JanBeek

I’m quoting Kim from Writing in North Norfolk. “I’m welcoming dVerse poets to Prosery, when we ask you to write a very short piece of prose that tells a story, with a beginning, a middle and an end, in any genre of your choice: flash fiction, nonfiction, or creative nonfiction. 

As it’s a kind of flash fiction, we have a limit of 144 words; an additional challenge is to hit 144 exactly. The special thing about Prosery is that we give you a complete line from a poem, which must be included somewhere in your story, within the 144-word limit. You may change punctuation but you are not allowed to insert words in between parts of the quotation.

Ole Tom

We see Ole Tom with his bent shoulders and thinning torso
We see his wind-weathered face and his thinning gray hair
He sits in my living room strumming his guitar
Singing the fourteenth verse of an old folk song
He has a thousand such songs tucked into his head
Along with the entire books of Matthew and Acts
We see him as an ancient sage
We look at him through the wrong end
Of the long telescope of Time
His mind is sharper than mine ever was
And he shows no signs of stopping
Each Christmas Ole Tom recites the Christmas story
From the book of Acts, never reading, just expounding
Amazing the congregation with his masterful memory
He is the epitome of a wise man: Ninety-three going on thirty
Never see him as old and never underestimate Ole Tom
Turn that telescope around!

What fun to participate in dVerse poets’ invitation to Prosery.
It’s a challenge to come up with a 144 word poem,
but not when you have such a delightful subject as Ole Tom.
How we loved him!!
He will live in our hearts forever.

Do you have an ole Sage in your life?
Count your blessings if you do…
and consider joining the fun at dVerse Poets!

Were you able to find the “complete line from a poem”
that I was required to insert as part of my Prosery?
Which do you think it was?

See ya tomorrow.
Have a Terrific Tuesday!
Love,
JanBeek