Writing Outside the Lines – Writing Prompt #51

I’ve been asked by a good friend to come up with a writing prompt for her website Writing Outside the Lines. Annie has helped me when I have been stuck, when I needed a second opinion and with editing. She first introduced me to writing prompts… well years ago. Time flies so fast anymore I’m not sure how long it’s been. LOL I know I have been lax when it comes to writing to prompts – well with writing in general, but I’m working on it – so when she asked me to come up with a prompt for her site I jumped at the chance.

Here is what I decided. I LOVE word banks. Give me five or six words and I will try to weave story or poem out of them. Some are short and sweet, some have taken on a mind of their own, as Annie can attest to.

Here they are….

phone,   past,   storm,   twig,   light,   green

The rules are pretty simple. You don’t have to use all of words. One, two all six. It is up to you. Be it a story, poem, blog, haiku… whatever other writing style tickles your fancy. You decide. All you have to do is figure out how these words inspire you and write until there is no more left to say.

I’ll leave you to your muse. Have a wonderful day. 🙂

2016 Heidi Barnes

A Dream That Haunts Me

Reoccurring dreams. I had one last night. This is a new one, by which I mean in the last fifteen years or so. Not from my younger years. It never finishes and always leaves me uneasy. I also don’t remember all of it. They say that dreams can be your subconscious trying to figure something out that is bothering you or you’ve put on the back burner and now it has time to mull it over. I’m not sure with reoccurring though. I did have one that was rather disturbing that I had through my teen years. It was always the same, bloody, stressful with an ending that left me exhausted and haunted even after I woke up. There was a person, male, that was what I would call one of the leaders, but his face was never clear so I never knew who he was. It was not until I actually met that person (Yes, you read that right. Met. Not already knew.) when I was nineteen that the dream finally stopped haunting me. How I knew was because I had the dream one last time and the face was finally clear. I actually have that one written down somewhere.

The one I had last night is not as bloody, but it was stressful. I am seeing through someone else’s eyes. So it is me, yet it is not, living through this dream. We are in danger. Someone, or ones, are wanting something that we have. A person that can change the tide if they capture him or her. I know who it is, even though I don’t think I’m suppose to. The people in control don’t know I know, and that in itself is a danger. We are crowded in a room that looks a lot like Greek ruins, with stadium like seating but small. I see a male seated up towards the top that I recognize and there is a very strong connection, yet I don’t want him to know I am there. We lock eyes but there are too many between us so we are stuck where we are. I try not to make eye contact again, ignoring him, but I feel his eyes on me. This is not good because if the wrong person notices that will bode ill for us.

We are in water. The channel that is in between the island where I have a cabin and the next so it is familiar, but the water is smooth, calm, no current. Almost like a lake. There are many of us and we are in the middle treading water. It is warm. The first time through the dream (I went through it many times because it never resolves itself, looping at the end over and over until I finally wake up in an attempt to get out of it, only to fall back into it) there are shark fins and we all scramble to get to shore before someone is attacked. The second, or third, I’m not sure, time I keep waiting for the fins, but none come. It makes me even more nervous because I don’t know what will come next. By now I know it’s a dream so I try to change it, make it do what I want. It doesn’t work.

Then it switches to a room. At least I think it is a room. This is where the dream keeps looping and blurs together, never ending, never clear and never going the way I think or want it to go. It’s very frustrating. That male that was in the beginning is there along with others, although he seems to keep to the shadows, always watching. There is some arguing, people telling me that I can’t have what I want and I refuse to listen. Trying again and again to make it right because they are wrong. They have to be wrong.

I woke tired, confused and frustrated because it would not end. Until it does I don’t think it will ever stop haunting me. There is more, but the images keep slipping through my fingers as I try to remember them. Now it is mostly feelings and knowing that it is not over. It may never be over.

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes

Kitten

1750528-bigthumbnail
Image: Desktop Nexus – Sadness

What’s wrong, Kitten?
I don’t eat,
don’t sleep.
It must tell.
I am gaunt,
my eyes dark with exhaustion.
Don’t you see?

What’s wrong, Kitten?
I’m being suffocated.
no room to move,
to think,
to breathe.
I am standing still,
my mind unable to put together words.
Here me gasping for air?

 

What’s wrong, Kitten?
I need help
but I don’t know how to ask,
who to ask.
Can you tell me what to do,
where to go?

What’s wrong, Kitten?
Can’t you see!
Help me
before it’s too late!
Before he takes everything,
before I am no more.

© 2016 Heidi Barnes

This is from a poem I wrote in high school in poetry class. The incident actually happened. I was asked by a teacher as I walked into the classroom, “What’s wrong, Kitten?” I did not tell the teacher these things, I wrote the poem instead.  Although not all of it was bad, it was slowly being suffocated. It was quite sometime before I was free. But then again, are we ever?

Consequence Uncaring

Do you know what I care about?

Do you even care?

Do you see past your own needs

to those suffering around you,

or are you oblivious to their joys

their sorrows

their pain.

Please tell me

for I will waste no more of my time,

my efforts,

my life,

so you can live yours without guilt

or consequence

for yours actions uncaring.

© 2016 Heidi Barnes

A Good Book

I just finished a rather long book. About 740 pages, but I didn’t mind. In fact, when I saw how long it was I ecstatic! It was the lastest book by one of my favorite authors, Sherrilyn Kenyon. This one is from her The League: Nemesis Rising series called Born of Legend. I hesitated in starting it because I knew nothing else would get done until I finished the book, and I have a 4th of July party to get ready for. So I decided to wait until afterwards. 

Needless to say, I didn’t.

I’m not big into writing reviews. I know for a writer that sounds bad, but in my defense I’m always worried I’ll ruin the book or movie for someone. So I try to keep what I say to a minimum. What I will say about Born of Legend is I am sorry it ended. This is a series I have read numerous times and eagerly wait for the next one. I feel as if I have walked away from some old, very dear friends that I won’t be able to see for another year or two with questions of, what happens next? What about this particular character that went off on a personal mission? What happened to him? What about these two? *pointing at a young couple* You’ve been hinting something is between them since they met at the age of four. Tell me more!

So now I sit here. In withdrawels. Wanting to play with my friends I met through Sherrilyn Kenyon and knowing I have to wait. Maybe now I can finish getting ready for the party. *sigh*

© 2016 Heidi Barnes

The League: Nemesis Rising Born of Legend on Amazon.com. If you haven’t read this series you will want to start with The League: Born of Night.

You Are Dead to Me

Do you truely hate me that much?
Is there anyone safe from your wrath?
You chose your path.
Do not blame me
if the outcome is not what
you thought it would be.
I warned you of the consequences.
Now all you have left
is to live with them.
Take your fury,
your vengeance,
and leave here.
Never darken my doorway
again,
or the pain you feel now
will be nothing compared
to the agony you will endure
if I or any if my clan
lays eyes on you
again.
You are dead to me.
Leave or feel my wrath,
and know what true vengeance
is.

© 2016 Heidi Barnes

What We See

image

I see you
walking alone in the moonlight.
Looking for something
you will never find.
Not until you look deep inside
where secrets lie,
and you finally admit
that the person you are,
the person we see,
is real.
Believe in yourself!
Once you do
you may find
what you seek
is not as elusive
as you may think.

© 2016 Heidi Barnes

Summer Vacation

I’M FREE!!!!

Just wanted to get that out of the way. LOL Today if the first official day of my summer vacation! Yeah!!! Does this mean I get to lay around in the sun, tan, drinking mai-tai’s and reading? I wish! One, it needs to be warm enough and actually sunny to do that. Living in the Pacific Northwest usually means June is wet and chilly and the summer weather doesn’t officially start until July 5th. (Heaven forbid we have a dry warm Fourth. :P) Yes, our weather has been screwy like the rest of the county. We’ve already hit 90F a couple of times. But La Nina is lurking on our shores and so far it seems as if we are having a normal-ish wet June. As of the moment the sky is blue and the sun is out, but we will see how long that last.

Two, I have a TON of yardwork to do. Now that I am feeling better, pretty much healed up from a fall I took (it’s been a baaad month), and have some time, I can finally go out and try to catch up on the yardwork. Some areas are not so bad. Just some small pruning, deadheading and a few weeds. Others are a disaster area. Right now I’m looking out my window at a couple of firs that have dead branches in them that need to be removed. Some of those should be interesting since they are way above my head.

Three is the house itself. We are still in the process of updating. Trim, painting, new doors, painting ceilings, flooring, painting, bathrooms. Did I mention painting? I don’t like painting. Especially the ceiling part. All of this is a slow and tedious process that we started last summer. Aside from the painting, we will probably finish the downstairs before the 3rd when we have a party. We’ll see. I am getting old and the energy I had in my 30’s  is not what it used to be.

Today I will start in the yard. I think I know which part, but that remains to be seen if when I do get out there it actually happens. I am going back to work to help one of the teachers finish packing up her room this afternoon so the custodians can clean. At least my mornings can once again be dedicated to writing. Whether it is editing, poetry, a new story or this blog it will be good to have the time to really concentrate on it. Maybe I will finally feel whole again, because writing lately has been scarce. And any artist knows, if you are not doing your particular brand of art, something inside, a part of you, slowly begins to fade away, and that is never good.

Have a beautiful day! I’m going to have another cup of coffee and get caught up on here before I go play in the dirt. Bye for now. 😀

Copyright 2016 Heidi Barnes