This
meme was started by Delores a long time ago. Computer issues led her
to bow out for a while. The meme was too much fun to let go, and now
Words for Wednesday is provided by a number of people and has become a
movable feast.
Essentially
the aim is to encourage us to write. Each week we are given a choice
of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image. What we
do with those prompts is up to us: a short story, prose, a song, a
poem, or treating them with ignore... We can use some or all of the
prompts, and mixing and matching is encouraged.
Some
of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on
their own blog. I would really like it if as many people as possible
joined into this fun meme, which includes cheering on the other participants. If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.
Huge thanks to River for providing the prompts last month. The prompts will be here again this month and are provided by Sean Jeating.
This week's prompts are:
- desert,
- dream,
- machos,
- planet,
- treatment,
- bags,
- behind,
- four,
- infinity,
- walk
Charlotte (MotherOwl) has given us Pebble Grey as the colour of the month. If you can also incorporate it into your stories she (and I) will be grateful.
Have fun.
machos?
ReplyDeleteI will have to look that up unless you mean nachos.
Sandi: I looked machos up and the results surprised me.
DeleteHere is mine, interesting, all words used. This free verse was in my head for a while. Thanks EC!
ReplyDelete--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A walk in the desert
Four planets overhead
The corpses of the machos
Left behind
All was now
Pebble grey
Sky moon desert
Her feet her very skin
She tossed off
The remaining bags
Of foul food
Unneeded.
Infinity lay ahead
Not too far now
This planet was done
With mistreatment.
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I'm looking forward to the rest of submissions.
XO
WWW
thecontemplativecat here. This is a great poem. Now, I will try to do that myself.
DeleteWisewebwoman: Chilling and echoing my thoughts. Well done.
DeleteYour poem is great. Such a creative use of the words!
DeleteLove,
Janie
I bow before the poetess.
DeleteExcellent, and rather scary.
DeleteGreat poem.
DeleteHi WWW - very clever ... well done - amazing ... I'd love to be able to draft poems like that ... cheers Hilary
DeleteTerrific. You should publish!
DeleteOf course this poem was perfect. I guess I wasn't the only one who went astray.
DeleteVery well done and thought provoking, Wisewebwoman.
DeleteSandra sandracox.blogspot.com
Very well done. I can see her trudging along ... You are a master of poetry.
DeleteA great poem!
DeleteThough I don't join in I do enjoy what I see :) Thanks Sue!
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: I am glad. Perhaps some day you will feel inspired to join us.
DeleteMacho boys? Dream on and eat your pebble grey hearts out. You are behind the eight ball as far as I am concerned. You can pack your bags and walk out of my life.
ReplyDeleteMassive Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs) are much more interesting than you are. And less predictable. MACHO bodies are a kind of astronomical body that might explain the presence of dark matter in galactic haloes. They emit little or no radiation and drift though interstellar space. MACHO objects include black holes as well as brown dwarfs. White dwarfs and very faint red dwarfs have been proposed as candidate MACHOs.
Macho boys seem to care little about the future of our planet and their treatment of women is often deplorable. They are also often noisy. Sorry boys, from now until infinity MACHO bodies win. And will do until you get past the mentality of a four year old (do what I want or I won’t be your friend).
Great! I looked up machos and was surprised by everything I found.
DeleteLove,
Janie
Good one!
DeleteThe astrophysicist vis-à-vis Seanhenge will especially like your second paragraph. ;-)
Did you ever hear of incels?
Human stupidity seems to have no limits.
DeleteSean Jeating: I do know of incels. And believe that they need to look in the mirror to see why they are celibate.
I confess I only learnt this term yesterday thanks to my friend Erkan..
DeleteNicely put!
DeleteLove your story EC and I too despair of Macho boys who become Macho men with all their posturings and 'look at me' attitudes. As for MACHO, I'll have to see what I can do.
DeleteI was aware of both meanings and I believe alluded to both like you so expertly do. Wonderful take EC, loved it.
DeleteXO
WWW
Hi EC - clever take on the words ... Machos I guessed/had heard of ... but Sean's incels - no ... beyond my repertoire of a brain. Interesting thoughts! Cheers Hilary
DeleteWonderful job, Sue - as always.
DeleteGreat use of Machos. So many possibilities.
DeleteSomehow I like the MACHOs better ;)
DeleteHa! I love your take on the prompts! Well done. :-)
DeleteWell done, Sue! I didn't know about the astronomic MACHOS until I looked them up. Very cool!
DeleteWill be back to link up.
ReplyDeletemessymimi: As always I look forward to your take.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Deletemessymimi: I have read and enjoyed your story. Just as I expected.
DeleteDeleted the first comment as i messed up the code.
Deletemessymimi9 October 2024 at 12:01
The story will be over here.
I have a dream: All machos on this planet, including all pebble grey Taliban and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, his complete entourage including judges and clergy being sent from the desert into devils' kitchen where they are getting preferential treatment: Heaviest swearboarding which would not end before these ... hm ... these "gentlemen" would promise with immediate effect to veil their faces up til infinity and walk four steps behind their wives whilst lugging the shopping bags.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the likelihood of this dream becoming reality is close to zero.
I would already be happy if, for example, no more girls in Anatolia were buried alive in the chicken garden by their father and uncle because they were chatting with boys at the bus stop.
Your dream is close to mine.
DeleteIt would be nice to do away with all such things.
Delete"Swearboarding" very impressive and so is your take!
DeleteXO
WWW
Hi Sean - too many horrors, especially for women ... I'm despairing for the machos of the human race - they need some of their own treatment. Sadly in our lifetime I agree the dream will not come true ... take care - Hilary
DeleteThe world is still an awful place for women in so many parts of the world. Well done, Sean.
DeleteUnbelievable how we all came close together in our stories. I guess you sent us this way with your interesting prompts.
DeleteWow! Excellent!
DeleteGhosts and monsters are superfluous. Human beings are the worst.
DeleteWell done!
DeleteDear all, thank you! This very topic with all its facets has preoccupied me ever since I felt lucky enough to be able to think.
DeleteBuried alive for chatting with boys?? That's no way to treat a daughter or sister or niece. I like your story and hope that sooner rather than later those men will treat their women better and give them more freedom to be themselves.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I wish they would treat women better but fear that it is unlikely.
DeleteNice tales
ReplyDeleteMargaret D: Thank you.
DeleteHi EC and Sean - here's my second set:
ReplyDeleteWalk on ... remember your bags ... we're close behind you ... the course stretches ahead into the pebble grey mirage of infinity ... 'Four '... or do I mean 'Fore' ... the editor, who thankfully plays golf, will know before he inserts this snippet.
I'm off to read the comments ... cheers Hilary
Hilary Melton-Butcher: Two minds with a single thought. I kept turning four into fore too. I enjoyed this piece.
DeleteVery well done, Hilary. Your normal clever take on the prompts stands out to the rest of us.
DeleteWell done Hilary!
DeleteXO
WWW
Nicely turned
DeletePhew!
DeleteGood one, Hillary!
DeleteAfter a long tough walk I stopped at a store called Finitiy and while I was infinity I got four bags of ice for my sore behind.
ReplyDeleteFour bags of ice for your sore behind? That sounds nasty. And serious.
DeleteI've had to ice that nerve back there before. It's no fun. Nicely done.
DeleteCool, Mike. ;-)
DeleteWell done, but ouch!
DeleteHi Mike - I'm glad they had four bags!! Two for each side presumably ... has the pain eased now ... ?! Cheers Hilary
DeleteMy sister is dealing with that same nerve.
DeleteHi Sean and EC ... here's the first set:
ReplyDeleteSilly machos' fool … that pebble grey brain of his … couldn't spell – you'd think after all the treatment for his journey into space he'd have learnt that we wouldn't get desserts, pudding is off the menu, when we live on planets. One of the negatives of being off earth.
Cheers Hilary
I see that desert became dessert, Hilary. Maybe something subliminal going on here!
DeleteGood job Hilary. Nice and on the lighter side.
DeleteHilary Melton=Butcher. Definitely two minds on a similar path. I thought it was desserts on my first reading. And the second too.
DeleteMaybe he got his just "desserts". Nicely done.
DeleteI am smiling.
DeleteYou've made me want some dessert, which I successfully avoided when we went out to dinner just now.
DeleteSorry, too early to think of anything but I like the first batch. Good prompts for a speculative fiction story.
ReplyDeleteAlex J. Cavanaugh: Sometimes the early mind refuses to play doesn't it?
DeleteHe came from a male-dominated society, but he was far from MACHO. Safe to say that living in the DESERT he had never even heard the word. He was a very sensitive young man, believing that the TREATMENT of women he witnessed every day, was like a bad DREAM, but it was wise not to show it. Any hint of empathy might easily be interpreted as homosexuality and punishment for that was swift and final. In so many ways, if there was a place more draconian on the PLANET it was hard to bring it to mind. As he WALKED alongside his mother, treading on the PEBBLE GREY path leading to the tent, he wished at he could carry the heavy BAGS of flour. FOUR of them she had to tote, each weighing around 20 kg. His mother even walked slightly BEHIND him as a measure of subservience to a male – any male – wise or otherwise, young or old, demented or vicious, kind and noble or evil and cruel. Gender was the only determinant. He felt an INFINITY of sadness, but this was his lot in life. Nothing would change. There was no escape.
ReplyDeleteShades of Midwives Tale. Nice to share a person caring for women of the planet.
DeletePowerful, David and evocative of so many countries who treat women like livestock or worse.
DeleteXO
WWW
David M. Gascoigne: Aaaargh.
DeleteThere are men who don't like it, but can't show it. It's sad.
DeleteOnce I read: The wiser gives in. That's why the stupid rule the world.
DeleteYou nailed it, David.
If only ...
DeleteGreat, David!
DeleteMy story is on my blog. I have to apologize for how I wrote it. Sometimes my mind goes astray.
ReplyDeleteGrannie Annie: I have already read your story. And shuddered.
DeleteI read it, it's excellent and frightening.
DeleteThe prisoners had to walk in the desert, pushed by dangerous Aliens dictating horrible treatment. Their guards behaved as violent machos. Each captive's skin had turned pebble grey. Their eyes were supported by dark bags. It all had to be a dream, rather a nightmare, on their fading planet. As they marched they believed this would last an infinity. After only four days many friends had fallen behind.They were left in piles of broken limbs and devoured flesh. The few who lived were packed into containers, lifted into the sky, never to be seen on earth again.
ReplyDeleteChilling! Very dystopian.
DeleteWow, I shivered, a very vivid picture drawn with words.
DeleteXO
WWW
Granny Annie: Creepy. And compelling.
DeleteYes, any aliens will very probably not be any better than the earthly ones.
DeleteGood one, Annie.
Aliens seems to be no better than we humans. Sigh.
DeleteHi David - very nightmarish ... yugh!!! Thank you ... I now really need to cheer myself up ... somehow ... cheers Hilary
DeleteA pesar de que el relato sea un poco tétrico, es muy original y creativo. ¡Enhorabuena!, Annie.
DeleteSaludos.
I just read it on your blog ~ great take, Annie. Scary!
DeleteI love this idea!
ReplyDeleteEggs in My Pocket: It would be lovely if you joined us.
DeleteThese are fun to read!
ReplyDeleteFundy Blue: They are. Each and every week.
DeleteLoved reading other's responses.
ReplyDeleteHena Tayeb: I am glad. I do too.
Delete