Category: Stories, poems and other short pieces

Gaia’s New Messenger

Chris Hall37 Comments

My uncle warned me of the hallucinatory effect of smouldering henbane, but it is the essence of my initiation. Surrounded by the maze of megaliths, my body floats. I round up the shrill cacophony of chanting voices, which buck around my head like wild horses at a rodeo, and corral them in a corner of my mind.

My head is clear and I am ready; the only sound I hear is the sweet voice of a nightingale singing.

The message is within me and I am the message.

To this modern world
which ransacks Gaia’s riches
I bring her revenge.

Image credit: Joshua Hicks, Unsplash

Written in response to two challenges:

– Di of Pensitivity101‘s Wednesday’s Three Things Challenge – MODERN, SING, SURROUNDED
– Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – RODEO

I have also set myself the additional challenges of confining my piece to 100 words exactly and writing this, now ongoing story, in the haibun form. Just for fun!

Topsy Turvy World

Chris Hall46 Comments

humankind turned upside-down
keeping safe’s what matters
all around the world
economies in tatters
scientists in overdrive
to keep one step ahead
corruption, disruption
stop now, keep your head
mixed message, fake news
sops to the masses
governments in disarray
staying put’s what matters

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #70 photo prompt.

Image credit; Lance Anderson @ Unsplash
The image shows tall skyscrapers lit in the evening light. In the front there is a small pale-coloured house resting at an angle on the ground, one side of it raised from the ground.

The Initiation Begins

Chris Hall45 Comments

We assemble at sunset. Goose-bumps cover the bared skin on my back, still tender from the previous pricking of the needle, which has marked me indelibly and for eternity.

Henbane and yarrow scent the air; charms and enchantments encircle the glittering granite standing stones, in a kaleidoscope of crashing consonants, while my uncle, a comfortable presence in the growing darkness, heralds the start of the ceremony with a single beat of an unseen gong.

Blindfolded, I am led to the centre of the circle. The ceremony begins.

In moonlight’s sphere
runes on ancient stones ignite;
the Mark of Gaia tingles.

Image credit: unsplash.com/@artifactflash

Written in response to two challenges:

– Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – COMFORTABLE, SKIN, TENDER
– Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – KALEIDOSCOPE

I have also set myself the additional challenges of confining my piece to 100 words exactly and writing this, now ongoing story, (loosely) in the haibun form. Just for fun!

We’ll Always Have Paris

Chris Hall68 Comments

In the new bloom of passion
and the early flush of spring
we first walked the boulevards
of the city of lovers
entwining ourselves
in darkening alleyways
indulging in delights
behind closed doors.

In long, lazy, late summer’s days
we roamed gardens and parks
and wandered through galleries
spent evenings in Montmartre
listening to a solitary pianist
playing our tune.

In the midst of winter now
we travel no more
but like Bergman and Bogart
we’ll always have Paris.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #69 photo prompt.

Image credit: Lucas Albuquerque
The title image shows a view of the Eiffel Tower at night when it is illuminated in golden light. In the foreground you can see the Seine river reflecting the lights.

Passing the Baton

Chris Hall57 Comments

My uncle is ebullient this morning, remarkably so. He is a man transformed; overjoyed outpourings spill from his lips as he beams at me across the breakfast table.

I, however, having  ploughed through piles of obscure texts and ancient tenets from the towering oaken shelves of my uncle’s library (previously off-limits to me), am less so. The taste of the delicious food on my plate is spoiled by the knowledge I have swallowed down over the weeks since my discovery.

I am to prepare for my initiation, he declares.

Passing the baton
gladdens the master’s heart; yet
the burden remains.

Image credit: unsplash.com/@romankraft

Written in response to two challenges:

– Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – DELICIOUS, OVERJOYED, SPOIL
– Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – PLOUGH (PLOW)

I have also set myself the additional challenges of confining my piece to 100 words exactly and writing this, now ongoing story, (loosely) in the haibun form. Just for fun!

Be Tranquil

Chris Hall62 Comments

Beauty transcends reason
Eloquence reaps her just reward.

Take a moment to tiptoe past your worries
Recall tributes, triumphs and tenderness
Augment your vessel of contentment
Negate all negative thoughts
Quelling the armies of anxiety
Under a big bright blanket of hope
Infuse yourself with inner strength
Life’s about the journey; go now, walk in peace today.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #68 photo prompt.

Richard Kesperowski @ Unsplash
The image shows a couple of water lilies growing in a pond of water.

Destiny calls

Chris Hall53 Comments

There is no going back from here, for what I discovered up in that dusty attic on that cold winter afternoon has marked me out.

Now I am one of them.

I should have obeyed my uncle’s directive, but I’d been determined to find out the truth. The secret that was hidden from me, that was buried along with my parents, whose mysterious disappearance has never been discussed.

But now I have the truth, I must face the challenge ahead: the one that all our people must face.

On the lonely road
our kind must travel alone;
destiny calls me.

Image credit: Chris Leipelt on Unsplash

Written in response to two challenges:

– Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – CHALLENGE, GOING, ROAD

– Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – MARK

Marking Time

Chris Hall59 Comments

Days which merge
one into another
marking time
tied down
by new normal’s rope.

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…

A ray of light
spills through the bars
a gap for hope
to squeeze through.

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…

How long before
with the tiny prick
of a needle
we widen the chink
in covid’s armour
and creep through
to emerge, blinking
in the light?

tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #67 photo prompt.

Tim Hüfner @ Unsplash
The photo shows a partially open gate, which is thrown in relief by a light filtering from a doorway.

Remembering how it used to be…

Chris Hall80 Comments

She stands on the hot, hard pavement, inhaling the ozone-laden breeze. Her eyes feast on the tempting glint of lapping waves breaking gently on the crescent of white sand, which circles the foot of the flat-topped mountain rising from the shining city by the sea.

Here in the city, where two oceans meet at the southern-most tip of the continent, she remembers all the summers when the whole world, it seemed, flocked to the beaches where they bathed and frolicked in the clear blue water.

The beaches are empty now.

An army truck rumbles past.

To keep it that way.

Image credit: Laurette van der Merwe

Written in response to two challenges:

Di of Pensitivity101‘s Three Things Challenge – CRESCENT, WORLD, BATHED

Denise Farley of GirlieOnTheEdge‘s Sunday’s Six Sentence Story Word Prompt – OCEAN

Better on the inside

Chris Hall52 Comments

~You’ll never be beautiful
(my mother said to me)

~Don’t take it to heart
(I said to myself)

mantra

choose your viewpoint shrewdly
it’s what’s inside that counts
discriminate accordingly
a kind heart trumps a pretty face

it’s what’s inside that counts
true beauty’s from within
a kind heart trumps a pretty face
seek out a splendid soul

true beauty’s from within
look for what’s beneath the skin
seek out a splendid soul
marvel at a brilliant mind

look for what’s beneath the skin
discriminate accordingly
marvel at a brilliant mind
choose your viewpoint shrewdly

Written in response to Sadje‘s What do You See #66 photo prompt.

Teslariu Mehai @ Unsplash
The image shows a person wearing a paper bag over their head. The words  “Photo shop” are written by hand on the bag.