Here’s a collection of very short stories and poems (tweet-length) I did based on prompts from vss365today.com over this past week. I’ve found these prompts are a fun way to keep the creative juices flowing and also are seeds for potential future stories. The prompt is the word next to each date. I hope you enjoy!

5/23/21 Iris
Alone
A purple flower blooms
Beside a path
In the shadows

Beauty
Among the monotone
Shades of hope
A different light

Delight
An iris in the forest
My momentary love
Until winter’s breath

5/24/21 Ponytail
“What on earth?”
“This is so embarrassing.”
“I don’t even know… Jensen, your ponytail is stuck in the airlock. How’d it get caught without you being sucked out?”
“Okay, fine, it’s me. I’m the alien. Get me free and we’ll talk.”
“Yeah, no. You ate five of my friends.”

5/25/21 Quaint
“How quaint,” Roger said. It was the kindest thing he could think of at the moment.
Julia shook her head and rolled her eyes. His imagination was too small, she knew. The math worked. Yes, the model looked odd, but the building could be built. Escher would be proud.

5/26/21 Wine
From the Garden Hill
Flow streams of gladness
New wine for the soul
Flooding into valleys below
Joy and delight
Saturating the earth
Until new life flourishes
Sprouts of satisfaction
Bending toward the light
The Sun of Eternal Hope

5/27/21 Doppelganger
I saw him from a distance the first day, gawking. I assumed he was awed by how much we looked alike. My doppelganger, we even had the same chin scar. I know, because a week later, he gazed at me through the window. That’s when I had to break in and make him disappear.

5/28/21 Earlobe
There was no trace of victim or perpetrator, other than a single earlobe. With no matching DNA in the system, they assumed it belonged to the homeowner.
…
Harry stared at the fresh grave of the would-be thief. Ryan’s mistake was breaking into the home of a serial killer.

5/29/21 Valiant
Trembling, Valiant kneeled. “I failed, my lord,” his voice cracked. “I lost courage and ran. I am unworthy of this sword and my name.”

The King leaned forward and gazed at the boy, eyes filled with compassion. “I named you not as you are but as you will be. Rise. Go.”

Image cred: unsplash.com@totoy2001

Here’s a collection of very short stories and poems (tweet-length) I did based on prompts from vss365today.com over this past week. I’ve found these prompts are a fun way to keep the creative juices flowing and also are seeds for potential future stories. The prompt is the word next to each date. I hope you enjoy!

5/2/21 Warcry
The woman gazed into the distance before setting her narrow gray eyes on me. The breeze caught tufts of long gray hair. She brushed it from her eyes.

“It started when I was a girl,” she said. “It was the eagles that sounded the warcry.”

5/3/21 Brainwash
“Did the serum work?”
“I don’t know.” I set the box on the table. 
“What’s this?”
“When I asked Perry to brainwash our guest, he thought I literally meant wash his brain. There you go.”
Thad gaped. “I don’t want this.”
I turned to leave, muttering, “I need new help.”

5/4/21 Waxwork
No, no, no! This isn’t supposed to happen! Sigh. I spent 18 years collecting enough crayons. Charlotte, Bethany, & Charles were the perfect family. Always there, always supportive. No more.

I should have lived in Anchorage, not Albuquerque. Dang heat ruined the waxwork.

5/5/21 Storyteller
Chaos
Waves crash into dark seas
The Storyteller speaks
A spark
Chasing away the starless void
The rays of the conductor
Calling forth the symphony of birds
First breath
The child opens his eyes
Gazing across the garden plains
Paradise

5/6/21 Timewarp
Darn it. 

I messed up on my vss365. Since Twitter doesn’t have an edit feature, it’s a good thing I have the Machine in my basement.

I’ll create a timewarp, go back, and stop myself.

At least that’s the theory. The only time I tested it, the dog didn’t come back.

5/7/21 Everlasting
The flame burns
An Everlasting light
Guiding us to the mountain
And streams of melting snow
New life to weary wanderers
One hundred years behind us
Lifetimes ahead
Shedding ancient skin
Like a planted seed
Sprouting, growing
Reaching toward the eternal sun

5/9/21 Lockdown
The lockdown was over. They emerged from the bunker a year older and barely surviving. Their food had run out a week ago.  What kind of world would they find after the invasion?

The sun was bright. Birds sang. Children laughed and played.

They stared at each other. The warnings?–everything had been a lie.

Image cred: unsplash.com/@robbie36

Here’s a collection of very short stories and poems (tweet-length) I did based on prompts from vss365today.com over this past week. I’ve found these prompts are a fun way to keep the creative juices flowing and also are seeds for potential future stories. The prompt is the word next to each date. I hope you enjoy!

4/18/21 Blessing
It was the tradition of the elders to convey a blessing upon their children. Marcus, though, wasn’t sure what there was to offer.

For years, he watched the many-headed creatures emerge from the cave and devour the children.

It wasn’t time for blessing, but war.

4/19/21 Watch (1)
Jedidiah volunteered to take first watch. He had the sharpest eyes and keenest ears. He wasn’t as sure a shot as Ryan but could hold his own.

It didn’t matter. They’d all be dead by morning light. The creature swooped down from above. He didn’t have time to even scream.

Watch (2)
Setting sun
Orange, pink
Lingering light
Holds on
Breathe

Darkening sky
Light fades
Twinkling eyes
Stars emerge
Watch

4/20/21 Personal 
“It’s nothing personal.”

“Then what is it, Frank?”

“I kill. It’s what I do.”

“We’ve been neighbors ten years. Our boys are best friends. We coach together.”

“Sorry, Tom. I can’t stand your laugh. I’ve hated it since I met you.”

“I thought it wasn’t personal.”

“I lied.”

4/21/21 Only
If only for a moment
Facing the setting sun
Souls embrace
Hearts aflame
Whispering secret oaths
Raging in the dark of night
Fates conspire
Who can stand in lasting love
As war drums beat
Far away
Last breath
Star-crossed lives

4/22/21 Settle (1)
“What’s in the beyond, daddy?”

I stood beside my daughter and gazed across the prairie. Humans had ventured to the Great River, but none who crossed returned.

There were rumors of unimaginable beauties, but none certain.

“Adventure.” I grinned. And new land to settle.

Settle (2)
Steady gray eyes
Clouded in time
Gazing ahead
A mighty oak stands
Tall beside the Great River

Leaves turning
Falling
Seedlings grow
Carried by floods
A vision, a distant thought
Happy, sad
Tears for both

Longing
Dreaming
Her voice calls
Come, settle
The Elysian Plains

4/23/21 Thunder
The thunder rolled, a gentle rumble across the plains. The young men labored. Rain or shine, the cattle needed care.

The old cowboy gazed toward the hills at the rider on the horse. This was no ordinary storm. For five hundred years he’d escaped. But Death had finally found him.

4/24/21 Rings
Hollowness rings
Platitudes, promises
Lies told to win the masses
Red-faced talking heads
Twisting truths
Tossing knives into the cage
Eat your own
Destroy the other
Where is hope?
Where is love?
The quiet stillness far away
Hearts longing
Searching
For a better story

Image cred: unsplash.com/@noaa