A blog post mentioned a Esther Chilton prompt, so I took a look. Here was the very short story challenge from November 27th:
Tell a story in 54 words using the following words somewhere in it: HUSKY, ACNE, SPACEMAN, WHEELBARROW, LETTUCE.
Here was my contribution:
The spaceman, his skin scarred by acne and dehydration, pulled the wheelbarrow from the now empty food locker. Inside lay one withered head of lettuce – Earth’s last – smuggled for the colony that never came. He paused, tugged reverently at the outer leaves, and whispered in a husky voice, “The last of the fresh greens.”
And today there was her challenge to write a limerick with the word boring.
Being excessively boring, I wrote three:
1
There once was a duke, rich and soaring,
Whose parties were lavish, but boring.
He served up champagne,
But all was in vain –
The guests fell to dozing and snoring.
2
There once was a wizard from Goring
Who conjured a storm that kept pouring.
His spell went astray,
Turned night into day –
Now he lectures the sun, and it’s boring.
3
A woodworm who specialized in oak
Had her eye on a new fancy bloke.
She showed off her boring,
Tunneling and scoring,
But he wandered out for a smoke.
The Etheree
Via the ever-interesting and erudite Shoreacres’ blog The Task at Hand – Powered by Human Intelligence, I was introduced to her Etheree, so I had to try one. (Read about the Etheree here )
Basically, an Etheree is ten lines: the first line has one syllable, and you add one syllable for each of the next nine lines, for a total of 55. It’s fun, and like the Shadorma, it keeps your basic arithmetic and simple counting skills in shape.
City Park in Late Fall
Leaves
drift down –
slow spirals,
bronze and crimson
catch the sun’s low slant.
Wind rattles the stubborn.
From sycamore and maple
scents of decay and damp earth rise.
Squirrels scold from the bare branches while
the city’s roar softens to distant hum.
And this blogger led to the Cosmic Photo Challenge, which is currently Reflections.
And that provides a reason to share a few pics.
Thanks, everyone!
Love those limericks. So many people get the rhymes right, but miss on the rhythm. I tend to think in limericks, and have been known to leave limericks as comments on posts.
The next step with an etheree is adding rhythm and rhyme. When I started, I only counted syllables; eventually, I realized that the real challenge is making the structure poetic.
That’s the next level for my etheree aspirations.
There once was a limerick writer
Whose rhythm grew tighter and tighter
If one foot went astray
It would ruin her day
For a limerick crime is a blighter!
Really enjoyed your limericks and the rest of your post. I’ll add those limericks to my prompts round-up if that’s okay.
Eat greens to alleviate acne cried out a spaceman in a husky voice selling lettuce from a wheelbarrow.
Love it!