Flatline

February 21, 2022 Chris Hall110 Comments

The image shows two skeleton’s hands reaching towards a digital device enveloped in purple-pink haze.

fingers slipping
joints clicking
every moment counts
digits creaking
thoughts fading
time is running out
no more posting
no more scrolling
you can’t WhatsApp me now
battery’s dying
signal’s failing
.
.
.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: 8machine@ Unsplash
The image shows two skeleton’s hands reaching towards a digital device enveloped in purple-pink haze.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #122 photo prompt

A Cry for Help!

Yep, my little spam problem is back *sigh*
If you see I’ve just popped a like in your post, please check your spam. Very likely you’ll find me there fuming. Please fish me out🎣

Unrequited

February 14, 2022 Chris Hall87 Comments

The image shows a couple dining. The man has a glass of wine in his hand and he is looking at his companion. The woman is staring the other way, holding a few long stem flowers.

He eyes her through the filter of his almost untouched wine glass, while she stares absently through sparkling windows at manicured gardens. Stiff as the starched collar of his borrowed shirt, he rehearses the lines he wants to say. He takes another taste of wine, the unfamiliar liquid rolls across his tongue. She sweeps from the table without a glance, leaving long-stemmed roses scattered in her wake.

seizing the moment
clutching a crimson flower
he strides after her
but she’s already dancing
in the arms of another.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: Olga Solodilova @ Unsplash
The image shows a couple dining. The man has a glass of wine in his hand and he is looking at his companion. The woman is staring the other way, holding a few long stem flowers.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #121 photo prompt

List Maker’s Lament

February 7, 2022 Chris Hall96 Comments

The image shows a chalk board with a caption, “Before I die” on the top. Below are slots where people can write their opinions.

She’d always been a great Maker of Lists:
(her memory was awful)
to do lists,
shopping lists,
books to read,
movies to see,
places to go,
even lists of lists!

She’d always said:
‘if I put it on the list, it will happen’.
And usually it did.

But now, on this, her birthday,
another milestone passed (largely unmarked),
it dawned on her.

Perhaps now, not everything on her great List of Lists
could be achieved (especially the books).

Future plans might have to be
a little less ambitious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: Google images
The image shows a chalk board with a caption, “Before I die” on the top. Below are slots where people can write their opinions.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #120 photo prompt

Like catching falling leaves

January 31, 2022 Chris Hall87 Comments

The image shows three young men standing by the roadside and laughing at a shared joke.

Oh, did we savour
time’s sweetest moments?
Fleeting memories
of shared jokes
of youthful conquests
of time gleefully misspent.

We should’ve savoured
life’s honeyed passage.
Fading recollections
of vows exchanged
of time well-spent
of dreams almost fulfilled.

Oh, we should relish
our happy golden years!
Savouring remembrances
like catching falling leaves
precious memorials
to time now past.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: Jed Villigo @ Unsplash
The image shows three young men standing by the roadside and laughing at a shared joke.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #119 photo prompt

Dying Embers

January 24, 2022March 16, 2022 Chris Hall82 Comments

The image shows a pair of spectacles to which a pair of rose-coloured clip-on attachment is affixed. You can see a view of skyline near a shore through these colored clip-ons.

She sits alone, staring into the crimson flames, a glass of ruby wine in her hand, the half-empty bottle on the wooden floor beside her. Muddy rivers run down her cheeks from red-rimmed eyes. She takes another sip and puts the glass down. Carefully. She rips off the pretty new blouse which he’d failed to notice – his eyes were elsewhere all night – flings it into the fire where the fabric curls like dead leaves; buttons pop in the heat. More wine sloshes in the glass.

betrayal revealed
in long lingering glances
scales drop from her eyes
sorrow seeps into her heart
dying embers fill the grate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: Tathanhtaun @ Pexabay
The image shows a pair of spectacles to which a pair of rose-colored clip-on attachment is affixed. You can see a view of skyline near a shore through these colored clip-ons.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #118 photo prompt

He will conquer

January 17, 2022 Chris Hall73 Comments

The image shows a person standing on top of a rock, his feet straddling two projections. In the background, you can see the skyline and down below some houses.

solo traveller
striding through life’s long journey
youthful confidence
casts trepidation aside
to reach the ultimate goal

he seizes the day
glorying in his triumph
all demons vanquished

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: Suliman Sallehi @ Pexels
The image shows a person standing on top of a rock, his feet straddling two projections. In the background, you can see the skyline and down below some houses.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #117 photo prompt

Writing Challenge – The E-Book TBR Pile

January 15, 2022January 18, 2022 Chris Hall44 Comments

Wonderful writer, reader and reviewer, Diana of Myths of the Mirror blog has thrown down her velvet gauntlet for a fun writing challenge. Here’s what she says: “I don’t know anyone who owns a Kindle (or other ebook reader) and isn’t buried in books. We groan as we add more to the stack… then laugh about it and buy more! That’s my situation anyway.”

That’s my situation too!

Here are the details of Diana’s challenge – The Teetering TBR Pile – the challenge is open until 23 January if you’d like to join in too.

This is my response:

Ode to My Kindle

Kindle, my Kindle, how do you compare
to those wretched stacks of curling pages
whose covers dim in daylight’s brightness
spines rendered unreadable by old age?

Shelves piled high with neither rhyme nor reason
unruly stacks wobbling and tottering
set to tumble in thunderous cascades
engulfing unwary readers in words.

Kindle, my Kindle, how long has it been
since first we browsed those virtual bookshelves
hovering o’er Amazon’s icons bright
daring downloads at the click of a key?

Far have we travelled by land, air and sea
since I first loaded a heap of beach reads
oh, my Kindle, faithful companion
never rejecting yet another book.

~~~~~~~~

While you’re here, fellow overstuffed e-readers, can I just tempt you to just one more teensy-weensy book? The book birthday freebie offer I was running has finished, but you can download Song of the Sea Goddess for a snip: USA ~ UK ~ IND ~ AUS ~ CAN ~ ESP ~ South Africa and the Rest of the World

Afterwards

January 10, 2022 Chris Hall72 Comments

You can see a young person’s silhouette against a pink sky. You can see a subdued sun in the sky and birds flying in circle.

emerging at last
from an underground cocoon
pale sun still shrouded
yet emerald shoots glisten
birds are calling to the dawn

post-apocalypse
nature is undefeated
what will man do now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: LuizClas@ Pexels
The image shows a young person’s silhouette against a pink sky. There is a subdued sun in the sky and birds flying in circle.

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #116 photo prompt

Return to innocence

January 3, 2022 Chris Hall80 Comments

*We see a black and white kitten playing with a green flower-bearing shoot*
*growing in between the paving stones*.

Remember what it was like
to be full of wonder?
When every day brought
a fresh new adventure?

To view the world
curious and unafraid
without prejudices
or preconceptions
open to possibilities
alive with expectations,
just starting out
on life’s path?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image credit: Dimhou@Pixabay

Written in response to Sadje‘s What Do You See #115 photo prompt