The strong breeze carried the seeds away after causing the dandelion’s stem to sway violently. Tears began to bleed from my eyes, producing liquid clouds hindering my view. This scene viscerally brought back a bittersweet memory, a sadly uplifting boon to my psyche. Yet, I wonder—when will… More
Livestock
Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #237 – Zeitgeist
& Eugenia’s Weekly Prompt – Opalescence
the zeitgeist of the 70s
shimmering opalescence
of hope
springing forth
what we thought
eternal
now
powerful crusty men
attempt to dim our light
by deciding our future
i ache with a desire to fight
for and with my sisters
never in my lifetime
had i thought we’d be subjected
to this orchestrated control
forced upon us
our bodies
once again not our own
Reblog – Ali Grimshaw & Sadje
The internal and external forces of nature can be relentless in what they will dole out to us. Be aware, understand, and live as best as you can.
golden smoke blocks the sun as I stand witness
while winds shift to blow barging into planned days
and so…
I am listening.
What better offering could I make
while extending my reach to you?
My throat burns with an ache to howl.
As the people flee, where is safety now?
So many blue sky days
led us to false views.
We are all running from something.
walking away from something else.
I’m sending my love on the wind,
the force that both heats and cools.
Both helpful and harmful, depending,
contradictions of the mingled smokey fear.
Tangles of the unknowable
ringed history, as mystery
held by the forest guardians
now ash returning to soil.
As flames fly from tree to tree,
igniting compassionate hope or hatred
I see through the window
goodbye waves from living limbs of the still green.
and I feel your heat from miles away.
Weathering the storm of time by Sadje
ravaged inner space
unable to account for
entries and exits
who came, who destroyed, who left?
a soul transformed forever
~~~
The sands of time are relentless
The grains tumbling down without ceasing
What changes, what stays the same, it doesn’t concern it
Slowly the scenario changes, focus shifts
Lives are built, fortunes rise and fall
Time passes uncaring and unconcerned
Insidiously, it changes us all within and without
Spewing
Redux
I
scream your
name with rage.
Mordacious words
escape my mouth. The high-decibel sound
waves of my hostile screams slam into the
walls. I’m seething,
breathing hard,
wrathful.
Hot!
Accidents
Inspired by Sadje’s What do you see #140
fun times organized
too much for some attending
waste of alcohol
Love’s Healing
Timothy finds the chicory plant downstream when he hears the screams. His blood freezes, and the flesh and the hairs on his arms stand rigid. After a bit, he rose, listening intently. It had become eerily silent.
Ah, probably a fox just whining, Timothy muses to himself out loud, entering the camp. He began to slice up the chicory and aloe vera to put on the burns on his leg. Who knew eggs from a chicken womb could be so dangerous?
The love of his life wakes, faces him with a smile, and pins a gentle kiss on his leg.
Imminent Danger
survival hits different
for every being on this earth
adults and children
kept and free animals
even our beloved planet
facing physical hardships
whether risking living
with little food
or minuscule comfort
or none at all
whether beat into submission
before they could find their voice
or any number of unbearable situations
through no other reason
than a perfect storm
coming together by chance
life’s variables colliding just because
those unlucky enough
to always be on the end of surviving
the punishments doled out
by indiscriminate and unfortunate circumstances
or by forceful, living monsters
created by an evil social consciousness
insinuating their vileness
into the vulnerable lives of the innocent
survival hits different
and sometimes
not at all
Duane L. Herrmann
MIRACLE FLAMES
Steady candle flames
did not dance
but bent horizontal
in unison,
then stood upright again,
then bent opposite
and stood again
with no wind
in closed room.
GRANPA’S HANDS
My Granpa’s hands
were always old
as I am now.
I watched him age
as I am now,
and now, too,
a grandfather
with wrinkled hands.
BIRTH WELCOME
Purple streaks across the sky,
oranges and reds,
set the autumn sun
over prairie grasses,
tan and yellow blowing,
waving under wind.
Any wonder why
I love this world
which welcomed me?
SCULPTURES OF A FORMER TIME
Tractors, mowers, rakes,
even manure spreaders,
find new homes
in retirement
by grandsons
of the farmers who
had worked them,
now resting
in the front yard!
PASSED LITTLE BRIDGE
Bridge by the side of the road
in the ditch
where road once was,
bridge remains
making the way
to small cemetery
new road goes around,
as I do too.
FINDING EARTH
We thought we
were going to the moon
but found the earth instead:
blue-white ball
suspended, alone and single
in expanse of empty space:
one home
for one mankind,
we are one together.
~~~
The work of Duane L. Herrmann has been published in print and online, in over a hundred journals, more than fifty anthologies, plus seven volumes of poetry, more chapbooks, a history, and a sci-fi novel; all despite a traumatic, abusive childhood embellished with dyslexia, ADHD, cyclothymia, an anxiety disorder, and PTSD. Duane was first featured on June 19, 2020, and again on December 4, 2020. Some of his thoughts were also selected and published in The Sound of Brilliance.
Submissions are now closed but if you’d like to be featured on The Short of It in the future,
click here for the submissions guidelines.
#TheShortofIt
I Say Clearly Now
Inspired by Reena’s Exploration Challenge #236 – Rebirth & Eugenia’s Weekly Prompt – Ablaze
enunciating with clarity
i claim my rebirth
strength bolstering conviction
mind and body ablaze
with searing direction
forging this new path
a self-directed life
Reblog – Jude Itakali & Ali Grimshaw
Whether referring to ourselves or nature, we are masterpieces. Deliciously so, every day.
Masterpiece. The Value in us all. by Jude Itakali
What I’ve done
What has been done to me
Encounters of every ilk
Trials that have shaped my resolve
Nightmares that have come true
And dreams that are now due.
Not many see
The good I’ve done
The kindness I show
The subtle trims I make
And the happiness designed for others.
None can ever know
The struggles I face
The battles that constantly wage
The shameful losses I endure
And the narrow victories I cherish
I have turned my pain into empathy
I have sculpted love from a broken heart
And painted sorrow with hope
Yes, I am a museum full of art
And a deck full of music
But what I truly am,
Is a masterpiece.
What happiness can arrive
when sunlight’s retreat paints
leaves cherry crush, berry swirl
butterscotch eye candy
walking through an ordinary Monday
your hand in mine, we breathe the awe
street lined masterpieces
colored by a lack of chlorophyll
less of something
created more today
Cast Aside
Redux
It’s cold and lonely next to you.
Freezing.
What to do, to break through?
Open up.
Let me in.
I can’t.
I hurt because of you.
You lied.
I cried.
Then I died.
I’ll change.
I promise.
You deserved better.
I know that now.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
No.
I Write Her 