\"Writing.Com
*Magnify*
    January    
SMTWTFS
   
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
19
20
24
25
26
27
28
29
Archive RSS
SPONSORED LINKS
Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/item_id/2316938-Those-Who-Live-in-Grass-Houses/day/1-31-2025
Image Protector
Rated: 18+ · Book · Fantasy · #2316938
GoT plus the PromptMaster! and Cards Against Authors stuff (poetry and short stories)
Quill 2024 Nominee


Apparently this is going to be a load of writing of various types - stories, poems, reviews and, no doubt, just about anything else you can think of..
January 31, 2025 at 3:28pm
January 31, 2025 at 3:28pm
#1083068
Altschmerz

Another day, another lack of dollar,
eyes creak open to one more dark morning,
and I must enter the cold to dress
in preparation for more nothing.

The same pains and aches find new regions
and the floor feels uneven beneath my bare feet,
the game of guess the ailment has lost its flavour,
my defences still stand from long practice.

When the future is crumpled into a tight ball
within my grasp, squeezed long ago
of all its juice and dry now to the touch,
it’s hard to see a reason to continue.

Old age is all and more than expected,
once interesting in its changes,
even soaring at times with possibilities,
and now revealed as just another day.



Line count: 16
Free verse
For Cards Against Authors, Week 4 Prompt
Prompt Card: You are suffering from Altschmerz (weariness with the same old issues that you’ve always had - the same boring flaws and anxieties you’ve been gnawing on for years, which makes you numb to them, and they're no longer interesting to think about).
Woes Cards: Soar, Footprint (You only need to choose one word to use).
January 31, 2025 at 10:39am
January 31, 2025 at 10:39am
#1083053
Tourist Class

Like sardines in a baitball
preparing for death in the can
air travellers in the metal tube
shuffle and stretch in the aisle
stashing, stacking the spaces
and sliding, packing in seats
bodies retracted into armoured
defences, silenced in hush
and muttering under breath
readied for the slingshot hours
when earth falls away beneath
and life constricts into limits
bounded by elbows of touch
unrequested or desired
thought and reason squashed
into this hollow existence
endurance the only intent.

Scant relief in the vision of sky
folded flat meals on a tray
jaded old movies squawking
as the hum of the engines
rumble to keep you aware
another minute flown toward
release from the press and
racehorse blinkers unwound
only for the smooth patter
of captain’s announcement
confidence unwarranted
to scrape into your treasured
invincibility so carefully
nurtured to hold on to alone.

Return to earth crescendo
a sudden whoosh of arrival
and freedom beckons in the rush
to forget until flying again.



Line count: 35
Free verse
For PromptMaster! Week 4 Task Prompt
Prompt: Using onomatopoeia, write a poem describing a crowded event. Make at least one sound jarring.


© Copyright 2025 Beholden (UN: beholden at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Beholden has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.

Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/item_id/2316938-Those-Who-Live-in-Grass-Houses/day/1-31-2025