CONIC hat, dunce’s cap, worn in corner. As student, always last, the
OMEGA,
CADET who seems destined for puniness.
CANNY strategist begins early: force them into deadly underestimation.
2023-02-25 words
CONIC, OMEGA, CADET, CANNY
Am I the Exception
RIVETed, the listeners sit around the fire.
CREAKing tree limbs, teller’s voice the only sounds. Tale:
CACHE of gold, three weeks’ journey. Dreams flare in their hearts.
CHILLs as teller states: none have returned from trying. Each thinks: Am I the exception?”
Eerie Geocache
While
RIVETed to the stash in an unearthed geo-
CACHE, a
CREAKing cellar door sent a rash of
CHILLs tingling down her spine.
Unsinkable
CHILLy waters marked by silent sirens:
CREAK nor clang nor song do they sing.
CACHE of brute strength waiting, watching:
RIVET and bulkhead’s final cries ring.
See more at Notes by Steven.
2023-02-24 words
RIVET, CREAK, CACHE, CHILL
Farewell
DRAFT of letter written.
JERKY breaths now. Get a grip for the edits.
DOZEN stray thoughts, weight of time increasing as days tick closer to zero.
BLINK, breathe: try to do the last things well.
Author’s pain
The
DRAFT of my latest kid’s fantasy still seems
JERKY – yet I’ve gone through it more than a
DOZEN times. I have to keep my eyes wide open; if I
BLINK the whole thing will send up a literary stink.
In the Frost
DRAFT of frigid air makes me quiver
JERKY shivers, and I
BLINK a
DOZEN winks but teardrops freeze as the breeze takes my breath and sends it out in a cloud ahead of me.
Rehearsal
DRAFT each role’s lines carefully in your mind, rehearse a
DOZEN times to cement exactly how it all will go;
BLINK–the conversation derailed––revealing the hidden
JERK You refused to admit lay below.
See more at Notes by Steven.