Weekly Short Stories Contest and Company! discussion

She weaves silk-like threads
to a shiny, tangled web-
a room full of lies.

Evening, Leslie; exclamation point!

The fates weave their skein
A flock of wild geese in flight
-cut free of your binds

Lol, what's with the 'exclamation point'? :P Good afternoon from here :)

I was exclaiming my exclamation.

Ghosts


Long ravels of geese
ripple like water against
a sorcerer’s moon

as an Indian
summer’s breeze bends the cattails
that fringe a lagoon.

An oak by the shore
seems a gestural sketch gouached
with mossed shades of dark.

A spiralling leaf
soon pitches among flickers,
a rudderless bark.

A gazebo’s posts
lean ornately, the glade drawn
in charcoal and chalk,

the phantom lodge’s
guests now but ghosts who wander
a ruined brick walk.

One almost hears their
murmurings, their heels on boards,
a dropped whisker pole

where rotting pilings
remain of a pier. Others
roam a briered knoll.

Two love-struck spirits
loiter near the fragments of
a rose garden’s wall.

He, smiling, pats her
on the rear, and she whacks him
with her parasol.

Ryan wrote: "Congratulations, M! You've made the finals in the Poetry group once again. 'Rendezvous' is an outstanding poem...."

Congratulations, M :)

Thank you, Leslie! My sonnet got trounced.

You got second place :D and I did check the previous polls, I'm not surprised to see your name and oh, congrats for winning last January (better late than never :P)

Good morning, hoping to be more active from here on out, lol! Smile :D

Good morning, Leslie!

Good morning/afternoon, Captain. I'm now reporting for my duty--that is to eat popcorn :D Hope you are all doing fine :)

Did somebody mention popcorn? M here, reporting for duty!

I left it somewhere but I'm too sleepy to look for it. Good morning, captain and M!

Thank you, Al! :) the photo was taken last Saturday for a friend (helping her for a contest). I was running a fever that time so yes, I'm not in my proper frame of mind, lol.

Yey! I'm looking forward to that story :)) Welcome back, Frank!

I think I'm going to die, lol!

Thank you, Frank. Can I ask a favor? Can you please do something to prevent Alex from reading that melodramatic love story? It will do you both good, promise :D

I never did. I gave up on writing the great American novel. I resolved to learn proto-Eskimo, reasoning that nobody had written a novel in that. Mine was bound to the great one! I forgot to check out the primer, however. That was years ago.

folded parasol
coming down on his bald spot
“Pervert!” then a kick

Her shoe struck hard where
it counted most. “Thank God,” he
gasped, “I’m just a ghost.”

Lol! Wonderful and very funny, Jim, M!

Thank you, Leslie! Good morning.

Are we going to have a Halloween party?

Does M stands for Mice? or Mouse? Just kidding, good morning!

Lol, that's so cute :) I wonder what the mice will wear this year..

Just go for the Orion slave girl. Only kids dress up like a Vulcan, I think.

M wrote: "Her shoe struck hard where
it counted most. “Thank God,” he
gasped, “I’m just a ghost.”"

Away he floats from
the scorned ghost's threat, his lips wear
the most evil grin.

I don't know if that's even possible, sorry lol

Good morning and good evening! :)

That’s perfect, Leslie!

Thanks, M :)

Smiling, smirking and
Yet no one seems to see him
And that is just fine

((I'm sorry, this was bad, but I haven't been on in a while. *sheepish look())

A good continuation, Lilian!

Thx, M!

To avoid the shoe
of piqued Cecily, Ambrose
flitted to a tree.

The spectral scent of
phantom roses lingered in
their ghostly noses.

Very nice, M!

They traveled back to
the time of less grease peanuts
and of rootbeer floats.

The rose garden was
a perfect waiting area-
when they were still warm.

???

Thank you, Leslie. Yours will be fun to follow!

A true gentleman,
he held the door. She tried to
smile like Jane Seymour,

her fingers light on
his coat sleeve. He tried to laugh
like Christopher Reeve.

Somewhere in time! I like that movie :)

They stepped into a
set of a black and white scene.
With pale faces and

eyes that lacked luster,
they filled the roles of zombies
in the twilight zone.

Sorry, I'm really sleepy, lol! Good night!

I’m still chuckling about a “time of less grease peanuts . . .” I eat a lot of peanuts!

She steps out, a star
The curtain suddenly falls
And she is now real

When they dragged her from
under the curtain, her fate
remained uncertain.

((Ooh! Nice one! :D))

An actress is good
Kind, loving, and everything
Until her wig's off

(Thank you, Lilian! It will be fun to try to follow this.)


She could act!--a waif,
a page, or Lady Macbeth
with a bloody knife,

the one role beyond
her offstage: alas, the part
of a faithful wife.

((Lolz, awesome!))

Madame and mistress
Oh! The names that she is called
Yet love is not one

Very nice, Lilian! “Madame and mistress” rolls off the tongue, and “Yet love is not one” is a great line.

Thank you, M!

Indeed. I sometimes doubt that you're only 15, Lilian :)

And I thought she was only fourteen! She’s practically an old lady.

:D It was actually my birthday yesterday! IKR, M :P

Happy Birthday, Lilian!

Thank you! IT FEELS SO GREAT!

Lol! an old lady!

Belated happy birthday, old lady! :))

Lilian, Leslie and M - what a wonderful run this last lot is! I could write so many comments on each, they are just spectacular. Great images, clever structure and VERY imaginative. I've missed this thread but WOW, what a collection to return to!

Happy birthday to you, Lilian! I can't believe you're only 15 - your writing seems far too mature (I mean that as a compliment!). Your last Madame and mistress is just fantastic-easily my favorite of all your 5-7-5 so far :)

I agree with Ryan. Lilian, your writing seems years beyond your age.