Happy first day of October! I hope you’re enjoying jumping in to all of this month’s fun blogging challenges.
I woke up while it was still dark and went out with my camera to enjoy the spooky moonlight. I really enjoyed the results of using the “Night Scene” setting in my Sony alpha-58 to capture the moon reflected in the lake.
OctPoWriMo
I filled in my mind map while waiting for my roasted plum breakfast to cook. I think I’ll make mind mapping while I wait a regular thing. It’s such a simple tool and quickly shows how I associate things. I found it interesting that I didn’t connect emotionally to thinking about fears until I was almost done. So that’s a good place to focus for my poem.
I tried my poem in two different ways. First I let the poem just flow out of me:
They Hunt in Packs
Nightmares hunt me
a pack of wolves in the night
circling on the edge of light
their strange howls
yank me from peace
cries full of longing and release
surrounded by fangs and claws
to tear me to pieces
They stalk my steps
smell my tortured sweat
and perk their ears
to time my shallow breaths
I close my burning eyes
and they invade
they come inside
claws tapping on kitchen tiles
snarling and slobbering
along the carpet
Soon I will feel weight on my chest
the searing, piercing pain
of the first bite
but the sun peaks under the curtain
and they vanish
leaving only the longing
for now
Then I used what I wrote to write a pantoum:
The Hunt
Nightmares hunt me,
a pack of wolves in the night
Glowing eyes won’t let me be,
circling on the edge of light
A pack of wolves in the night,
their strange howls call the moon,
circling on the edge of light,
yank me from peace to doom
Their strange howls call the moon
Cries full of longing and pangs
yank me from peace to doom
surrounded by claws and fangs
Cries full of longing and pangs
I close my burning eyes
surrounded by claws and fangs
They snarl as they come inside
I close my burning eyes
There will be weight on my chest
They snarl as they come inside
The first bite pierces my flesh
There will be weight on my chest
So personal this trespass
The first bite pierces my flesh
If only it were the last
So personal this trespass
Glowing eyes won’t let me be
If only it were the last
but nightmares hunt me
Writober
Logline: A man with insomnia, pacing in the moonlight, hears a woman or child wailing in the forest. Haunted by the loss of his wife and children, he follows the noise to a clearing where he encounters giant masks floating over a mysterious structure. At first he thinks it’s an art installment, but then the masks smile.
The Moon Inside
I’m twisting. The sheets wrestle my legs. The pillow is hot and too high or too low. I cannot get comfortable, so I give up. Each night since Rosa disappeared with the kids, the insomnia gets worse. And since autumn killed summer and seeped its chaos into the days, I can’t find any rest. I didn’t think a man could live this long without sleep.
I grab my thick cardigan waiting for me on the hook by the door, slide into my shoes and meet the night. Tonight a full moon casts my shadow over the grass. I fill my lungs with dew and stars and my frustration ebbs. A wail pierces the night. I involuntarily jolt and feel ashamed for the loss of control. The heartbroken cry comes again, and it isn’t an animal’s howl. It’s the sorrow of a woman or a child. I imagined my dear Rosa lost in the dark, hurt, perhaps broken and helpless, wailing in despair, and without a second thought I sprinted into the thick trees.
That Was Fun!
So there it is. My first day of October challenges. That felt like a good start. I’m looking forward to all the spooky creativity to come. I’m going to link this post to the prompt post. I hope you’ll join me and link up your poems, photos, and/or flash fiction.
Experience Writing 