Cue 1972 Stevie Wonder – and Merlin
When you believe in things that you don’t understand then you suffer,

Superstition ain’t the way.


Cue 1972 Stevie Wonder – and Merlin
When you believe in things that you don’t understand then you suffer,
Superstition ain’t the way.
Only a theory, only a thought.
Utter chaos. Freedom sought.
Tranquil conscience. Congruent souls.
Harmonizing. Flocks and folds
Wars abounding, strife and sorrow
Never hoping past the morrow.
Ethics prevail; morals abstract.
None to govern what we lack.
Only a theory, only a thought
Anarchy…
Life without law.
Every young girl has dreams. Some dream of being a supermodel or a nurse, a doctor or a fireman, a teacher, a writer or a rock star. Savannah Dawn has dreams too. But she mostly dreams of a life without nightmares.
Chapter 1
My name is Savannah Dawn and I was named for the place of my conception, whatever that means. I’ll be eleven years old come next March. I love to swim and I hate school. I guess that’s all I know to say about myself except sometimes I see things… like in a dream. Not the stuff most folks talk about. I’ve never dreamed of falling off a cliff or being naked in public and besides those things aren’t scary. As a matter of fact I think dreams like that are silly. There aren’t any cliffs around here and the only time I take my clothes off is to bathe and then I put them right back on.
The dreams used to bother me but they don’t anymore. When I was younger I would wake up crying in the middle of the night.
Mama would bring me a glass of milk and sit beside me in the dark. I’d tell her what I saw and she’d say, “they’re just nightmares honey; nothing but unconsecrated visions.”
As I got older I felt like Mama didn’t want to hear about the things that troubled my slumber. A few times it seemed to rile her so I learned to stay quiet and get my own milk. When she mentioned it to the doctor I told him I didn’t see things anymore. But I did.
Most times what I dream comes to pass but every so often it doesn’t and that’s a good thing. It gets tiresome seeing all the sorrow in peoples past and the tragedy some are headed for. Too bad I never saw what lay in store for Papa; it would have saved us all a heap of sorrow.
Preacher Zeb calls them revelations and says I shouldn’t tell a soul about what I see except him. Zeb is an ex-Marine and a retired pastor. He was also my papa’s best friend. Last summer he baptized me in the Neches River with only God as our witness. We made a pinky swear to keep it secret. A pinky swear ain’t like a promise to God – it’s a promise not to tell Mama. She would have had a fit knowing I washed my sins in dirty water not to mention I nearly drowned while waiting on the Holy Spirit.
My sister got the spirit once at The First Assembly of God in downtown Trinity. She was sitting on the front pew making goo-goo eyes at Brother Tim when all of a sudden she went limp as a dish rag. The brother hollered ‘hallelujah’ and flew down from the pulpit. He smacked her on the forehead then Jodi jumped up and started shaking all over and everybody went crazy.
It took me a minute to realize what was going on; it took Mama about a minute and a half.
Jodi said she felt like a movie star when the whole congregation wanted to touch her. She done it so folks would think she was special, that’s what she said. I always thought she was special so I didn’t care one way or the other but it sure was funny watching her dance around with her hands in the air shouting, alley baba – naba -naba daba- daba doo. She was doing a different dance after we got home and Mama whipped her for blaspheming the Holy Ghost.
I don’t like referring to the Lord’s essence as a ghost. Mama says they’re the same thing but I know she’s never seen either one or she wouldn’t say that. I also know spirits don’t always live in a body; some of them live in drinks of alcohol….
This twisted little gem is only 99¢ at your favorite retailer.
The audio (amusingly narrated by Kelley Mack) is available at Audible, Amazon & iTunes. HaPpY FriDaY Y’all.
October 1st, the harvest moon
The year is 2020
the birds and deer and…
the mandate to wear a Petri dish on my face that makes me sicker than the virus itself.
It’s out of the flip-flops and back in the Reeboks
and long pants dug out of the dust
So long to the tank tops, bikinis and cut offs
and lawn chairs left lying to rust
Adieu to the sand dune, the pelican and plain loon
My loves, we’ll see you `fore long
Leaves drop as trees swoon, long past the crop moon
With the scent of a sweet autumn song
Let’s all take a big swill to ward off the night chill
Winter’s a season away
Crank up the camp fire; avoid the ole quagmire
With children perched high on the hay
More about the Autumn Equinox at National Geographic
Well my oh my, that is a good looking picnic table.
Although it’s not actually free, three stories for 99 cents ain’t far from it. Amiright? 😉
Hopefully this will help you through the hellish days of August – or a few hours, depending on how fast you read. 😁
Greed is available Wherever ebooks are sold.
GREED (Murder & Mystery)
What does, August Wolf, A Face in the Falls and The Sharecropper’s Son have in common?
These stories reveal the perplexities, the strengths and the weakness of people that are true to life and, like life, these stories expose the innate greed present in mankind.
“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
*A Face in the Falls is included in the short story anthology Unshod.
Pose, Prose & Poems (My Thoughts Exactly) was published a year or so before The Matrix was released in theaters. 🤔 1998 and 1999 respectively.
Fast forward two decades and…
Pose,Prose & Poems was absorbed into Getting Me Back (The Voices Within) and I am in a debate with myself. A choice has to be made. I have only two options.
What if I choose to not choose? I ask.
That is not an option. The voice replies.
What if I make the wrong choice? I ask.
… Silence … 💭
Can I change my mind?
…More silence… 💭
How many —
The voice has grown impatient. I/we do not like indecisiveness.
Just take the damn pill!
So I took the pill – again. You see, I took the pill a long time ago; before it was a pill.
Ignorance Was Bliss
I slump to the floor, scratching at my eyes.
Please don’t make me see.
Fists to my ears still the sound seeps in, forcing me to hear.
No! No, I do not want to know.
I search for the comfort of simple things…
a sunny day, cool green grass,
a soft fuzzy dog with his cool nose to my face,
a child singing softly – his own song.
Let me sing my own song.
Knowledge is a burden to those with a conscience, a sense of right and wrong.
©️1998 Pose Prose & Poems
©️ 2017 Getting Me Back
In line with yesterday’s post, The Art of the Short Story, I’m sure this 40 second video would be considered #FlashFiction. And no, I did not do a word count. This is just a little ridiculousness. 😉