Cigarette butts
no longer linger
concrete, but
I swear the cloud
of smoke lingers,
the sweat of adolescent
anxiety – the suffocating
pressure to comply –
Names escape,
but I remember
smugness and
rivalry, and
the spine-crawling fear
of confrontation,
and indisputable
in my mind
are the scars
of being so alone.
(Written for Twenty Four’s 50 word Thursday prompt. Image supplied by Deb Whittam.)
Rain tap, tap, taps
on our tin box roof,
like a typewriter
rhythmically transcribing
today’s lesson
“Erect postures,
elbows at ninety degrees,
fingers poised, ready,
and go…fff…ggg…”
the old machines
weighing heavily on my soul
disrupting my sense of self –
aspirations more esteemed
than stenographer, or secretary –
mother’s answer to securing a suitable man
“Target 125 words/minute,
accuracy counts”
keys tangle
stick
ribbon collapsing
whiteout highlighting
my fallibility
I seethe
rail against learning
a skill redundant for a scholar –
math and psychiatry in sight –
Tap, tap, tap
the rain pummels now
thunderous applause
as two crows cackle
hysterical mockery
such shortsightedness
as if teenage minds
can conceive of the future
as if I might have foreseen
the emergence of computers
machinery insinuating
itself into the crux
of human existence
Had to lie, in the end
post-secondary life
demanding accurate skills –
faked it till I made it.
(Inspiration by:
Weekend Writing Prompt #59: typewriter (149 words)
Daily Addiction: accurate
Ragtag Community’s daily prompt: target.)
One Woman's Quest 