devastation

Old Gods

~ ~M ~ 7 Comments

Continued from here

Scouring the corridors for any sign of a way out, Darla walked briskly, knowing exactly what the Detainers would do if they found her. She’d already scurried through at least a dozen different passageways, and each adjoining area she found led to even more open-aired hangars. The hangars were full of battle-ready fighter jets and monstrous-sized cargo ships. Each silvery gleaming monstrosity seemed to be floating in unified anticipation of what was soon to come. Flashbacks of the Old Gods kept filling Darla’s mind. How had the world she’d left just a few years ago gone from pleasant rolling hills blanketed in emerald green clover to the current devastation, which was spreading more each day? It was difficult to understand how greed could be the cause of so much despair. And where was Abbefore she wondered, had he escaped and gone back into hiding, or was he now captured along with the others? And with that last thought, a sudden searing pain shot through her arm, and then another nipped at her upper thigh. That’s when the lights went out, the flashbacks disappeared, and with the onset of darkness, the dreams began.

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Continued here

Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog/

Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/01/22/afterwards-writing-prompt-3-monday-22nd-of-january-old-gods/

Puffed pastries and bric-a-brac

~ ~M ~ Leave a comment

Familiar chapters
The lifestyles we all once knew
Alas gone from view

© 2021 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/space-room-interior-empty-4231460/

Writing prompt: Puffed pastries and bric-a-brac

9-11

~ ~M ~ 11 Comments

world-trade-center-67695_1280

In the midst of all the insanity we silently wait for hope

The fog has still not lifted
The faces in the crowds are still much a blur

We can’t quite hear the sad song
Twisting and twirling on the cool night air

But we listen so intently that our hearts begin to bleed

We know the song, its angry notes ringing in the night

It’s a lonesome frightful song that never seems to end

Until we realize the shadows are standing in the corners
Watching and waiting
We will never fully understand our fate

The leaves are turning into dust now
Sliding across the patent leather of our shoes

We try to wipe the dust away

But it’s too late
The damage is done
And all is lost forever in that twisting twirling breeze
From beyond that which we do not know or seek

We do not hear those cries that scream out in the night
But oh how we know they are there

Instead, we hide in darkness
Living and hoping that life will give us one more chance

Praying for mercy
We never fully understand the wickedness of our ways

Until the end, we shall never know

Our fate lies within the creases of our hearts
And our destiny is an unwritten page

© 2018 Michelle Cook

*This is one of the first poems I ever attempted to write.  I decided to leave it as is, even as tempting as it is to rewrite it.  Let us never forget what that day did for this country.  It was one of the worst tragic events we have ever faced, but it also brought unity to our nation like none I’ve ever seen.  We need to find that again.  Let’s not wait for another tragic event to do that; but instead, let’s try to be like that always.  We should all be supporting each other and reaching out to those in need every single day.  It should be something we do for the rest of lives.  ~M xo