Mine Now
Did you need
in here?
But I’ve claimed
this spot
as my own.
Later,
after my nap
maybe
you’ll be able
to steal away
with the contents
of my new
treasure box.
creative writing
Weekly Creativity Prompt – The Walk
Prompt: Pull up to three cards use them as the inspiration to draw, craft, or describe a spooky nighttime walk outside.
Death – On Halloween night, Fred took his little sister out trick or treating for the first time. Their parents had divorced this year, something that had been coming for a long time, and he was the man of the house now. That meant that even though he wasn’t really all that excited about trick or treating this year, he was in charge of keeping his sister safe.
Hand in hand he took Cassie from house to house in the unfamiliar neighborhood they’d moved into just two weeks before. At each house they chimed their “Trick or Treat!” after the door opened and held out their bags for the goodies to be dropped inside.
The Devil atop The Magician – When they reached the end of the street and the last house that sat there, they repeated he process again and the man that answered the door was friendly and boisterous. He complimented their Robin Hood and Maid Marian costumes and gave them whole candy bars!
The man said that he had more inside, but he had to go all the way to the kitchen to get them. He invited them both to come in, and Fred’s sister tugged on his hand to pull him forward toward the front door, eager for more of the good candy that the man was offering.
The Hierophant – But Fred had been given a talk by Dad that Cassie was too young to have gotten yet. Dad had told him about the bad people. People that seemed nice but wanted to hurt him or his sister, steal them away, and do bad things to them. Dad’s talk stuck with him when he and his sister walked to school every day, and it came back to him now as Cassie tried to pull him up the porch steps and into the stranger’s house.
Taking a strong, hard hold of his sister’s hand, he declined the man’s offer and hurried them away from the house at the end of the street. At home, he would pass on Dad’s talk to Cassie. At home, he would make sure that Cassie knew to never, ever go down to the end of the street by herself… and that she could always depend on him to go with her if she wanted.
DECK USED: THE ELDRITCH TAROT (MAJORS ONLY)
Gideon’s Challenge
The Last Rose
Fragrant petals
unfurl
to greet
the dying sun
that fades
a bit more
each day.
Starved for
the sun’s kiss
petals wilt
and tatter
as chill nips
at delicate edges.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
Endless
Clouds with
heavy bottoms
stretching
across
a vast sky
and promise
the lick
of moisture
to the land
that waits
below.
I love the clouds at this time of year and how massive they are, making the sky feel both close with their heavy drape and yet endless in the layers upon layers of texture stretching into the distance.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
Hibernation
All Saints Day
comes
to mark
the first day
of a new cycle
as the world
shifts
into winter’s chill
and slips into
a time of rest
as the trees
become baren
as old bones.
Photo © ZenStatePhotography
Gideon’s Challenge
Priorities
No paint
no white wash
no windows safe
from splits
and cracks
sheered briars
in place of grass
roof leaks
not a bit of heat
but we have cable
and the tv works
What more could
we possibly want?
Twisting the Leaf 