One by One
One by one they came
Two by two they fled
Others lingered by
the floating River Nigh
Raising the sun to their glasses
While fat ones sat on their asses
waves of chariots rushed the shore
Sent by flaming clouds in the sky
They caught hummingbirds in nets
and feasted on their pets
while roasting marshmallows fired by jets
But it all came to a head
as each floundered from their bed
their blue blood bled red
–and they cried, ‘Nevermore.’
~A Child’s Poem, from The Annals of Defiance – Thirteen Plagues
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I love this Peter! And that’s a fact! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you, Shelby!
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“their blue blood bled red” — Nice line, Peter. Very musical. 🙂
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Thank you, Hariod.
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Thank you.
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Thank you, Gigi.
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Great beat going on in this message Peter, especially powerful in the last four lines. Well done.
Esme waving upon the Cloud
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Thank you, esme. It’s good to see you. But, it’s not really seeing, is it? Oh well. How you’ve been?
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Good to see/read you too Peter grins. I have a sprained wrist and a broken rib after a cycling accident, so quite dramatic really hahahaha. It’s not as bad as it might have been, my bone density is very low and I expected to break a eg or an arm as I flew through the air. How are you? Better than that I hope!
Esme chucking herself all over the show upon the Cloud
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A broken rib and sprained wrist, oh my, esme. I am doing better than that, I’m glad to say. I hope your recovering is as pleasant as can be. I was in two serious bike crashes in my time, both when I was much younger, and both knocked me unconscious and left me battered and bruised but with no broken bones. So, I am in a position to feel your agony, somewhat. And, I offer my sympathies. Do take care.
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Thank you Peter, you are kind, and by gum you were lucky to come out of those accidents in one piece!
Esme pouring tea for herself and Peter gingerly with her left hand upon the Cloud
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Wow. How old is this poem, Peter? How on earth did you come across it?
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PS – I LIKE it, but don’t necessarily ‘like’ it, if ya know what I mean.
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It’s about a day and a few hours old. I wrote it yesterday, Friday. Was it the, ‘A Child’s Poem, from The Annals of Defiance – Thirteen Plagues’ that threw you? Well, let me tell you. I’m writing a novel(la)-length story, I started — I believe — in 2013. I’m 7 chapters deep, and the sun will burn out before I complete it, I’m sure. It is a post-apocalyptic fictional tale of two cultures separated by distance and philosophies, the only remaining people on earth. One is a culture of vegans and in a place called Freedom. The other, ruled by a dictator, whose name I haven’t settled on, in a ‘township’ called Destiny. And a girl named, Zhen, who encounters Destiny. And this poem, like some others I’ve drafted, will be chapter introductions; if that’s what these things are called that are placed before chapters.
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Apocalyptic is the word that comes to my mind when I read it, so yay! You are on the right path. You will finish it. And soon. Fantastic writing, Peter, for the ages. Cheers.
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Thank you, Shannon. Your compliment is an inspiration.
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Complacency is the food of cowards and conformists who fear change. Kick it, Peter. Billions are depending upon it.
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Wow, that kicked my ass into overdrive. I’m on it!
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Powerful observations and insights, Peter, and eloquently-said.
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Thank you, Carol.
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This is very, very interesting. I like it. Your writing is always powerful and your ideas for the novel(la) sound so interesting. Teasing my imagination, I want to know more……..
I hope you can finish it, the world needs your story. It really does.
I know how hard it is to ever be satisfied. I am working on a story, the first ideas and notes of which I made in 2014, so you’re not alone, it’s hard, but now it won’t let me be and I have to get it done, it haunts me…so much gets in the way and yet……we keep coming back……..on it goes………
I wish you well with it, I really hope you can find a way through it and allow it to be born and released to the world!!
Couple of little quotes for you, (you may know them already):
‘Artists threaten authority by exposing lies and inspiring passion for change. This is why when tyrants seize power, their firing squads aim at the heart of the writer.’
‘For although an artist may, in his private life, lie to others, even to himself, when he creates he tells the truth; and in a world of lies and liars, an honest work of art is always an act of social responsibility.’ R. McKee
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I wish I were able to devote more time to the story. Good luck with yours, I look forward to reading it.
BTW, I’ve come across a great writer’s tool, and perhaps you know of it or even use it yourself, it is called Scrivener by Literature and Latte. It’s a free to try download, and it’s only $40 US one time purchase. I recommend it. In fact, I can’s see writing a story without it, now that I’ve discovered it.
I love the quotes, they’re great and spot on. I have not seen them before.
https://www.literatureandlatte.com
Take care.
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I wish I had more time too, it’s so frustrating, all this stuff you want to get out and life just keeps pulling you away.
I have to confess, I did get Scrivener, some time last year, but after the initial excitement and exploring, I abandoned it I’m afraid, it seemed complex and I had little time and of course just slipped back into old habits. But someone else was singing its praises lately, and you rate it highly, so you may….may, just have convinced me to give it another go!!
Hope your work is going well!! (and yourself, of course!!)
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I think Scrivener a bit complicated too. But, I don’t really utilize all the features. I like how it breaks chapter/scene into separate documents. And I use the character sketches. Oh, and it has name finder tool too that I’ve used. That’s about it.
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Thanks for the advice. Still haven’t got to it.
One day, in the mythical future, when I have more time.
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