A poem inspired by this photo I took of Savonlinna Castle, Lake Saimaa, Finland.
He crossed the bar sails puffed full as his chest proud to be crashing the swells and foaming waves escaping the line upon line of graves his father his brothers his family destroyed only his youth denied vengeance for he had been but a boy
but now he was strong free to charge into the fight to wreak havoc and injury to his morbid delight the one goal remaining in his grief filled life only one task to satisfy his dissatisfied plight
in the land of his enemy he had something to prove to show the dark master he had nothing to lose what he could do where his father and brothers had failed onto the place of their betrayal he now speedily sailed
to vanquish that brutal regime on its very own soil after years of study planning training and toil he stepped onto the land an army at his back and he cried the war cry, "Attack men, Attack!"
The last time I saw my mother she sent me a kiss across the void. Two fingers touched her puckered lips, then cast into the air was a kiss at the mercy of the stiff breeze blowing everyone’s hats away. Was I meant to catch it? I have never really been sure. One reason was it appeared to be barely cast in my direction, the other was that she was in fact looking at her new husband as her hand regally flicked yet another token on another impossible journey of placation. She, number three plus stupid yappy little dog were on a boat to somewhere. Ten year old me? I was left standing on the dock unaware somewhere meant this was our last almost acknowledgement of each other. One thing I learnt that day to believe forever is lips forget what they have kissed.
For today’s dVerse 144 word prosery challenge, Mish chose the following line from Toni Morrison’s evocative poem, “Eve Remembering”. “Lips forget what they have kissed.” Besides writing eleven novels, five children’s books, two plays and an opera, Toni was the author of “Five Poems“, first published in 2002. You can read them here (well worth a read). I chose to respond to the challenge with a work of flash fiction that hits the 144 word sweet spot precisely.
Where did that government find such murderous intent imprisoning and shooting their own wherever they went exercising ruthless summary force while advising its citizens they have no choice
venomous lies from forked tongues they let rip their smirking mouths toxic with poisonous lips vile spittle sprayed from the lips of autocracy blurs the vision of the masses with talk of democracy
all the while weaponising the rule of law where justice is now held in the tight grip of a claw a new dark age is coming where information is missed where manipulated voters are swayed by each Judas kiss
poetography.ink 