Forbidden Love: A Fetch Flash Fiction Haibun

Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay

Princess Ondina walked along Rsevfha Beach as the larger of Zecor’s twin suns followed its small companion below the horizon. Three of the planet’s seven moons had risen, but they were outshone by the presence of the little man who stood at the monarch’s side.

“Serab, I am selfish,” the Princess confessed. “I am sorry my brother took you prisoner but pleased that he made you my bodyguard. His joke backfired on him. I never felt like this before. You are the best friend I could imagine and more.”

impossible dream

small, strong hands and stalwart heart

my forbidden love

~cie~

notes

This Flash Fiction Haibun features the Princess Ondina, reluctant captive monarch of the fascist regime of East Zecor and her bodyguard and secret love, Serab, a common thief captured by Ondina's cruel brother King Qweh and presented to Ondina as a jest. The joke backfired when Ondina not only accepted Serab as her bodyguard but fell in love with him.

The image I chose to illustrate this piece is nearly perfect except for the size of the people shown in the silhouette. Ondina was six feet tall and Serab stood around five foot four.

The people of Zecor have an elflike appearance. Qweh and Ondina are half-siblings. As Ketil Nagel explains to his friends in Team Netherworld's first published novella, Ketil and Yitzy's Adventures in the Xura Dream House, the dark-complexioned Qweh's mother was of the Wxzca line and the fair Ondina's mother was from the Welryv line. The pair's father is from the Welryv line.

The ruling race of Zecor, regardless of subtype, is tall. King Qweh was seven foot seven while Ondina was six feet tall. Serab, on the other hand, was an Ahprizite hybrid. The Ahprizites were a small, elflike race. At five foot four, Serab would have been very tall for an Ahprizite.

For the sort who would quibble that a Haibun can only be non-fiction:

1. I don't care.

2. Not according to Poetry Soup.

3. See 1.

If you enjoyed this little WIP excerpt and liked reading the background of the people of Zecor, please consider picking up a copy of Team Netherworld's Fetching first novella.

I hope to be back to sharing excerpts from Ketil and Yitzy's adventure next week. I am continuing to make headway on The Ballad of Gerry Clifford despite personal setbacks.

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers + The Legend of Seacliffe House: Daisies After the Storm

around the mansion

daisies standing strong together

after the storm

around the mansion

dark shapes lurk in the shadows

even in daylight

daisies standing strong together

like my companions and I

these wonderful friends

after the storm

we concentrate on our work

we stand together

Chèvrefeuille & Cie

Notes:

The "sleigh" of this Troiku was created by Chèvrefeuille. The Three Horses of the Apocalypse were wrangled by me.

I always appreciate the inspiration for a poem relating to a Team Netherworld WIP, in this case, The Legend of Seacliffe. After a tumultuous night riding through a terrible storm to take his mother away from the brutal Diamantina Lamb, mistress of Lambswood, Randal Messana finds shelter and kindly assistance from the servants at the mysterious Seacliffe House. As the sun rises and dries the rain, he notices a patch of daisies thriving in a meadow a slight distance behind the house as he is assisting his new companions with their chores.

Carpe Diem Summer Challenge 2019 + The Tuesday Platform: Beachcomber

Image Source

missing the malls

on the ocean beach

she gathers shells

what is there to miss in malls?

beaches are so much better

high tide

the beach leaves a mark

in her book

she will always remember

this new home away from home

afternoon wind

all the beachcomber's words

blown out to sea

words written on the shoreline

she hopes that he could see them

cold beach walk

on sun-warmed car seats

two sweatshirts

one for her, one for her son

the one who means everything

a special beach

I put a pebble in my mouth

before leaving

wishing to taste the ocean

one last time before going

smelling the light

on her tanned shoulder

home from the beach

this home away from her home

in her memory always

~Jane & Cie~

Notes:

The Hokku of these Renga were written by Jane Reichhold (1937 - 2016). The Ageku were created by me.

The sum total is a story poem about Pepper Baiij, the protagonist in Team Netherworld's long-running WIP, Fetch. These story poems help keep the WIPs we aren't able to work on as much alive.

Weekend Meditation #88: Crossroads Haiku: Sea Cliffs

Cliffs of Moher

I

coming to sea cliffs

the off-shore breeze raises

a flower fragrance

coming to sea cliffs

escaping from my old life

what awaits in mist

the off-shore breeze raises

the mist dissipates slightly

the waves roll to shore

a flower fragrance

mingles with kelp and decay

dead fish lies on sand

II

curving with the land

a rainbow of clouds

moves out to sea

curving with the land

I watch the horizon form

as mist fades away

a rainbow of clouds

with sunrise colors appear

driving away dark

moves out to sea

the darkness, seagulls, and waves

I watch the world form

~Cie~

Notes:

Once again I thought of my story, The Legend of Seacliffe, and it's protagonist, Randal Messana. The poem allows readers to see through his eyes. (Or, as I initially spelled it, to sea through his eyes.)

Here is my first poem in what I am now calling the Seacliffe Series.
The "sleighs" of these Troiku were composed by Jane Reichhold (1937 - 2016). I am responsible for any unruly "horses."

Tan Renga Challenge 2019 + The Tuesday Platform: Offshore Breeze

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

coming to sea cliffs

the off-shore breeze raises

a flower fragrance

this place is not what it seems

will I find nightmares or dreams

Jane & Cie

Notes:

The Hokku stanza was created by Jane Reichhold (1937 - 2016.) The Akegu stanza was written by me.

If you're interested in the story which inspired my part in the poem, read on. If you really could not GAF, this is your cue to exit!

Among my many WIP projects is a tale called The Legend of Seacliffe, which is set in England in the mid-1800s. As the story begins, a man named Randal Messana takes his team of horses on a desperate ride on a dark and stormy night to get his badly injured mother away from the decidedly unhallowed halls of Lambswood, where the brutal Diamantina Lamb has beaten poor old Guinevere Messana nearly to death.

Randal sees a light burning in a barn near a darkened house and makes his way there to plead for help. There he finds a unique cast of characters: a tall, gaunt, will-o-the-wisp of a grumpy, middle-aged Swede, said grumpy, middle-aged Swede's kindly sister Ragna, and Ragna's husband, a hunchbacked Scot named Charlie, who is playing the piano when Randal arrives.

The trio of misfits in the barn are more than happy to assist Randal but warn him to approach the occupants of the main house with caution. As Jorn, the curmudgeonly Swedish will-o-the-wisp warns: "The masters of Seacliffe are no better than the mistress of Lambswood. To their credit, they have beat no-one to death, at least none of which I know. But they are a foul and inbred line, sticking to their own kind as they believe themselves to be far superior to peasants such as ourselves."

I have numerous WIPs, and sometimes I keep my hand in them by writing poems as placeholders. The above image made me think of Randal walking down to the shoreline and looking out over the bay. Yes, I know that I said the story was set in the mid-1800s. Let us imagine that Randal's clothes are drying and he has borrowed a set of Jorn's long johns to take his morning stroll. After all, Seacliffe House is in a remote area, and it isn't likely that he'd encounter many fellow travelers who might chide him for wandering about in his long johns.

NaPoWriMo 2019: Day 2: Where Are You: A Ballad for Gerry

Image by Jan Alexander from Pixabay

Where are you, my darling one

With your eyes blue as the skies

And green as the faraway sea

When will you come home to me

Where are you, my dearest love

Floating like a dream through the world unseen

I didn't mean for things to go so wrong

You faded away like an old album's last song

Where are you, my heart's one hope

My angel from above who gave me all his love

I was so afraid of being used

My heart was broken and confused

Where are you, my sweet, lost dream

The one so unexpected who left my soul infected

I can't get you off of my mind

I need to see you one last time

Where are you, my shining star

My tears flow like the streams that wind throughout my dreams

I've finally learned to be strong

Enough to tell you I was wrong

Where are you now, my gentle ghost

I'd walk down the longest track just to take my cruel words back

My love for you is strong

You were so right and I was wrong

Where have you gone, my love?

Where have you gone?

To Gerry from Pepper

(and Gem from Cie)

Note:

Fetch is Team Netherworld's long-running WIP. It was created at the end of 2014.

Share your World 28 March 2019

Here are some questions I've answered for Share Your World. You can read them if you want. Or not, if you don't want. No skin off my nose either way.

What is the best pick me up that you know of?  To shake you out of the blues?

The Blue Garage

Photoshop Image by The Real Cie

How about the blues? The blues is a goddamn art form! That shitty way I feel when my soul starts crashing in on itself and I feel like I'm lying dead at the bottom of a scummy trench? I think that shit should be called "the gray-green death bile from hell." But that's too long to say readily.

Here is a poem which Pepper, the main female protagonist in Team Netherworld's long-running WIP, Fetch, wrote for her beloved Gerry, the Fetch referred to in the story's title. I think it's kind of a poem about having the blues for the blues. 

What would be the title of your memoir?
Dark Days: Biography of a Self-Professed Cynic

Where do you like to go when you eat out?
Somewhere cheap where the food tastes good and I'll be served quickly.

Do you believe in luck?
Gratitude Question:

Aside from necessities, what is one thing you couldn’t go a day without?
My son

Notes:

I referenced my own work in this post, which for some reason makes me see the need to mention that I plan to participate in NaPoWriMo in April as I've done every year for the past several years. I'm also planning to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo. I might try to participate in the A to Z blogging challenge if it doesn't turn out to be too muckin' fuch. I haven't decided yet if my participation will be official or unofficial.

Senryu: Golden

Copyright Sharon McCutcheon

He once was golden

Then came the disaster which

 Turned him back to dust

~Cie~

Prompt Used:

Three Line Tales

Notes:

This poem is for Team Netherworld's Fetch, the story which refuses to die no matter how many nay-sayers try to kill it. In context of the tale, the image is our protagonist, Gerry Clifford, photographed for the July 1977 issue of Loud Magazine.

NaPoWriMo 2017: Day 17: N is for Nocturne

Copyright: shamain / 123RF Stock Photo

I want to sing you to sleep

When you wake

You will be far away from this place

And all the pain you have known

Remember who you are

Remember your kindness and your principles

Know that someone always loves you

More than anything

Please forget me

And the sorrows you've been through

In this terrible world

My heart will always be true

Only to you

Forget me, my love

For I can only bring you sorrow

And you have known more than enough of that

Sleep now

Wake again in the world of the Yellow Sun

Princess Ondina

for her Serab

Notes:

Princess Ondina and Serab are two of the primary characters from Team Netherworld's WIP novel, Fetch. The story can be found at peppersfetch.blogspot.com

Cross-posted to:

poetryofthenetherworld.blogspot.com

peppersfetch.blogspot.com

strandsofeternity.blogspot.com

OctPoWriMo 2015: Day 30: By the Light of the Moon

Image by Beverly Tan

Waneta Gerard reacts to Carlene Washington-Baruch's confession regarding her relationship with Waneta's undead brother, Willy

By the Light of the Moon

Zoraida Robles is a fool

But some of what she's saying rings true

She says that you and my brother

Have become lovers

That you are breaking the rules

It is fact, the young necromancer revealed

I cannot disguise how I feel

It was not my intention

To defy all convention

But my love for your brother is real

The Counsel brought Willy to Uncle and me

To see if we could help his spirit take leave

His soul is trapped by a spell

Cursed within his corpse to dwell

Moving only when the full moon sets him free

The voice of his soul I could hear

To me he is so very dear

I was present when he rose on that night

Moving through icy embers of the moonlight

The breeze came through the window so clear

Then it hit me like a hand 'cross my head

It's only his body that's dead

He's been kinder to me

Than anyone else ever could be

While I love him, I can never feel dread

I love your brother so very well

For him I'd endure any hell

They smear my name with mud in this town

Into the puddle I'd step and drown

Before allowing my feelings for Willy to quell

Dear girl, I said, I understand

I'll help in any way that I can

But make no mistake

They'll burn you at the stake

If they learn you have an undead for your man

Now I must think of a way

To keep the young sorceress safe

Though short in her sight

Her intentions are right

I can't decide if she's foolish or brave

~Wanda~

Note:

This poem goes with a story that I began creating after our Real Cie told me about a strange dream she had. 

The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic society in which magic has replaced technology. The protagonist is Carlene Washington-Baruch, an apprentice necromancer. She and her uncle Lester Baruch agreed to assist soldier named Willy Gerard, who, along with Carlene's parents, was killed under suspicious circumstances. Les raised the orphaned Willy as his own son in years past.

Les insists that the town counsel bring Willy's body to his home, as Carlene senses that his soul is still attached to it and there is danger of Willy becoming a revenant unless he can be assisted through magical means. While his body is in safekeeping with Carlene and Lester, Willy's spirit begins communicating with Carlene and they form a forbidden connection.

Lester and Willy's sister Waneta are sympathetic to Carlene and Willy's plight. However, the couple have many more enemies than friends.

The story is in its formative stages. Something about the prompt and the picture triggered this poem.

Cie and I just started a blog for the story, By the Light of the Moon, which can be found here.