The rain was becoming an anathema to the animals of the jungle.
Especially since so their habitat was being destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations.
Huddling under the only shelter he could find, the orangutan thought “At least it isn’t literally raining cats and dogs. “Then we’d really be in trouble!”
By Sarah ©2019
Sammi Scribbles, Weekend Writing Prompt #99 – Anathema; and also, Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Saturday Mix – Mad About Metaphor, 30 March 2019
The neon glow enveloped the city built by and for corporations.
It was late and Sandra sat alone in the cavernous office. Pounding the keyboard furiously she tried to finish the never-ending paperwork her boss delighted in giving her.
Bastard, she thought. He actually enjoyed the power, dictating when she could leave and knowing it was her weekend with her daughter.
Her email pinged.
She despaired as she saw yet another assignment.
Gazing out at the city lights, Sandra contemplated her reply. His eminence wouldn’t like it, but life was too short.
Smiling, she typed two words.
“I quit”.
By Sarah ©2019
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, First Line Friday: March 29, 2019; and also, Carrot Ranch, March 28: Flash Fiction Challenge. Prompt – In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that uses the word eminence. It’s a rich word full of different meanings. Explore how it sounds or how you might play with it. Go where the prompt leads!
Welcome to the Saturday Mix – Mad About Metaphor, 30 March 2019!
This week we are dipping our toes into the pool of METAPHOR. Our challenge is all about the use of metaphor in our writing. You will need to use the metaphor provided in your response – which can be poetry or prose.
Our metaphor this week is:
– Raining cats and dogs.
You may be asking yourself, How can I use metaphor in my writing?
Luckily, yourdictionary.com has some examples for you.
Simply put, a metaphor is a figure of speech containing an implied comparison. With metaphors, words or phrases that are ordinarily applied to one thing are applied to something you wouldn’t necessarily pair it with. Metaphors are members of the figurative language family, which also include elements like similes, onomatopoeia, and personification.
Common Metaphor Examples
Some famous metaphors have become part of our everyday speech and are frequently used in writing…
View original post 361 more words
Dutch Goes The Photo, Tuesday Photo Challenge, Week 153 – Years
Remarkable Rocks, Kangaroo Island SA
Dutch Goes The Photo, Tuesday Photo Challenge, Week 153 – Years
This life is such a mix.
One moment we’re wont to sing,
And in the next, we recoil –
feeling the sting.
Our spirits push and pull
Clouds over the moon.
Leaving us to bask in the chill.
None of us, are impervious
To this alchemy.
Add a pinch of salt
And a dash of pepper.
The final brew is unknown.
Thinking we must swallow it alone,
Is a tipping point of despair.
Until I feel another’s hand
reach out and hold me in the balance.
My heart did swell, when
Thick in the quagmire,
I found you.
Always you.
By Sarah ©2019
Sammi Scribbles, Weekend Writing Prompt #98 – Impervious and also, The Sunday Whirl, Wordle 396
Hiding behind God we praise beastily.
Upon others’ spirits we graze beastily.
“Be anything you want”, the craze decree.
Don’t take offence at this malaise imagery.
Allusive. Oblique. Innuendo, holidays free.
Surrender your ego, go as your days be.
Through the sorrow, through the haze see.
All that is splendour, upon you gaze me.
Let me tell you, exception weighs heavy.
So let whatever will be, yesterday’s be.
By Sarah ©2019
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Music Challenge #46: Innuendo by Queen and also, Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Saturday Mix – Lucky Dip, 23 March 2019
The staccato rhythm on the roof became a dull roar.
It was really coming down and the children’s focus had wandered from their work to the window.
“It’s just a little rain, we’ve all seen it before,” I redirected, whilst simultaneously reaching for the bucket for the roof’s long-standing leak.
Honestly, I thought, how hard was it for the school to fix this issue?
I watched with horror and awe, as it soon overflowed and the roof began to bow.
With a crash, the roof caved in and I witnessed my first ever indoor waterfall… right in my classroom!
By Sarah ©2019
Carrot Ranch, March 21: Flash Fiction Challenge, Prompt – In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that features a bucket of water. What is the condition of the water and what is the bucket for? Drop deep into the well and draw from where the prompt leads!
Welcome to the Saturday Mix – Lucky Dip, 23 March 2019!
For this week’s Lucky Dip, I have reached into my mystery bag and pulled out a Ghazal. The topic is up to you!
You may be thinking to yourself, What on earth is a Ghazal poem?
Luckily, Shadow Poetry has an explanation…
Ghazal Poem
A Ghazal is a poem that is made up like an odd numbered chain of couplets, where each couplet is an independent poem. It should be natural to put a comma at the end of the first line. The Ghazal has a refrain of one to three words that repeat, and an inline rhyme that preceedes the refrain. Lines 1 and 2, then every second line, has this refrain and inline rhyme, and the last couplet should refer to the authors pen-name… The rhyming scheme is AA bA cA dA eA etc.
Example of…
View original post 118 more words
Dutch Goes The Photo, Tuesday Photo Challenge, Week 152 – Wonder
Last year was the first time I participated in the A-Z Challenge (although my visit to the site today informs me that this challenge is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year!)
I thoroughly enjoyed the A-Z Challenge in 2018, as I blogged my way almost daily, through all 26 letters of my theme, “Anxiety“.
I have had many trials and changes over the last 6 months, and it is my hope that by joining in the challenge again this year, I can reinstate the blogging routine that has taken a hit in recent times.
And so….after much deliberation and finally deciding to join, I am “revealing” my theme as a taster of what’s to come.
As many of you know, I am an educator and love what I do. I also have a passion for writing and am a firm believer in writing what you know. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to combine the two and my theme in 2019 will be:
I anticipate this theme will illustrate the highs (and lows) of my profession, but more importantly hope that it will bring readers an understanding of the day to day life of teaching – warts and all. As such, I’m not sure how to classify this…whether to put it under entertainment, memoirs or education. It possibly fits all three but rest assured, none of it will be fiction!
Stay tuned for my first post on April 1!
~ Sarah
This path’s not easy.
Bumpy, twisting and turning
– the ride of your life!
Ronovan Writes, Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt, Challenge #245 – easy and ride
By Sarah ©2019
My feet squelched in the thick mud, as I trudged the familiar track. Darkness had not yet been overcome by the new day and I urged the sunrise on.
Entering the thick trees, my nerves jangled. The inky light was unnerving, and my senses were on high alert, oozing adrenalin. I was ready to fly should anyone unexpectedly appear.
I sighed, realising that after tomorrow’s equinox, my morning wanderings would soon end. Winter’s days would dictate a new exercise regime.
Until September anyway…
By Sarah ©2019
Sammi Scribbles, Weekend Writing Prompt #97 – Equinox and also, Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Saturday Mix – Sound Bite, 16 March 2019
The djembe is West Africa’s best known instrument. This goblet-shaped drum is traditionally carved from a single piece of African hardwood and topped with animal skin. Its name is derived from “Dje” (gather) and “be” (everyone).
It is said, each drum contains three spirits – that of the tree, the animal whose skin is played, and the carver who chiseled and shaped the wood.
The djembe is a vessel for these spirits to come through. The sound is past, present and future; that which is not in us until it comes into consciousness through our hands and into the world.
By Sarah ©2019
Carrot Ranch, March 14: Flash Fiction Challenge. Prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes a chisel. Use chisel as a noun or a verb. Think about what might be chiseled, who is chiseling. Be the chisel. Go where the prompt leads!
Welcome to the Saturday Mix – Sound Bite, 16 March 2019!
This week we are hearing things, as we explore the use of ONOMATOPOEIA. You will need to use the THREE onomatopoeic words in your response – which can be poetry or prose.
Our three words, using onomatopoeia are:
You may be asking yourself, How can I use onomatopoeia in my writing?
Luckily, Your Dictionary has some examples for you.
The word onomatopoeia comes from the combination of two Greek words, onoma meaning “name” and poiein meaning “to make,” so onomatopoeia literally means “to make a name (or sound).” That is to say that the word means nothing more than the sound it makes. The word “boing,” for example, is simply a sound effect, but one that is very useful in making writing or storytelling more expressive and vivid.
Many onomatopoeic words can be verbs as well…
View original post 257 more words
He hobbled into the hospital, chuckling at the special deal sign as he walked past.
He had been called a “tight-arse” his whole life – never one to miss a bargain or save a penny.
And his assisted euthanasia would be no different – he intended to die as he lived.
By Sarah ©2019
Hands fly across skins.
A blur of motion and sound.
Drumming circle bliss!
By Sarah ©2019
Ronovan Writes, Weekly Haiku Poetry Prompt, Challenge #244 – sound and motion
I finished the linear coat of gloss and smacked my lips together with satisfaction. I had formed the perfect Cupid’s bow.
I smiled and winked at myself in the mirror, thinking about the bare-faced person who had been looking back a mere 15 minutes ago.
I opened the catch on the windowsill. One, to let in some fresh air, and two, to listen for the familiar engine that would herald his approach. He was stringent about being on time, and I wanted to be ready.
But the minutes came and went, and still he didn’t come.
Agonisingly, they ticked by. It was a little melodramatic I know, but I was literally watching the second hand. ‘Round and ’round it went. Each rotation a slap to the face, until finally, I conceded.
He wasn’t coming.
I pummelled my fists against the table, unable to harbour my frustration and disappointment any longer.
Crestfallen, I began to wipe away the face, I had been so pleased with. My reflection gave me the silent treatment. There was no need to put into words what my heart already knew.
He was never going to leave his wife.
By Sarah ©2019
My pace is chained.
Legs rub against each other,
and my instinct is planning
a
p A s S a G e
by which to
e
s
c
a
p
e
But instead my feet stick.
The bar has been raised.
This caper,
no longer a prank.
By Sarah ©2019
It was The First Day Mr. and Mrs. Deadtree had met The Girl with the Cast Iron Smile.
They were to be Invisible Roommates in the The Otherside of Nothing which was an altogether Hollow Entreaty. For these were Dark Days: a Biography of Self-Professed Cynics.
Until, A Distant Hum began and Light was Interrupted. Mysteriously, they now found themselves to be, Suddenly in Love.
By Sarah ©2019
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Sunday Writing Prompt – It’s All In The Title
Crystal waters gently lap
against pristine sands of white.
Seabirds duck and weave above,
creating patterns with the light.
A gentle breeze rustles in the grass.
Footsteps squelch impatiently.
Children’s laughter filters ’round
while splashing in the sea.
Memories made are special here
and make my spirit soar.
No time is more precious
than time spent by the seashore.
By Sarah ©2019
The anthology “Outcast and Other Words” is a compilation of one of my favourite challenges run by Sammi Cox. A collection of submissions for the weekend writing prompts from 2018 have been carefully collated by Sammi, in this wonderful online book. Please check it out at:
Outcast and Other Words
A special shout out and huge thanks to Sammi for all her hard work putting this book together.
The shadow of the moon danced on the lake. A light breeze whispered gently through the tress and the air was filled with a symphony of insects, clamoring to be heard.
Lucy trod carefully in the filtered light, glancing behind her guiltily. Her mum and dad would be furious but since the trap hadn’t killed it, Lucy figured it was a sign.
Kneeling at the fence line of their property, she reached into her pocket and tenderly scooped out the mouse.
With a grateful “chit” of thanks, it promptly ran into the darkness.
“Take care little one,” she whispered.
By Sarah ©2019
Carrot Ranch, March 7, 2019. Prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a mouse. It can be real, imagined, electronic or whiskered.
and also, Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Saturday Mix – Unique Personality, 9 March 2019
Welcome to the Saturday Mix – Unique Personality, 9 March 2019!
This week we are diving into the depths of PERSONIFICATION. Our challenge is all about the use of personification in our writing. You will need to use the statement provided in your response – which can be poetry or prose.
Our statement using, personification is:
– The shadow of the moon danced on the lake
You may be asking yourself, How can I use personification in my writing?
Luckily, Literary Devices has some examples for you.
Personification is one of the most commonly used and recognized literary devices. It refers to the practice of attaching human traits and characteristics with inanimate objects, phenomena and animals.
Common Personification Examples
Personification is part of our everyday speech and is frequently used in writing and oral language.
Example of Personification in…
View original post 131 more words
With birds I’ll share this lonely view.
From my perch above, I look upon you.
My heart aches, way up here in the air,
As you’re carried away by your own affair.
A presence unnoticed in your busy life,
It’s hard to believe you were once my wife.
Surface wounds may heal but underneath,
Forms scar tissue that time can’t beat.
Your focus is bound to earthly things,
But I have evolved and grown my wings.
The birds have shown me how to fly.
My eyes turn skyward, and I say goodbye.
As Autumn’s sweet leaves begin to fall,
I’ll make it to the moon, if I have to crawl.
By Sarah ©2019
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Music Challenge #45: “Scar Tissue” by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Firstly, a huge THANK YOU to mandibelle16 for hosting the Friday Music Challenge over the last 2 years. We have loved sharing her music with everyone on Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie and her contribution has helped inspire us to write many fabulous pieces.
We know we will still see her participating in our MLMM prompts, but for now, it’s time for someone else to take the reins. So, we are looking for a new Friday Music Challenge Host. (If you think this may be YOU please click HERE for more information).
In the meantime, I will endeavour to keep the prompt going. Please remember, the Music Challenge alternates with Dylan’s First Line Friday.
Cheers, Sarah (aka weejars)
For this week I’ve chosen the song “Scar Tissue” by a group who needs no introduction – Red Hot Chilli Peppers. What I enjoy about this song is the funky guitar and upbeat melody…
View original post 359 more words
Drawing installation, Tauranga Art Gallery.
Artist: Jae Kang Medium: Korean ink
Dutch Goes The Photo, Tuesday Photo Challenge, Week 150 – Round
I delete…
Those who are born mocking.
Smug smiles hiding their truth.
I delete…
Liars spreading corrupt embers.
Slowly catching fire.
I delete…
Passing the note
Without reading the memo.
Instead…
I hope.
By Sarah ©2019
My heart shatters into shards of glass.
I steel myself against your charm.
Your cotton candy words
are no substitute
for devotion.
‘Bye.
I’m done.
Sammi Scribbles, Weekend Writing Prompt, #95 – Devotion and Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie, Saturday Mix – Mad About Metaphor, 2 March 2019
By Sarah 