Averil Dean's Blog, page 20

Death Alone

There are lone cemeteries,

tombs full of soundless bones,

the heart threading a tunnel,

a dark, dark tunnel :

like a wreck we die to the very core,

as if drowning at the heart

or collapsing inwards from skin to soul.

There are corpses,

clammy slabs for feet,

there is death in the bones,

like a pure sound,

a bark without its dog,

out of certain bells, certain tombs

swelling in this humidity like lament or rain.

I see, when alone at times,

coffins under sail

setting out with the pale dead, women in their dead...

Goldilocks

Today’s prompt was suggested by Anna Fonté, who’s been writing lists:

Ten kisses I remember…

A morning-time kiss from a boy named Danny, who lived across the street. He tasted like pancakes and syrup. I still can feel the heat of the block wall at our backs and the gritty desert floor under my palms.
A game of sardines on a darkened golf course. Being discovered in the oleanders by the boy I most wanted to find me, having him do the exact thing I hoped he would. I remember the warm points of con...

Shiny People

This prompt is courtesy of our Alarna, and it’s a beauty:

Pick a quote by a favorite author and say something about it…The more personal and/or controversial the better.

Mine comes from Agatha Christie: “Very few of us are what we seem.”

It’s a simple line and self-evident, but it’s the main concept behind everything I write and much of what I think about. It’s the locked room again, this idea that the true essence of every human being is unknowable to every other—yet we struggle daily with the...

The Collective

A couple of people have suggested that we make up our own prompts for this space—and after reading a couple of ideas for April 30, online and in my Writer’s Book of Days, I have to agree that we can do better. So if you have a question you’d like to ask of the collective, or a prompt to get us writing, let’s have it. The more the better. I’ve got eleven more months of these dailies and need all the help I can get.

Or, you know, just tell me what’s going on in your world. Writing projects, rand...

Gap

Small deviation on the daily prompt business, which is starting to frustrate me. Today I switched to A Writer’s Book of Days for some more delicate and interesting ideas. These are not questions so much as writing generators, so we’ll see how it goes. For April 29, the prompt is:

This is how he (she) looked…

I’m going with the first person who comes to mind, a patient who was in our office yesterday. She works in a big-box store, which is how I imagine she lost a front tooth. Maybe something fe...

Grudge

Do you hold grudges or do you believe in forgive and forget?

I try to hold grudges. A grudge is necessary sometimes, even admirable, especially if you’ve been badly wronged. In fact, some of my favorite people are vengeful as gods—a loveable quality, I feel, and a sign of wisdom and vitality. But I tend to forget things inadvertently. I remember that I want to dislike the person and that there is a reason to do so. Sometimes I recall a vague outline of whatever they did to hurt me. But the ang...

Circles and Squares

You’re throwing a party — for you! Tell us all about the food, drink, events, and party favours you’ll have for your event of a lifetime. Use any theme you like — it’s *your* party!

Oh, it would be tiny. One round table, Spanish guitars, a lot of wine to keep us talking and a chef behind the scenes to keep us fed. Actually, I have a scene in Blackbird that describes the kind of meal I’d like:

They sat on the terrace beneath a flowering crabapple tree. Its blossoms drifted to the table, into the...

Cartoon Hearts

What was it that drew you to your significant other? Their blue eyes? Their ginger countenance? Their smile? Their voice?

I met my husband through an old-school dating service, where you’d go to an actual office and browse through a library of three-ring binders. Each person had a written profile and a picture, and a truly awful video should you be inspired to watch it. If you found someone you’d like to meet, you’d stop at the front desk to request an introduction.

One day I was on my way out...

Galoshes

If you could learn a trade — say carpentry, electrical work, roofing, landscaping, plumbing, flooring, drywall — you name it — what skill(s) would you love to have in your back pocket?

Hmm, interesting question, Sir Promptsalot. Pleasant mental images of me in leather apron or mechanic’s jumper, wielding a wrench or nail gun or sexy plumber’s crack (that’s ass cleavage to you, boys) and plunger, ready to play Ms. Fixit. I’d love to be able to repair my own car, or even understand how the damn...

Sting

Who did you idolize as a teenager? Did you go crazy for the Beatles? Ga-ga over Duran Duran? In love with Justin Bieber? Did you think Elvis was the livin’ end?