Grayout

“How much farther?”

“I don’t know. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

“Let’s take a break.”

“If we stop, we won’t start again.”

“Is this a whiteout?”

“This is every shade of gray God has invented.”

clear mist wets black skin
boots sink in powdered snowdrift
gray swaddles the land

For Haibun Monday

complexity

“It’s a gray area.”

“How is wrong a gray area? Wrong is black, not white.”

“Sometimes wrong should be right. Sometimes what’s right is wrong.”

“For you, it’s all gray.  You don’t know what’s right or wrong. For you, it’s all should, not is. Facts are facts. True is true.”

“I don’t believe that and I’m scared. If everything is gray, there’s no contrast. Something bad could be sneaking up on you.”

moon casts no color
gleam of deer eye wide for light
gray shadow gray wolf

 

For Haibun Monday

Cosell’s Constant

One of the universal constants of our world is Cosell’s Constant, which is due to change quite soon.

When it increases from .05854 to .05855, a number of differences will be noticeable in our everyday life.

On the plus side:

• We’ll be able to eat a little more
• We’ll be a little taller
• People will like you better, until they get to know you
• Insects will make better pets than they do now
• Drive-in movies will return
• The separation of Church and State will become the separation of Church, State, and Justin Bieber

On the minus side:

• In scientific calculations, quite a few pluses will become minuses
• Grass will talk in a loud voice, especially in your front lawn
• As for the crabgrass, don’t ask
• Whoever the current US president is, or, no, whomever, will become the permanent king of the world and come to live with you.
• Big pickles will no longer look as appetizing as they do now
• The aging process will reverse, but only for the reviled

 

For Daily Post

Constant

Her name was Constance but we called her Constant because she was always moving.

Can you think when you’re moving around like that?  we asked.

Of course I can think. Moving helps me think.

What about when you’re standing still? Can you think then?

I’ve never tried it.

Well, try it now. Stand still… no foot tapping… let your arms hang down… stop twitching your fingers… let your mouth hang open a little… eyes still… relax your forehead… relax your belly… take a deep breath… let it out slow… again… again… breathe… what are you thinking?

All that motion? It’s stuck in my head. Whirling.

Can you slow it down?

Yes, if I… if I… see you later, guys… I’m off!

 

For Daily Post

haiku: breakthrough movement

hibernating bear
awakens to skunk cabbage
sounds of bursting flow

 

For Tanka Tuesday

Crawdads

 

I like ham and bacon but I don’t like slaughtering the pig.

I like fried chicken but I don’t like chopping off the chicken’s head.

Crawdads aren’t so bad. Pick em out of the creek, bring em home, toss em in a pot of boiling water, and when you take out the tail meat, it’s already cooked. Throw it into a pie crust with a can of cream of mushroom soup, onions, peppers, spices and corn starch, and stick in into the oven to bake.

Right from the creek into your dad-gummed stomach – crawdad pie.

 

94 words

Photo by Enisa

For Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers