He was there
unaware
of the magic
about to happen
She was there
quite aware
of a change
in the air
The current
seemed confused
maybe even
slightly amused
As unspoken
urges
drifted blindly
on the breeze
© 2024 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/coffee-caf%C3%A9-vacation-drink-table-7121939/
I’m in that place again
a solitary prison of self-pity
dissolving in a room without windows
punishing the portrait of myself
Why do I repeatedly come here
to a place of unnecessary suffering
blotting out every light source
to the detriment of my soul
I’m like a vacant-eyed visitor
destined for undeniable destruction
welcoming a withering existence
as the world shuffles on
I could choose to chase the sunshine
become a ball of light myself
but what’s the fun in sunbeams
who always disappear into the dark
© 2024 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/street-lamp-night-solitary-824349/
I think we all reach a point
A place of exhaustion
A time of misunderstanding
A feeling of not being heard
The scrapping of knees on concrete
Life becomes too much to bear
So we alter our direction
Scrambling for the door
The one we hope leads to peace
I think I’m at that point
And I’m not looking back
I need to find some place
That takes me far away
Miles from this point of discontent
This place of unworthiness
This time of hurting
This feeling of hopelessness
I can’t keep bleeding
for the rest of my life
At some point
it all has to end
© 2024 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-girl-space-flowers-8210734/
Continued from here
Darla awoke in a somewhat familiar place, yet she didn’t recognize any of the faces of those around her. There was a giant painting on the wall across from her, and she recognized it as one of the Old Gods. But besides the picture and part of the room, everything else seemed foreign. Confused and a bit afraid, she tried to sit up. She knew she’d made a big mistake when immense pain shot through the right side of her body. “Ugh,” she cried as everyone rushed to her side. She fell back onto the hard mattress and tried to assess her situation. Many people spoke all at once, and the language was foreign to Darla. She tried to remember what had happened to her, but her head felt fuzzy every time she tried. She did remember part of a dream she was having before she woke. Abbefore was there, leaning over his orb, mumbling something to himself, when he suddenly spun around on his pedestal and looked straight at Darla. He tried to communicate with her, but like a television with lousy reception, she couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. It seemed he was trying to show her something very important, and he kept repeating the words, “Don’t forget to…” but that was all she could remember of the dream. With a heavyhearted sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the commotion of those around her. She took a long, deep breath and tried to relax. Abbefore’s image was still so vivid in her mind. “If only I could remember,” she kept whispering to herself. But with an exhausted mind and an acutely injured body, she fell asleep once more.
© 2024 Michelle Cook
Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog/
Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/02/05/afterwards-writing-prompt-5-monday-5th-of-february-connexion/
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/
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