laurenwaters

Sara Flower has written a fantastic entry and has inspired me to partake in the Flash Fiction Challenge. The Rachel Writes blog began the challenge of writing flash fiction that is exactly 200 words.

More about this fun challenge:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:

* end the story with the words: “everything faded.” (also included in the word count)

* include the word “orange” in the story

* write in the same genre you normally write

* make your story 200 words exactly!

Since I have a terrible cold and couldn’t sleep, I wrote this until 2am:

Shadows crept across the wall
The bokor’s fire reaching tall
Exposed pin-stuck sawdust dolls
Watching scattering critters crawl

Buccaneer, survived it all
In the midsts of Titan’s squalls
Heard the screaming cannon balls
Dodged a limey’s Musket ball

Yet on his Haitian port of call
The loser of last night’s brawl
Shrieked his feeble warning call
‘Leave her now or harm befall!’

Was she worth it all?
Her curvy feel, her voodoo drawl
Hips that roll, lips enthrall
Still, was she really worth this fall?

Salty shipmates carried him tall
‘Go to bokor, he heals all’
Pulled back the whore’s ruined shawl
Stuffed in his wound, a cotton ball

Bokor said, ‘Do you recall,
Who lay with you before the maul,
In dirty, straw-thrown stall?
My wayward daughter, sweet Chantale

The devil charmed her with your gall
Hell has claimed her for his all
Now I claim you as my thrall
In this jar, death’s cure all’

His eyes widened in smokey pall
Cryptic mumbo-jumbo scrawl
Zombie juice, all in all
His undead future he must forestall

He kicked the jar against the wall
Orange splatter quickly sprawls
His soul saved—his heart stalls
Everything faded, once and for all

This just goes to show everyone: don’t write poetry on cold meds!