STORIES WITHOUT PICTURES
A friend recently posted photographs of the sights he had seen while traveling with his wife. I have no idea why, but three of his photographs created an immediate urge to describe the pictures in my own words. To try and bring to life the images he shared. I have no way of knowing if my short story or poetry do justice to what he felt or saw through the lens of his camera, but that’s okay. His photographs inspired me to put my brain in gear and offer up a few humble words.
Can you imagine what his pictures must be from the words that follow?
Swirling Rainbows
Swirling rainbows
Dance happily
Through the street
The music rides
upon the wind
Colors twirl
‘Round dancing feet
Arms guiding the rainbows
Up and down
Round and round
The thunder of drum beats
burst thru the air
Clicky clacks of drumsticks
Set the uplifting tone
Musical streets
Draped in
Dancing rainbows
Magical colors
Magical smiles
All brought to life
Through the eyes
And beauty
Of a child
Foggy Docks
The fog slowly rolled over the old weathered wood of the ancient, empty maze of docks. Deep silence, smothered within the wispy veil of grayness.
Pelicans sit like statues, guarding the ghostly, silent jetty’s.
A creaking board, breaks the silence. The soft footfall of a long forgotten bayou denizen heading in from a night on the water? Or perhaps stealthily heading out to beat the other fishermen to the catch in the predawn morn. No figure breaks through the fog though. Just the creaking of the boards and the footfalls that echo and fade into the silent vacuum of the swirling mist.
Even the water remains still and calm.
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And just as a glimmer of sunshine sends a tiny ray of light through the curtain of fog, a lone pelican rises. Majestic wings, beat against the silence, like the deep beat of drum, as he soars to the sky to greet the breaking day.
Empty Tracks
For a moment,I stood quietly
Devoid of all the troubles that normally lined up
Like cars behind me
A gentle curve
In the tracks by my side
Lead forward to places yet unseen
Or backwards, to a past best forgotten
And all around
The grass has grown
Taller, slightly browned
With the passage of time
Just a rest
A step down from the track of life
A few moments
To pause
To reflect
To feel the wind at my back
And the kiss of the sun on my cheek
No longer needing to be the strength
To pull everyone along with me
Content in the silence
Until the time comes
To settle again in the track
And move forward
Into the future
The wheels of life
Gathering speed
and sending me
Around the curve
To complete this journey
Life
