Sunday, October 30, 2011

Distraction

He staggers and he falls. A fanged imp, drawn by fresh hemoglobin and gunsmoke, splatters through the wall, clamoring that men’s blood is less than sweet these days, that molasses taffy has lost its shine. A goldfish of crumpled paper puppet-swims against the grain, laying low to spy beneath the Coronet for MI5. Soon it’ll sense the currents that swept the sheets stage left. Hear the footsteps of the maid who’ll make up that bed and lie. About stealing her sweetheart’s pennant that had once hung the rented wall. Leaving one nail stuck off-key, driving a dead man to distraction.

For other writing inspired by this image, visit Magpie Tales.
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21 comments:

  1. HelenaOctober 30, 2011 at 6:23 PM

    Oh, I do like the vision of the maid and lying. A fine poem. A nice distraction to my usually hum-drum Sundays....!!

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  2. KayOctober 30, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    wow!!! i want some of what you're having....brilliant!!! x

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  3. AnonymousOctober 30, 2011 at 6:35 PM

    Ha! Very clever! You know the photo reminded me of "Sleep No More" the performance piece/play about MacBeth. Your post fits right into the mood of that. (Check it out if you don't know it. )

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  4. Gemma WisemanOctober 30, 2011 at 11:35 PM

    Wonderful melody of Gothic sound effects culminating in the series of deadly "d's"! Rich imagery!

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  5. JinksyOctober 31, 2011 at 5:47 AM

    I can see the paper gold fish swimming too! I really enjoyed this flight of fancy.

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  6. jabblogOctober 31, 2011 at 6:12 AM

    I like the way you've used all the elements in the illustration. Well done!

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  7. Doctor FTSEOctober 31, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    All the aspects of the picture integrated into one piece of writing. Quite an achievement.

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  8. AnonymousOctober 31, 2011 at 10:38 AM

    That's a really tight write with great use of vocabulary. I love the little images you create.
    Jamie

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  9. Isabel DoyleOctober 31, 2011 at 12:22 PM

    very nicely managed in your self-imposed rules

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  10. FrikoOctober 31, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    A lovely lot of nonsense.

    Brilliant.

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  11. LynOctober 31, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    I trust the part where men's blood is not as sweet these days..everything else must be true too! Bravo!!

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  12. Brian MillerOctober 31, 2011 at 4:49 PM

    this has a wonderful gritty feel to it and you dance well from image to image....well penned...

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  13. Tumblewords:October 31, 2011 at 6:59 PM

    A variety of truth that sings - as it should!

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  14. Sean VesseyOctober 31, 2011 at 8:25 PM

    This post would drive a dead man to distraction

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  15. Jenne' R. Andrews November 1, 2011 at 1:34 AM

    This is brilliant-- do repost it or link it to DVerse open link night... very fine, wonderful associative leaps and tensions! xxxj

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  16. ClaudiaNovember 1, 2011 at 5:43 PM

    i love the pic...have seen it at willow's place and maybe join the fun and write something...still pondering...but like much what you done with it..you captured the gritty, dark mood perfectly..

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  17. Susie ClevengerNovember 1, 2011 at 11:27 PM

    Nice!! so many different images...image drawn by blood...paper goldfish..so creative!

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  18. Nana JoNovember 2, 2011 at 2:18 PM

    "A goldfish of crumpled paper puppet-swims against the grain" ... what a clever, wonderful line! The whole piece leaps with resonance.

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  19. Tess KincaidNovember 2, 2011 at 3:07 PM

    I adore anything with hemoglobin, gun smoke, and molasses...

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  20. MartinNovember 3, 2011 at 2:38 PM

    A mesh of potential plot-lines?

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  21. The Blog of BeeNovember 4, 2011 at 7:37 PM

    A must read again write, Love the goldfish image

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