Wednesday 26 June 2013

Sister, Waiting


(A writing prompt from Write on Edge using the picture below, from Trifecta using the word "Rusty" and from Studio30+ using the word "Shower" - no more than 333 words)


I start and end here on the timeless rocks, and the sea is endless.   Here is the place where I rest, and feast, and rejoice, and mourn and where I wait, where I always wait.

Here on the rocks where once I saw long low ships with bright sails, distant things with black winged birds above them seeking out land.    Those ships knew me, though not by name, and sometimes I reached out with my need and I took them.

Sunrises and sunsets turned the sea to fire and blood more times than could be counted, and the distant ships grew larger, and stranger, sailed and sped faster and more often.   And sometimes, from time to time, when it pleased me, I took them.

I watched as brief men came to the rocks and flickered anxious lives, and stern eyes raked the land.   A tower rose , iron girders obscene here in my presence, and stone and glass.   They set a light, a shining eye to turn ancient mother night into their harlot to dance at their command.   And sullen I sat on the rocks and watched the ships with longing but now I could not take them.

Sunrises and sunsets seem further apart now, the iron girders an anchor binding me to dreadful day-by-day.   I wait.  I always wait.    The sea showers the rocks and the hard upright tower, and time showers it too.   Soon, not soon as flickering men measure things but soon, the tower of stone and glass will wear away and iron girders will fail and wash the rocks rusty, pass blood-red into the sea and be gone.

For now though I wait.  I hunger but I do not starve.   I watch the ships pass by and though I cannot take these ships in this place I am still nourished.  All seas are one sea and I close my eyes and listen.

Listen now to the waves between the rocks.  The salt sweet sigh of shipwrecked souls.

40 comments:

  1. Thanks Jo-Anne, really glad you liked it. I was conscious of the repetition and the sound of the words as I wrote it, so I'm glad that worked

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haunting, and as always, fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very kind of you Jennifer, really happy that you liked it

      Delete
  3. Such beautiful language, as haunting as the sea! LM x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful! The flow of this is hypnotic, I can feel a bit of the power that took those ships.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad that was the effect - I was playing with word choice and sentence structure (they're longer and more winding than my usual ones) in the hope of getting that response.

      Delete
  5. Thomas, Thomas, Thomas . . . beautifully done. Thanks for linking up this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure Barbara, glad you liked it.

      Delete
  6. Wow. Fantastic work of art.

    ReplyDelete
  7. So poetic. Just hauntingly beautiful. I can hear the call of the Siren like a whisper as I read this piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to hear it Roxanne, thanks for letting me know

      Delete
  8. Agree that this is haunting and beautiful and the refrain is like waves rolling in.

    ReplyDelete
  9. :)) I tried to rework my Merge for Trifecta but just wasn't able to make it work.

    ReplyDelete
  10. All seas are indeed one, and to that sea all shall return. See, you've got me all poetic and stuff. Don't tell anyone.

    Personification of the island was inspired. I loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Powerful and engaging! Another great one.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is haunting and beautiful. I particularly like this line, "They set a light, a shining eye to turn ancient mother night into their harlot to dance at their command."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked it - and thanks for the specific feedback, I always like to know what works :D

      Delete
  13. This is simply beautiful! Your imagery is exquisite!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Haunting is the perfect word to describe this. Beautiful imagery and language. I really like the alliteration of the last line, "The salt sweet sigh of shipwrecked souls."

    ReplyDelete
  15. Fabulous imagery in this piece.

    ReplyDelete
  16. 'flickered anxious lives' is a great turn of phrase.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I live on a boat, and have made many long crossings where the days blend and mesh into one. Sunsets, sunrises, sunsets, and sunrises continue to loop themselves as being the only thing you often see beyond the horizon. This touched me... thanks for linking up!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Please tell me you wrote the last line first then built around it....wow, that is outstanding.

    Great imagery and word uses.

    I liked this

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did indeed - well deduced. Glad you liked it.

      Delete
  19. Utterly delicious. Especially that last line. I just want to sink into the words.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Beautiful and sad. I love the personification, the hunger, the interminable wait. Well-done!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sigh.
    I'm a townie from a beach/harbor town. Nailed it is not the right term, because this is so much more beautiful.
    The sea, the sun, the ships.
    That last sentence.
    Sigh.

    ReplyDelete