Hi everyone!

I just wanted to share that I'll be releasing a collection of short stories on February 1st. Many of the stories in this collection have been featured here, while others haven't. If anyone is interested, you can find it on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CRQZTJM5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=CRDHZ7RB04E0&keywords=theres+gold+in+those+hills&qid=1704751382&sprefix=theres+gold+in+those+hill%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1

I'm pretty excited about this and I just wanted to thank The Prose community for being the major reason for this collection. Before I joined this community, my writing was directionlesss and you've help me find direction.

So, thanks everyone!

my first Christmas with you

the big hopes and things I wanted to do with you…

the matching pjs the cuddles the cookies the excitement of giving you the gift I picked out back in October for you…

the screaming the yelling

the tears running down my face as each ornament fell from the tree

our tree…

the one we picked out together

for Christmas

our first Christmas

our last Christmas…

It's Sunday... But, here's some new blood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrIdrZLAE3Y

And.

As always.

Thank you for being here.

-The Prose. team

Slid out of the dark

To fight against blinding lights

with nothing but tears

Soon bathed in laughter

Fingers taught to dance on keys,

always craving more

Begging for boredom,

crushed by mountains of burden,

losing to shadows

Warm hands holding mine

Pull me into an embrace,

a waltz full of life

Fighting for the light,

but yanked back into the dark,

leaving tears of love

Born to this world's stage,

Innocence and wonder bloom,

Life's first steps taken.

Youth's fervent embrace,

Dreams like stars in boundless skies,

Time's tapestry weaves.

Midlife's sunlit path,

Responsibilities weigh,

Purpose carved in stone.

Autumn leaves descend,

Reflection in fading light,

Age's wisdom gained.

Twilight whispers soft,

Curtain falls, yet spirit soars,

Cycle finds its close.

Look at me.

I’m talking

to you…

may I ask

a question?

When you read a poem,

when you look at me,

have you ever

considered

what you are doing?

You are eating.

Each word you

look at

enters your mind.

And each word

has a life of its own

but like

a raw piece of

fish

a bad piece of

meat

there is a chance of a

parasite

wriggling inside

a word

hooks in your mind

now

consuming you…

A Poet’s Trojan Horse.

And look how much

you have eaten

already~

I hope you

continue to read

poems

I would love

the company~

The windup alarm clock jangles loudly, and I open my eyes. The morning sun is shining through my bedroom window, and I can hear Mom downstairs making breakfast.

It is my favorite time of year. I have a lineup built of things I want to do this summer, and I can’t wait to get started. Today, I think I will finally paint the dugout canoe that has been sitting abandoned in the garage since Dad left--kind of like us.

I jump out of bed and throw on my jeans. It strikes me that yesterday’s diamond-print shirt still smells okay, so I slip it on and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and pee. I pass Ashley in the hall, and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I do my best Big Time Wrestling impersonation, and she laughs. For a kid sister, she’s not too bad.

Downstairs, Mom is whisking batter, and the griddle is already hot. Score! She knows how much I love pancakes. Soon there is a mound of deliciousness on my plate, and a glass of cold milk next to it. Best breakfast ever!

“Gerald,” Mom says. “The dog needs a bath today, and I have to get to work early. I also need you and Ashley to get your laundry downstairs.”

My shoulders slump, but I know better than to balk. I used to pitch a fit when stuff got in the way of my plans, but like she reminds me, I’m a teenager now. Besides talking back is one error I won’t be making again any time soon.

Instead, I grab Rusty and we head out to the back yard to play fetch with his ball.

-------------------------

© 2023 - dustygrein

It crushes me and fills my cheeks with a flush

Coils around me until I can think of nothing more

So loud and sudden that it turns my brain to mush

I want to hug it until the blood starts to pour

I want to run a hand through your pretty hair

Until I accidentally yank it out

I want to be around to contaminate your air

Until the poisonous spores start to sprout

You're so cute I wanna squeeze you until your ribs break

Feel free to give me bruises and clot my blood

Being with and away from you makes my heartache

Kill me and I'll kill you with all this love

Oh the songs of the road

Through verse and chorus, stories get told

When you roam just like a rambler

Always winning, just like a gambler

The memories take me on the road again

Sometimes I'm running against the wind

While country roads may take me home

To the place I don't belong

Insisting the world keeps turning our way

Hold on cause life is a highway

As we ride, guess time will tell

Freeway of love or highway to hell

Just as free as we’ll ever be

oo many places I've got to see

This free bird you cannot change

There I go, now turn the page

At the age of five I lost my younger brother who passed away due to brain fever. I just wanted the answer to where did he go, who took him away and that how come my folks couldn’t get him back to us. They told me he is safe with God far away and well cared for. We will always remember him but he had to be there to be free from all his pains and aches. There was nothing more farther than the Sky for me at that time. Since then it kind of became my brother’s home for me. From then I never did anything without communicating with the sky because I knew no living without him then. Gradually it became a habit and it never ceases to amaze me till date.

I really did communicate with him talking to the sky. Watching the sky, the day time sky, the night sky, the hues, the clouds and each day it had a different story to tell me, all being told to me by my brother. We played with the colours in the sky, we hid in the clouds in the sky, we fooled around in the rain from the sky, we shared the glitter of the stars at night and we continued our relationship and he was still there for me always in a place which kept him pain free.

Even though I learnt the facts of life and death, it still reigns supreme in my mind for all my inspirations till date. I just love being under the sky as my roof.