ekphrastic prose

The Little Blue House

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Somewhere there is a little blue house nestled amongst irises and mature trees.  The little blue house has seen the trees grow from saplings to the giants they are now.  They’ve grown up together.

The little blue house is not so little now.  Over the years, Pete and Martha have added on — first to accommodate their children and then their grandchildren.  Soon it will be time to leave the little blue house to someone who will love it and move to small, more convenient digs somewhere in town close to doctors and pharmacies.  Pete and Martha are at that age.

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Quilted

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Tennyson wrote, “I am a part of all that I have met.”

Brooke Hampton said, “I am pieces of all the places I have been, and the people I have loved. I’ve been stitched together by song lyrics, book quotes, adventure, late night conversations, moonlight, and the smell of coffee.”

I love these truths because they explain my contradictions.  I’ve had a myriad of experiences in nearly as many places.  I have been blessed to meet a great many people. 

“Mother Earth” by Galla Grotto

And while doing so, I was often wearing jeans – the uniform of my generation.

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The Isolator

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The postman said, “You need to sign this delivery ticket” and handed the parcel to Karl. 

Karl’s hands trembled as he carried it to his study.  The anticipation of the past few weeks was now boiling over.  The Isolator was here. 

Just before closing his door, Karl hollered “Do not interrupt me upon penalty of restriction.  I mean it.  The Mayonnaise Jar Rule is in effect.”

The rule decreed that there needed to be at least a jar’s worth of blood before the five children were allowed to interrupt their mother during her afternoon stories.  It was the first time Karl had invoked it. 

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