Some of you weren’t too keen on last week’s poetry challenge while others thought they’d give it a go, some for the first time. This week, it’s back to prose for my new challenge: I’d like you to write a short story in 20 words – yes, just 20! It can be done. Here’s a not particularly good one of mine to demonstrate:
The publisher sighed. He looked round at his threadbare room. If only. If only he hadn’t turned J.K. Rowling down.
So, please, please come up with a better one than that for me. Eddy is always first to respond to my challenge. Will anyone beat him this week?!
Thank you once again to all those who sent me poems. Here they are:
Eddy:
Summer Rain
He sat there, hungry
and thirsty
and sweaty.
Dreams too hazy,
like a mirage on the horizon of his consciousness.
Hopes too lazy
to rise with the hot air.
He sat there, miserable
on the sidewalk;
and cursed.
A piece of plastic moved.
A cold air reprieve.
Rain drops crashed
and burned his skin.
Keith Channing:
In the heart of the country, Charolais cattle rejoice in watching their young,
snow-white calves that romp on the grass,
leaping and bounding as one
reminding us of wispy clouds
against a verdant sky
On beaches and lakes, vacationing parents delight in watching their young,
snow-white calves, covered all winter
are freshly exposed to the sun.
Their brief sojourn has just arrived,
But how the time will fly
Jasdeep Kaur:
The summer sun
The summer sun shined on the London Street;
the leaves clattered in a rhythmic beat;
the children cheered for ice-cream treat;
all welcomed the cosy heat.
The sun danced over a Hawaiian island;
the fish swam in euphoric band;
the Children rolled in warm sand;
lovers strolled, hand in hand.
In Thar Desert, the sun intensified;
the life looked for places to hide;
the children stared at the sweltering slide;
all wondered what would betide.
The noon saw a scorching sight;
the ice-cream melted before a bite;
the rays turned to orange from white;
sand stormed with all its might.
Esther Chilton 
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