Esther Chilton

Your prompt word is

CATCH

This week’s word has all sorts of meanings, from catching a ball, to catching a cold, to catching someone’s eye, to catching a fish. We can also think about it in terms of there being a snag or, more positively, someone being quite the catch.

Fact or fiction, prose or poetry, I would love to read your thoughts on this week’s prompt, but there’s no obligation to share your writing. Here is the work you shared on the last prompt WHISPER.

Aptivi’s Joyful Corner:

The Harebells

purple delicate harebells
bloom
with their tiny petals
from slender green stems
within the foliage

and the cool breeze
makes green leaves
whisper
at autumn’s noon

Lou By The Sea:

Whisper

Blood rushing

pulsating in my ears

Sweat trickling

Tickling

the back of my

Cold neck

“Run”

The tree whispered

“Run fast”

I trip over a root

Catapult into a ditch

Mud in my eyes

A cave to my left

“Hide, come here”

Said the whisper

From the dark abyss

Frank Hubeny:

The Voice Like a Whisper

The whisper doesn’t need the wind
nor does it need a fire.
The still small voice needs only words.
Authority is higher.

Rall:

whisper
sweet nothings
in my shell like ear
and tell me that you love me
i wont believe a word of it
but do it anyway

John W. Howell:

If a man goes into the deep forest with no one around and says something in a low whisper, is he still wrong?

Silly Frog’s Blog:

My Little Whisper

A little more than 35 years ago, my husband worked as custodian for a college. One day, he found a baby raccoon that had gotten trapped inside of his building. The mother was nowhere to be found so he brought her home to me. [He had no idea I had prayed to have a raccoon pet as a child.]
I fed her kitten formula and slept with her. She quickly claimed me as her “mama”.

I named her, Whisper. (Probably most of you don’t know that little raccoons purr like kittens.) She started purring at my touch nearly right away and it sounded like a “whisper”.

She lived with us for a few months because our local vet had their ‘hands full’ with a whole litter of orphaned raccoons and trusted my caregiving. While I had her, we went camping and while I walked around campgrounds, she rode on my shoulder. At home, she’d run along the back of our couch sometimes nipping at my husband if he sat too close to me. lol

But hoping for her to live free and wild, I tearfully ‘turned her in’ at the veterinarian who was sending “their babies” to a wildlife rehab.

FYI … there is nothing softer and suppler than the palm of a raccoon’s hands. You can count on that information ‘cuz I know.

Mark Fraidenburg:

The Philosopher Bunny

A rabbit sat quietly, a pancake in place,
With a look of bewilderment spread on his face.
“I’ve no idea what to say,” he confessed,
“So I’ll let this hot flapjack speak for the rest.”

He’d been sitting there long, contemplating his fate,
Was the pancake a gift, or a breakfast gone late?
Did someone whisper, “Be still, little chap,”
Then crown him with breakfast and send him a nap?

He hadn’t a whit of a clue what came next,
No words in his heart, no reply to the text.
Just two floppy ears and a pancake on top,
A philosopher rabbit who’d rather not talk.

So if life leaves you speechless, bewildered, and blue,
And you haven’t the foggiest what you should do,
Just sit like this rabbit, look solemn and wise…

And put a pancake on your head. Let the world improvise.

Wilf Leahy:

He lay in bed in one of his mental states having flash backs, tossing and turning, all the hurt and bloodshed, the bangs, the screams of the people being injured, all in his mind driving him insane. But then the strong voice says in a whisper “you’re safe now. You are home where you are amongst friends. Relax, think of the new life and all it offers and always remember we all love you.”

Those words whispered in his ear bought him back to reality. The gentle whisper that means so much. The strength and serenity in that voice whispered by a wonderful nurse saves so many people ending their lives.

All from a whisper.

Pensitivity101:

Can you hear the reeds
Whispering to you on the breeze,
Such a gentle melodic refrain,
It softly calls out your name.
Can you hear the call of the night
Just before dawn’s early light,
Your breath cascades in the wind,
Before the new day begins.
Can you feel the warmth of the day
From the sun’s caressing ray,
Touching you deep in your soul
Chasing out the wintry cold.
I see images in cotton wool clouds
Encasing skies in a wispy shroud,
Reach out my hands to embrace
Your dearly belovéd face.
I hear voices whisper your name,
Things will never be the same,
The hypnotic sway of the reeds
Whisks you away on the breeze.

Susan Batten:

“Tell me lies, tell me sweet Little lies,” so the song goes, and whispers can be the seeds that lead to tragedy.

What more famous example is there than Iago with his obsessive jealousy and implacable resentment? The standard bearer, passed over for promotion, plots against his master, Othello. With whispered lies and insinuations, the master manipulator provokes a public brawl in which his rival, Cassio, the new lieutenant, loses his position. Desdemona, Othello’s young wife, is persuaded to plead Cassio’s cause with her husband… but Othello leaps to conclusions.

Those whispers wake his fierce jealousy and lead on, through Iago’s machinations, to the murder of Desdemona and the suicide of the great general himself when he discovers his wife was blameless.

“Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies…”

Fandango:

The mist falls softly
Drifting over quiet hills
Leaves turn to golden
Dancing in the autumn chill
Voices in the wind
Carry secrets through the trees
Where gentle whispers
Awaken sleeping branches
To the quiet song of earth

Peter Bouchier:

Autumn Foliage

autumn foliage
lisp of melancholy
lonely robin

Autumn foliage sighs
whisper melancholically
lonely robin cries

bunte Herbstblätter
flüstern leise, sehnsuchtsvoll
Rotkehlchen singt laut

les feuilles d’automne
murmurent de mélancholie
un merle se cache

Colorful Flowers
Flúster Over Individuals
of a Readboarst

Jen Pens Some Gems:

Listen…

Autumn is neither whispering or shouting.
Just talking in a strong voice –
It is mid October – frost is possible soon.
Gather your green tomatoes today,
Maybe salvage the rest of the green peppers tomorrow.
Take the herbs into the porch –
Maybe even into the house by a sunny window.

Thirtyseven may come in the evening
By the end of the week –
Thirtyseven is close to freezing.
Maybe cold enough to stop the biting insects.
Possibly time to get out your flannels?
Autumn is talking as the leaves change color.
The wind neither gives gentle breeze or chills

season is changing
pumpkin spice is in the air
all too soon pine scents

poetisinta:

In The Shady Woods

On Halloween night, through the woods walked Ben,
Past twisted old trees and among dark glen,
A whisper crept softly from somehwer nearby,
Then two glowing red eyes appeared in the sky.

He ran through the darkness, his heart full of dread,
As footsteps and laughter followed his tread,
A cold, bony hand reached out from great heights,
And a voice hissed, 'You cannot escape me tonight!'

He burst through his front door and locked it up tight,
Then turned to see something that froze him with fright,
His shadow stood grinning, Ben hadn't a clue,
Then the shadow whispered, 'Oh Ben, I can still catch you!'

Therapy Bits:

The Battle No One Sees

I wake each day with a heavy heart,

Trying my best not to fall apart.

A thousand thoughts run through my mind,

While the peace I crave is hard to find.

Anxiety makes me question it all,

A constant fear that I’m going to fall.

Depression pulls me into the night,

Stealing my strength to stand and fight.

The voices whisper that I’m not enough,

And even the smallest things feel tough.

I fake a smile and say I’m okay,

While silently wishing the pain away.

Some days I struggle just to breathe,

Fighting the thoughts that never leave.

But somewhere inside, a spark remains,

A little hope beneath the pains.

And though my world may not feel bright,

I’ll keep on fighting to find my light.

***

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Dad

Today’s your birthday, Dad,

And though we’re far apart,

I’m sending all my love to you,

From deep within my heart.

I wish that I could see your smile,

And hold you one more time,

To hear your voice, to see your face,

And know that you were mine.

I listen for your whisper, Dad,

In the silence of the trees,

And sometimes I can feel you near,

In the softness of the breeze.

Losing you has taught me

That love can never die,

It lives within the memories,

And the tears I sometimes cry.

But today is not just sadness,

Or wishing you were here,

It’s celebrating all you were,

And the life that I hold dear.

The laughter and the happy times,

The love you always gave,

Are treasures I will carry

Far beyond the grave.

So I’ll raise a glass to you today,

And smile through every tear,

For though I cannot hold your hand,

I’ll always feel you near.

And if heaven has a birthday cake,

I hope the candles shine,

As bright as all the memories

Of when your world touched mine.

Happy heavenly birthday, Dad,

Forever loved, forever missed,

And though you’re no longer here,

It’s your love that still exists.

The Afterlove Voice:

Whispers Between Worlds

The midnight wind whispered my name,
A voice I knew, yet none could claim.
It drifted softly through the trees,
A thousand secrets on the breeze.

The moon stood watch in silver light,
As shadows danced across the night.
An owl called out from branches high,
While ancient stars adorned the sky.

Some whispers come from memories past,
From love we thought could never last.
Some carry words we long to hear,
A gentle thought that draws us near.

And some are born within the soul,
Where broken pieces become whole.
No thunder needed, no grand display,
Just quiet wisdom to guide our way.

So when the world grows loud and wild,
Remember the wonder of a child.
For sometimes truth, both deep and clear,
Is not a shout—

But a whisper only the heart can hear.

michnavs:

Pain – An American Sentence

the wind whispers your name through the night; even pain remembers love.

Teleportingweena:

Feather & Whisper

Feather from above

Floating whisper from Heaven

Thinking of you, Love

***

“The Voices You Hear”

Breathing softly, coming near

Listen closely, you will hear

Voices of those we hold dear

Whisper, whisper in your ear

Spirits who love you, nothing to fear

Ghostly words from sacred bier

Into our hearts, oh so clear

Whispers surround us

In the atmosphere

Suzette B’s Blog:

In Unison

Boom boomp boompity

down the hall music bellows.

Outdoor song sheets; leaves

whisper fall epiphanies,

hymns of praise in unison.

The Elephant’s Trunk:

Pickle On The Side

Needing a place to hide, the burglar picked the lock and  stepped into the wax museum’s maze of statues. Ducking behind an eerie figure holding a wooden guitar, he suppressed a nervous giggle as he quietly unwrapped his stolen prize: pastrami and mustard on rye, perfectly seasoned with just a whisper of black pepper.

Robbie’s Inspiration:

The Hidey Hole

When I was seven years old we lived for several months in a house in a nice suburb of Johannesburg called Blairgowrie. It was a short-term, fully-furnished rental house and I only remember two things about it. One, it had large, circular mats on the lounge and dining room floors made in the traditional African way from braided reeds, and two, there was an unoccupied room in the backyard which was filled with all my family’s unused furniture. It was, in effect, a storage room.

One afternoon I had a friend over to play for the afternoon. My second sister was three years old at the time and the youngest girls were not yet born. I decided it would be a great idea if my friend and I took some snacks and a bottle of orange juice and hid in the storage room. There was a single mattress on the floor behind another single mattress and my parents queen sized mattress which were both leaned against the wall creating a right-angled triangle hidey hole. The other furniture was piled in front of the mattresses. To get to the hidey hole, I had to creep through all the other furniture on my hands and knees. I had discovered this space and liked to lie there and read. There was some light because there was a filthy window at the back of the room behind the upright mattresses.

My friend and I sat in this small space all afternoon having whispered conversations. I was delighted we had hidden away from Mom and my little sister and had complete privacy. We ate our snacks, drank our juice and then curled up on the mattress and went to sleep. When we woke up it was dark outside. I could hear my parents calling us from what sounded like a long distance away. We quickly wriggled our way out of the room and rushed to the house. All the parents, mine and my friend’s, were furious. They’d been searching for us for over an hour and had been planning to report us as missing to the police.

My friend’s father gave her a hiding then and there and I have never felt so ashamed. I didn’t get a hiding but I felt guilty about not getting one when hiding had been my idea. After this, I was banned from going into the storage room.

search for privacy

had unplanned consequences

never forgotten

***

Image credit: Pinterest