There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it.
C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce, Chapter 9 from The Complete C.S. Lewis Signature Classics, page 506.
I recently heard Crystal Grimes’ song Pink Flamingo. It made me wonder if I could handle seeing all of the pink flamingos I hide behind come to life and fly away.
The interviewer wanted to know whether Bird was scared when he jumped out of the nest for the first time.
Bird said, “Technically I didn’t ‘jump’. I flew. My wings moved. Soon the nest was far below me. I don’t know how it happened. It’s not like jumping. There’s a difference.”
The interviewer wondered, “Really? What’s the difference?”
He clarified, “You see, any monkey can jump out of a nest. You know as well as I do what will happen. I’m not going to go there. But birds, well – how do I put this? We don’t jump. We fly.”
Linked to Carrot Ranch August 13 Flash Fiction Challenge where Charli Mills offers the theme of “first flight” for these 99-word stories.
I often want bright blooms to stay But they perhaps are restless too. There’s more ahead for them to do. They serve their seeds which go away Like snowflakes on a winter’s day. Nor have I stayed long anywhere. I might live under skies less fair Or wander somewhere else and try To find bright blooms that please my eye Or serve in ways that show I care.
Linked to Ronovan Writes Décima Poetry Challenge using “stay” as a rhyming word in the a position of the abbaaccddc rhyme pattern for this ten line form with eight syllables per line.
One of my poems has appeared in Potcake Chapbook 7, Murder! – Poems of killings past and present. I am grateful to Robin Helweg-Larsen for accepting it.
I held the pottery in my hands and noticed the crack across the bottom. It would not hold water but perhaps it was still useful.
When I placed it in the donations box I noticed an edge. I picked it up again running my thumb to test the sharpness and drew blood.
While bandaging my thumb I realized it was not safe to donate. After wrapping it I dropped it in the garbage chute and heard in the dumpster below the impact which split it in two.
Linked to GirlieOnTheEdge Six Sentence Story Word Prompt with the challenge word “useful”.
Most dreams I’ve had did not come true. Thank God most of them didn’t too.
Linked to Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday.
The ocean water's not all blue. The prairie's not all green. What's in between is what I've seen And what I trust is true.
Linked to Cosmic Photo Challenge where Dale offers the theme of “collages”.
Also liked to Trent P. McDonald’s The Weekly Smile. The phlox and tiger lilies were at their peak in Vince’s yard so we celebrated the day by watching the butterflies, bees and whatever came by to enjoy his yard which brought smiles.
Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, at the very end
When twelve Brett told his aunt that chickens were dinosaurs. She laughed. What a stupid kid.
Brett’s mind was lava hot, hot enough to melt chaos into understanding. After reading that chickens were dinosaurs he looked at the hens in the chicken house who’d peck when he reached for the eggs they were sitting on differently.
True, they were smaller. True, they had feathers. True, they didn’t really run like Tyrannosaurus Rex.
When seventy another nugget of reality melted in his ever hot lava lamp of understanding. What if his old aunt was right? What if they weren’t dinosaurs?
Linked to Carrot Ranch’s August 6th Flash Fiction Challenge. Charli Mills offers the theme of molten lava, real or metaphoric, for the 99-word stories.
What’s tentative fell to the ground, But reason helped it stay afloat. The words came choking on the throat. The premises felt less than sound. Defeated, dropped but then re-found Where will this walk in circles go? It leads to home. We didn't know The autumn prairie took the prize On blooms that mirrored sunny skies. So likewise seek what you would show.
Linked to Ronovan Writes Décima Poetry Challenge where the rhyme word “prize” is to appear in the d lines. The rhyme pattern for this 10-line form is abbaaccddc.
Jim knew that random stuff couldn’t all be his fault. Some of it was bad luck. And as for the rest, he intended to get even with Mark and his girlfriend Denise for dodging their involvement by witnessing against him.
The judge sentenced him to thirty years saying that at Jim’s age that would give him a good chunk of the rest of his life to think it over and give the community respite from his stony heart.
After two of those decades Jim was surprised to hear that first Mark and later Denise both died from natural causes. In his own last years he forgot all about luck and wished he could have seen either of them once again to tell them how sorry he was for wasting their lives.
Linked to GirlieOnTheEdge’s Six Sentence Story with the prompt word “random”.
Poetry, Short Prose and Walking 