What Pegman Saw – Pride!

“What Pegman saw” is a weekly challenge based on Google Streetview. Using the location provided, you must write a piece of flash fiction of no more than 150 words. You can read the rules here. You can find today’s location on this page,  from where you can also get the Inlinkz code.

Pride

“We must have gay rights!” declared Marcel, banging his fist on the bar. “Both parties pledged reform in the 2015 election. It’s time they lived up to their promises!”

Akeem watched him from his corner in the shadows. He loved Marcel’s courage, his forthright way of speaking. Less forgivably, in the eyes of most people, he loved Marcel’s strength, his beauty, his lustrous, curly black hair. He wanted to kiss him, but he was afraid. Besides, Marcel never noticed him…

“We shall have a Pride parade. Who’s up for it?”

Nobody stirred. Awkward conversations started. Everybody knew this was a gay bar, but Marcel had gone too far. Akeem’s pulse raced, and his breath came quick. He stood up and sidled to the bar where Marcel stood, dejected.

“I’m with you,” he said.

That June, he and Marcel danced hand in hand among the rainbow crowd of Guyana’s first Pride celebration.

One Year Old!

I’ve just realised that it is exactly one year since I created this blog, Autumn Leaves!

Thank you to everybody who has read it, commented on posts, and followed me.  I’d particularly like to thank Rochelle, Joshua and Karen for providing prompts for the flash fiction challenges ‘Friday Fictioneers’ and ‘What Pegman Saw’.

During the last twelve months, I have blogged 166 posts, which have received over 6,500 views, with 173 people following the blog. It’s been read by people from 63 different countries, something I find almost unbelievable!

To celebrate, here are links to three of my favourite posts

‘Me’ time, a 100 word piece of flash fiction with a twist that surprised everybody. https://pennygadd51.wordpress.com/2017/09/06/friday-fictioneers-me-time/

Persistence of Vision, a poem celebrating my wife after 42 years of happy marriage.

https://pennygadd51.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/poem-persistence-of-vision/

A heavy bag, which is an allegory in the form of a short story

https://pennygadd51.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/a-heavy-bag/

Next year

So, what shall I do in the next twelve months?

I plan to spend three hours every day working on my novel.

I intend to take a creative writing course.

I shall continue to participate in at least one flash fiction challenge – they’ve been very helpful for improving my writing skills.

Finally

Thank you all so very much for supporting my efforts to become a better writer; and thank you for the friendship that has been shared so freely!

 

Poem – Persistence of Vision

This poem celebrates my forty-two year marriage to Daphne. It started life as free verse, but gradually, without my conscious design, iambic pentameters started to elbow their way in. Finally I realized that my sub-conscious was wiser than my conscious; iambic pentameters, with their remorseless di-DUM, di-DUM, are the very thing for conveying the brutal march of time.

Persistence of vision

Maybe the outline always has been blurred.

You stand before me, upright, curly-haired

And blonde, your blue eyes steadfast, thoughtful, kind.

Attraction blossoms, sight leads on to touch

And we become, as near as dammit, one.

Then two are three and four and more, a girl,

A boy, another girl; skin stretches, care

Writes lines of love upon your loving face.

The days, though gentle, tug and dull and hurt

And suddenly the curly hair is grey,

The skin is scarred. Despite the pain, you will

Not bow your head; your courage is undimmed.

The person that you were is who you are.

Wisdom and love defeat the passing years.