I turn up for about 1 in 50 of Sami’s prompts . In truth I don’t turn up to much at all these days.

But I have actually visited the catacombs a few times, though I had almost forgotten – that other life of mine being so far in the past. But since the catacombs themselves are all about past lives I thought that I might pay homage one more time.

***

Christians lying in a row
Secret tunnels down below
Away from Roman prying eyes
Faithful man goes when he dies
This resting place, this final home
Here within the catacomb
Where I, an atheist at best
Am humbled, quietly impressed
By faith itself, by pure belief
By death that came as pure relief
Here rest believers of the past
Perhaps you’ve found your God at last
May your eyes still somehow see
The meaning of the mystery

***

OK …. it doesn’t quite work. But it is 77 words!!

https://sammiscribbles.wordpress.com/2022/03/19/weekend-writing-prompt-253-catacomb/#like-5999

I decided to open up WordPress this morning and respond to the first challenge that I saw, and Charli Mills is, thus, the dubious recipient of my short-term attention span. Her challenge …. to write a 99 word story about free pie.

I would not normally consider writing about pie. I don’t even like pie. But that is the nature of a challenge, I suppose. And, at least, I didn’t have to actually eat one. And it’s not really a story.

But it is 99 words.

***

This body, clearly not ideal

Is purely circumstantial

Decisions on my every meal

Entirely financial

Caviar, imported wine?

A lovely suggestion ….

restaurants where I’d like to dine

Remain out of the question

Fast-food options, far and wide

Upset my self-impression

The lack of taste, a loss of pride

Leading to depression

So hungry for both for love and food

And lacking satisfaction

A desire to enhance my mood

Will put me into action

I’ll find a lady, short and stout

With a patisserie

I’ll woo her, and I’ll take her out

Then I’ll get my pies for free

***

 

 

 

 

A friend reported to me earlier today that she had temporarily lost her mind. She said it as though it were a bad thing.

But I was instantly jealous. Frankly, I frequently wish that my mind would just fuck off and leave me alone. I have done a lot of thinking and I have come to the conclusion that I do far too much of it. Enough is enough. There has to be a better way.

So I am trying to get a quasi-religious movement up and running based around the idea of non-thinking. Neutral thoughtlessness, if you like. I understand the difficulties, especially at the moment, with rampant pandemics, climate change, the threat of nuclear war and so on, seemingly engulfing us all.

Yes.

As I say – I understand the difficulties.

But I haven’t given it much thought.

*

Anyway, getting back to my friend……. I wrote her a little poem to cheer her up and to perhaps encourage her to embrace her mindlessness, at least for a little while. The gift of thought comes as something of a mixed blessing, in my opinion.

*

This is what I had to say….

I lost my mind just yesterday

I left it on a boat

When I jumped into the ocean

To see if I could float

The waves came washing over me

And I begun to sink

You can’t remember how to swim

When you’ve forgotten how to think

Drowning was quite wonderful

I caught a glimpse of God

He asked if I was ready

And I gave a little nod

But they rescued me eventually

And put me in a bed

They gave me dry pyjamas

And put my mind back in my head

They gave me lots of tablets

And told me I was good

So when I exclaimed, “this isn’t right!”

They never understood

For as soon as I was thinking

My mood began to fall

And I missed when I was sinking

Without a care at all.

***

I’m not sure where this comes from. Just more idealistic pacifist bullshit, I suppose.

Is it just me, or do these ghastly displays of military hardware and rows and rows of robotically obedient marching adolescents make others sick to the stomach? Isn’t it about time we stopped comparing the sizes of each other’s dicks? Was Darwin wrong? Are we evolving at all?

Especially now when we witness one little boy’s ego throw the world into turmoil is it not time to simply say no?

Guns do not make us strong. They camouflage our weakness.

***

No.

I will not raise my hand

in anger.

Or to hold up your ego

I will not be your fist

or your Frankenstein.

Nor hide my humanity

behind a flag or an anthem or a uniform.

For I have witnessed the birth of evil,

and will not nurture its offspring

nor speak it’s native tongue

nor follow it to foreign lands.

I will not sit at it’s table,

drink it’s wine

and share it’s breath.

For the taste of death

is the same in any language.

 

 

 

 

 

***