It’s story time!

Your story or poem can be as long or as short as you want it to be. All four pieces below have to be used. Go wild. 

The only thing is, you can’t kill your main character. 

Post your work in the comments below. Feel free to tag and share. 

Here are your story lines:

1 sports car

2 phone call at 3 a.m. 

3 celebrity stalker

4 violinist

   

Coreopsis 25 b

     Sarah went to Orion’s chambers. She wasn’t here as a doctor and it made her a little nervous. She didn’t know what she would find. The doors from the hallway opened into a waiting area of sorts. There were a couple bookcases full of old books along the wall. A table with two chairs was between the bookcases. A rectangle end table, covered with pictures of Paul was along the opposite wall. Plants lived in the corners behind the doors. At the end of this room was the door to his bedroom. 

   She slowly opened the door. Light poured through the sheer cream drapes. Huge burgundy curtains with gold trim dressed the window. 

   His four-poster bed was a work of art unto itself. She glided her hand along one post. She could feel the blow of each chisel stroke craving out every detail. On either side of the bed were doors. The one on the right was shut. The one on the left was open. 

   Upon entering, she found Orion leaning over the commode. He shivered as she rested her hand on his shoulder. 

   “Are you okay?” She tired to be comforting. 

   “No,” he answered gagging.

   “Do you want me to leave?” He fell backwards. She caught him in her arms. He was still trying to throw up. “Orion?”

   “Oh God,” he cried. “I can’t do this.” He put his hand over his mouth. 

   “Orion.” Sarah heard James calling.

   “In here.” She answered.

   James knelt beside of them. “Son?”

   Orion tried sat up. “I can’t deal with this.”

   “You have to.” James encouraged. 

   Orion stared at the ceiling. A million things flooded his mind at once. 

   “It will be six month.” James told him. 

   “Why so long?”

   “This is not a decision to be made lightly. Especially since her parents disapprove.”

   Orion looked at Sarah, whom was looking at the floor. “What are you doing for the next six month?”

   “I have patience’s to get back to.” 

     “If you accept me as a patient, how often would you come back?”

     “At least once a month.” She left Orion with James. 

   Dr. Carter was walking down the hall. “Jack.” She called after him. 

   “What’s up?” He smiled.

   “I want to see Michael’s x-rays.”

   “Sure. Now?”

   “The sooner the better,” she hissed.

   “This way.” He led her to his office.

 

Coreopsis 25 a

  Michael was up to his neck in bubbles. He noticed Juliah’s head lying on her hands on the rim of the tub.

   “My princess.” She raised her head when he spoke. “I am so sorry.”

   “It’s okay.” She caressed his cheek. He held his breath hoping it would last forever. “I’m sorry you had to endure that.”

   “Am I to understand that she’s Orion’s wife?”

   “Yes.”

   “Why does she want a divorce?”

   Juliah studied his face. “You know, I don’t know. I think she’s having an affair.” She thought for a moment. “The entire time they’ve been married, I have never seen them kiss or hold hands.”

   “Not even during the wedding?” Michael was shocked. 

   “After.” She corrected herself. “They don’t even share the same chambers.”

   Michael was looking at the end of the tub, “Poor man.” 

   “Poor man?” She questioned.

   Michael was stunned by her reaction. “Yes.” 

   “Why do you show sympathy for him?”

   He locked eyes with Juliah as he spoke, “there are times when all you want to do is get lost in the scent of her hair. You want to drown in the sound of her voice. You have her embrace to look forward to at the end of a rotten day.”

   Juliah was overcome by his words. “What about her?”

   “Women are so much stronger than men. You find other ways to express your wants and needs. We fixate on one thing until it drives us insane.”

   They didn’t speak another word. Juliah helped him out of the tub and lovingly dried him off. She wrapped a towel around his waist and guided him to bed. She positioned herself in such a manner so that he could lay in her arms.

   Soon he was asleep.

   Her feelings toward him were changing. She had missed him horribly while they were away. Even though she still wanted his body to be her play toy. 

   Before long, she was asleep. 

Guest poet; Brandon Thorpe

You Forget What it Was Like to be Alone. 

Like a birthday, I stay busy burning boxes 
so I don’t have to do any talking. 
I love people 
I just stay in my head
I get in a flow, thinking up ideas 
and when people talk to much
I forget. 
And it comes off like I’m depressed
or upset, but I’m not. Some time
during the week I feel like a 
robot.
Clearing tasks, and moving fast. 
and just as I’m finishing up the last
it’s time for bed.
and I’m so caught up in the moment
I forget, I just want to rest, 
I respond coldly out of exhaustion 
Because I’m sick of hearing
people talking
Trying to wind down the conversation 
the way folks say
“Well, what time is it?”
When they want to leave. 
But then she is asleep
And my mind slows,
I take longer breaths 
a weight lifts off my
chest and I realize this wont last
life wont always be like this
I won’t be falling asleep in a house 
with our kids, older family members
on my mind, and most of them are
still alive. 
And I regret how I acted,
You’re there sleeping beside me,
I lock the doors, and check on the
kids, watching for a breath
before I get back in bed. You move
a little
and I wish I’d been kinder. 
I go through all my mistakes
and pledge not to make them
the next day
but then I wake up
with a surge of adrenaline, 
afraid
of what the day might bring, 
and arm myself against 
the people I love.

Bio: 
Artist and poet from South Eastern KY. With poetry I’m trying to find resonate novelty. When someone hears a topic being discussed publicly they’ve only experienced privately, it creates this sensation like “this is very real” “This person gets it”.  It’s a principle of comedy writing. It can’t be too common, else it reads like a horoscope. Poetry won’t solve any problems, but it will make one feel better knowing they are not alone. 
I try to write happy life affirming poems with positive messages, but hide them behind cynical language, and depressing topics. There’s no reason to ignore the hard truths of life, but we can talk about them, and go on together elevating these emotions to art. 

With art I just like to make things that feel cool to look at. I don’t have theories about it. I’ve just always enjoyed looking through art magazines, as a child I couldn’t wait to read the booklets that came with CDs and videogames, just for the art, and want to replicate that experience myself. Make things that look cool. I make very busy art, lot of motion and detail. It would fall in the lowbrow/ pop surrealism category.  

https://youtube.com/shorts/6ZgUEOcVZiw?is=X_gk1kX4SSAO2I4l

https://dandelionscribes.com/publication/aliens-auras-and-the-abyss

Day 237; 334 days of photos

My best friend and I were driving home. It could have been we were slap happy. But we laughed for miles. This car was in front of us. And for some odd reason it had a light hanging under it. This little light became the cars dangle berry. It would smack the road on occasion and bounce. When the car hit a bump, it would sway. The bouncing, swaying, hanging dangle berry. 😂

Go fly your rocket some place else

I super enjoy the Mayhem Allstate commercials. Sadly for me, I called the ad agency that does those and was told they didn’t accept outside ideas. 😢

Here is one of the ideas I have for a Mayhem Allstate commercial.

A group of youth have gathered in a field. They are excitedly setting up a rocket. Mayhem is the rocket.

Mayhem says, “I’m a 9th grade science project.”

Each youth says something different: “Fly to Mars.” Youth pats the rocket (Mayhems shoulder).

A different youth pouts, “Venus is prettier.”

Another youth says, “forget Mars – it’s going to Saturn.”

One other youth says, “I hope it flys to Pluto.”

Elon Musk is standing in the background. The group is totally unaware of him. He says sourly, “they are aware Pluto’s not a planet any more?”

The youth try to light the rocket as Mayhem spins a little. He says laughing, “keep trying.”

“Hold it steady.” One youth voices.

They all hold the rocket as one youth lights the fuse. As it lifts off, as they watch in awe at their creation. Mayhem winks and grins.

Neil deGreasse Tyson is now standing beside Musk. “I hope it doesn’t blow up.” Tyson & Musk just look at each other, expressionless. The camera returns to the rocket.

The rocket goes wild, Mayhem yells “abort, abort” before crashing through the roof of a barn.

The group of youth look at each other, gasp, yell in unison, “ol man Winters.” The youth run in every direction. Tyson and Musk look at each other and run away.

There is a small explosion, chickens and goats run out of the barn; highly agitated.

Mayhem walks out of the barn dusting hay off his clothes (it’s in his hair), smoke is rolling off of him, as the barn catches fire. He launches into his, ‘insurance’ speech.

As he walks off camera, he says, “boom.”

Copyright 2023 Jolene Rice – AKA Chico’s Mom; Chicosmom.com