommy will invite us to write about something on our bucket list (either
something we have done or still have yet to do).
