My husband is still sleeping. He fell asleep watching television; I did, too, but I got up and headed to bed. He woke for a moment and said, “I’ll be there in a minute.” I knew I’d wake up at 3 am and find the television still on along with all the lights and hear…
Category: Writing as a Discipline
Prompt: The Word “Time”
Time is an issue for me. It has been an issue for a long while. Not when I was a kid. Then time stretched out like a relaxed cat, stretching long, and I relaxed with it. Playing outside up in trees and pretending each limb was a room in my imaginary house, and me climbing…
Prompt: Marcia Ball and the Texas Blues
We saw Marcia Ball and her band the other night here in Texas at a local club called Loose Wheels. They are a long-term Austin band and they play a combination of Texas blues and Louisiana rock. You could imagine yourself sitting in a New Orleans bar listening to her pound away on her piano…
Prompt: Haiku: Cold Cross-Town Trip at 2 am
Entering the cold A frigid winter’s evening Hides inside the car Cross town trip drags by Car heater spews icy air Legs quiver and quake Front door lock resists Wind so cold it slides through clothes Home awaits with warmth Gas stoves radiate Shivers are replaced with heat A happy relief A night filled with…
Prompt: Haiku: A Winter’s Night
Weather shifts to cold Wind brings Canada far south Stars white in black sky Gas stoves cast orange glow Hot flames flicker with quiet joy Warmth melts away cold Thoughts of bed entice Cozy under heavy quilts A warm, safe cocoon Dreams of summer days Green trees, red birds and blue water Fill this winter…
Flash Poetry Prompt: Venturing Into The Unknown – 1973
First, having scoured all the travel books, And sold my car, And gotten my passport and plane ticket I don my Backpack of purple canvas My silly “Earth” shoes My ‘70’s maroon jeans and top. I am on my way Not like Jack Kerouac with his drunken friends Cruising down Route 66 But on this…
Prose Poem Prompt: Hamster Wheel
Today is one of those days when I want to do nothing. Absolutely nothing. Go sit out in the sun and just let its rays wash over me. Warm these cold feet of mine. Fill me with power from somewhere other than myself. I get tired of the need for constant self-initiative. When you are…
Flash Essay Prompt: The Word “Other”
Other? What does that mean? Other means not us. Someone different. Someone who does not share common traits or beliefs or locations or even species. Other is a word that comes up a lot when people want to judge someone harshly. He has other beliefs. She has other interests. Not ours. Against us. Not with…
Prompt: The Word “Encounter”
Encounter is a word that conjures up mystery. Encounter is not just a meeting, but something more fleeting. An encounter suggests movement, as if both parties are on their way to somewhere else and they briefly come in contact. One can imagine an encounter in a stairwell, where two people pass and glance at one…
Flash Fiction Prompt: A Shift in Perspective
The sky was light in the east, and the world had just begun to stir. Calista sat at her kitchen table and thumbed through the LA Times. Where was Brian and why hadn’t he come home last night? He usually called if he wasn’t going to make it home. The dog barked. Calista knew this…
20 Minutes a Day 