4:20 PM central standard time.
Darkness descends. No sunrise until 7:17. Dark dominates for fifteen hours.
Pandemic fear grips me. More than 311,000 people dead.
Isolation. Zooms — too many zooms. News — too much news.
Books begun and abandoned. Sunday Times unfinished.
Too cold to visit outside in Chicago. 34 degrees numbs fingers and toes.
Too much Netflix bingeing.
Dark moods claim me.
No December holidays with kids and grandkids. No visits with friends.
Even on a warmish winter afternoon, not enough daylight.
I search for beauty and brightness.
Enjoy sunrise. Marvel at the beauty of the sunset.
Light candles. Persevere.
RetroFlash — 100 words
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Laurie LevyBoomer. Educator. Advocate. Eclectic topics: grandkids, special needs, values, aging, loss, & whatever. Author: Terribly Strange and Wonderfully Real.
Characterizations:
been there, moving, well written
Laurie, this is so powerful, and so beautiful! Your words ring true for so many of us. Your use of just a few well chosen words and images take us on a deep but profound journey into the light and fill us with hope. Seriously, thank you!
Thanks, Barb, for showing me that many times, 100 words are enough.
In 100 words, you catch the mood perfectly. You photos are stunning and I loved your final night of Hanukkah, fully-lit menorah. That did light up the night for a few, bright minutes.
I really wanted to get that menorah photo into my story, Betsy. This year, the light of Hanukkay affected me profoundly.
This was a truly well realized and poetic version of a Retroflash, replete with well-selected images to buttress the beautifully crafted language (I was tempted to say, lyrics). Thanks for this powerful contribution.
Thank you, Dale, for understanding what I was trying to capture.
Love this, Laurie. And the candle lighting has a special meaning of hope this year.
I agree, Marian. I really wanted to get that picture of the fully lit menorah into my story to symbolize the hope I have for 2021.
You have taken RetroFlash to a new level, both here and in “Ribbon Barrettes,” with amazing pictures that add so much to the story that it conveys way more than one would expect from 100 words. Perfect!
Thanks, Suzy. I struggle with this format but it worked for the darkness prompt.
I can only parrot what Suzy said, Laurie. You have somehow, and quickly, perfected RetroFlash. Your poetic words convey the message — bleak though it is — and nothing more needs be said. And yet your pictures complement and enhance those words. And add some unexpected beauty as well.
Thanks, John. Today is the Winter Solstice and we are like plants literally and figuratively seeking the light after four very dark years.
Nice presentation in this format.
Thanks, Joe.
Beautiful flash, Laurie. The brief, declarative nature of your sentences mirrors the thought process so effectively, each observation adrift on its own, isolated raft. The pics served well to illustrate a passage of time, the cycle of day and night and to add an emotional/ visual counterpoint, familiar, universal. And the menorah lent weight — mebbe ‘illuminated’ your concluding resolve. Thanks!
Thank you, Charles. As we are heading toward the light (in many senses, I hope), I’m trying to hold on to an optimistic perspective. Not always easy.
We tend to think of “statistics” or “quantitative measures” as almost the opposite of the poetic imagination with its emphasis on descriptive words, figurative language, qualitative observation. In that context, it is striking to begin your poem with the very quantitative measure of the time; two different times, in fact, and the statistical measure of the distance from one to the other (15 hours). These numbers work, and the whole poem is strong and meaningful. You have refuted my bias about keeping numbers separate from poems.
We tend to think of “statistics” or “quantitative measures” as almost the opposite of the poetic imagination with its emphasis on descriptive words, figurative language, qualitative observation. In that context, it is striking to begin your poem with the very quantitative measure of the time; two different times, in fact, and the statistical measure of the distance from one to the other (15 hours). These numbers work, and the whole poem is strong and meaningful, and also makes use of other numerical data (e.g., no. of deaths). You have, refuted my bias about keeping numbers separate from poems.
Dale, I was not conscious of doing that. It just sounded right to me. So interesting to read your analysis. Thank you!
Wonderful RetroFlash Laurie.
Yes too many Zooms, and too much news, and books put down and not finished. And may I add. cabin fever and short tempers and too much cooking and cleaning.
But there’s light at the end of the tunnel if we hold out!
I agree Dana, especially about the cooking.
Succinct. The words are like snapshots, illuminated by actual snapshots.
Short days are depressing!
I guess we could look forward, as the days are a bit longer and we are on the upswing. But until we get to January 20, it still feels rather dark to me.