The darkness seeps in
The night takes hold
Everything is still
No sounds
Clouds shroud the stars
Stagnant air hangs firm
I carve a path ahead
Looking towards morning
Reaching for light
Searching for hope
Safe in knowing
The sun will rise again
*****
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – carve
What’s behind the door is a wonder
Do we dare tempt fate and take a peek
Do we sit back and worry it will open on its own
Do we refuse to leave our comfort zone and move forward
What is life without a little challenge
How do we grow
How do we learn
How do we gain understanding
The only way to know is by taking that risk
See what is ahead
See what possibilities exist
See what we can become
… just grab the handle and pull
*****
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – door
It is happening again
I feel the darkness sink in
Everything is murky
Out of focus
And so far out of reach
Then the air starts to leave me
I can’t take a breath
The water will drown me
It feels like impending death
One last time I burst upwards
Towards the light of hope
Reaching for your hand
Hoping you can find me
In this sea of fears
Where I feel myself
Drowning too often
Hoping your hand will guide me
Towards the comfort of shore
And your waiting friendship
Where I don’t feel so alone anymore
****
Written for Sadje’s prompt What Do You See (WDYS) #147
I feel like disaster is waiting
Hiding around the corner
One thing after another
Keeps going wrong
And you are still not here
Not where I can see you
Not near enough to touch
Not within my senses at all
I am trying to be strong
And weather this awful storm
But I would feel much safer
Wrapped up in your arms
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – disaster
Asking for help is hard
Admitting I need a hand
Gets easily caught in my throat
People tell me I am strong
Then why do I feel so weak
The day can turn in the blink of an eye
Leaving me afraid of my shadow
Fear overwhelming me
And I am left searching
The small list of friends I have
And who I think can assist me
From letting the darkness take over
Will you give of your time today
Or am I as alone as I feel
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – assist
She was walking back to her car after work. The street ahead of her was deserted but she was still on edge. She turned around and saw an empty street behind her, but she just couldn’t shake the uncanny feeling she was being followed.
When she got to her car, she immediately locked her doors once inside. As she went to start the car, she saw her hands were shaking. Why was she so uneasy? Putting the car into gear she was about to back up when a knock on the passenger window about sent her to the ER with a heart attack.
She looked at the window only to see her coworker standing there waiting. She rolled the window down and asked, “What’s up Seth?”
“My car won’t start. Any chance you could give me a ride home?”
She thought this was what she had been sensing, Seth watching her as he sat in his car. Suddenly at ease, she unlocked the doors and let Seth in. “Sure, I can. You are on the North side of town, right?”
Seth answered her and it proved to be the last words she heard as a stranger walked up to the car and fired two shots into the car killing both her and Seth. She should have kept her guard up.
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – uncanny
“Indifference, to me, is the epitome of evil.”
– Elle Wiesel
To see the display of violence that took place at our capitol yesterday… I must speak up. I must say I fear for our country. I fear that evil has taken hold of the democracy I grew up in. I heard today there was talk of invoking the 25th amendment. I feel helpless here, unable to do anything to save the United States in the last few days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
But maybe that is not right. I have already done my patriotic right, like millions of other Americans did, by voting in the general election last November. And it has been registered and verified and certified and any other “fied” it needs to be. It was saved from the destruction of the rioters when someone grabbed the boxes it was transported in. It has been made official in congress that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be in power in less than two weeks now. I just hope we make it that long.
What happened Wednesday at the capitol cannot happen again. We cannot turn a blind eye to it either. We need to make sure the guilty parties are punished to the full extent of the law. I am still haunted by the fact that our president said he “loved” the rioters… how can he defend them when they attacked our government? Does anyone have the answer?
Written for Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC) – epitome
The ominous night stretched before me
A black ink sky without a single star
The moon was shuttered by the clouds
A howling wind moved the leafless trees
Each step I took echoed in the near darkness
A lone streetlight dimly glowed
As I approached my car a figure turned the corner
I quickly unlocked my car and got in
I was a bit spooked from the night
The figure continued to approach
He stood in front of my now running car
Just standing there staring at me
I was afraid to take my eyes off of him
I slowly put the car in reverse
He took a step forward
I backed up further and he began to walk
Keeping pace with my car
I was now in the middle of the deserted street
My car stopped and him still staring at me
I reached to the passenger seat to get my phone
The man moved to my left
I made sure my doors were locked
He carried something in his hand
But with the dimly lit street
I could not make it out until
He lifted his hand up with the axe in it
All I could do was scream “Oh, my God!”
… that’s when my alarm went off.
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – ominous
I want to thrive
But I barely survive
I wish and hope
And barely cope
Moments of happiness
Compete with sadness
I feel so alone
In pain I moan
The nights are long
My thoughts all wrong
Maybe by mornings light
I will find some inner fight
Until I find some bliss
Living life I will miss
As I hide away in fear
I wipe away another tear
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – survive
I see them there
Perfectly in line
Diamonds after diamonds
Completing the design
I know the pattern well
As a looked at that table
For week after week
Hoping you’d meet me there
But you never did
I don’t know if you were
Afraid of me
Afraid of us or
Afraid of yourself
But we never met there
And ten years later
I still wonder if you had
Would things have ended differently
Would you still be my friend
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – design
Leigha Robbins 