And so I wandered. Lonely as a cloud, seeking some break in the darkness you left behind. How did I get to this point?
Your proposal caught me off guard. I craved love for so long, my heart could not believe your words. We spent those next weeks in pure bliss. I asked to meet your family. “Soon enough,” you said. Then one day I came home to an empty apartment. Your clothes were gone. Your side of the bathroom, pristine. You’d stood there that morning, shaving off your beard until a fresh unfamiliar face looked out from the mirror. “I’ll have to get used to that,” I said. Did you want me to? They found me, wandering through the house. Incoherent. The darkness was everywhere.
I’ve spent years in this institution now, wondering if you were real.
Written for Prosery Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. EXCEPT, today, we’re not writing poetry. We’re writing PROSERY! This is a form of creative writing, developed at dVerse. The prompter (today it’s me) gives a line or two from a poem of her/his choosing as the prompt. Writers must then write a piece of prose, think flash fiction, that contains the given line(s) word for word, within the body of prose. The punctuation may change….but the word order must be the same and it must be word for word. The prose must not exceed 144 words in length (sans title). As the pub tender/prompter today, I’ve selected the line “I wandered lonely as a cloud” from Wordsworth’s poem I Wander Lonely as a Cloud. The line must be used word for word within the body of prose (punctuation may vary), and the prose must be 144 words or less in length, sans title. Pub opens at 3 PM Boston time. Come join us!
lillian the home poet 
Oooh, super creepy picture to go with a great story starter! That would make a good story!
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So glad you enjoyed!
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I love this—especially that haunting piece of artwork you paired your poem with. Killer ending too.
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Glad you enjoyed my prose today! On Prosery Monday we always do flash fiction….and I enjoy letting my imagination go! 🙂
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Your imagination was in full sprint, and the closing was only a pause. Excellent flash-fiction, and an inspired use of the prompt sentence. And yes, your ‘image” was a capper and a keeper!
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So glad you enjoyed, Glenn! I never know what my pen will do….and for this one, it went to a dark place. Literally.
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Wow, that rocked. The parts you left out were just as powerful, maybe moreso, because I had to supply them myself. Brava! Great use of the prompt.
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Love where your pen took you Lillian.
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Thank you! I never know where the pen is going to go….sometimes it really surprised me!
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I like the twist at the end.
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Yay! Glad you did!
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love the last line. just the kind of twist i enjoy
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Glad you enjoyed!
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Has a chilling ending, but the details are so vivid in what could be a reverie. Excellent. Love this assignment.
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So glad you enjoyed!
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Ooh! Spine tingling story, Lillian. I hope one day she will be released from her prison to live again.
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Me too!
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Story paired with an image to just take it a step further. Sad tale, but oh so well crafted.
Much💜love
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So glad you enjoyed. I was searching for an image after it was written….then went back into my media library from other poems and found this one from over a year ago. I’m glad so many thought the image went well with the piece.
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Methinks she had invested too much of herself in that man. A great read!
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Yep….always important to invest in ourselves as we develop relationships with others. You’ve stated it well here.
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Oh my! This was a wonderful post. Pure genius!
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Thank you for such a lovely reply!
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❤
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Oh…”the darkness was everywhere”. That really captures the nightmare of psychosis or sudden loss… or both. Love the way your mind wandered with the clouds on this one!
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Thanks, Mish. Sadly, some people live their nightmares during the day.
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Wow. Some people never recover from a devastating experience.
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Amen to that!
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That is a great last line, as if it wasn’t tragic enough before that. And now I wonder too, if he was real. Crazy good writing!
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Thank you so much. So glad you enjoyed!
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This was a suspense thriller in flash fiction. Very well done! I want to read more.
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So very glad you enjoyed!!!
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I’ve spent years in this institution now,
wondering if you were real.
Great close Lillian! There are those ‘not happily ever after……’ending that are classic and this is one!
Hank
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Thank you! Glad you enjoyed.
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Oh, heartrending! That last line…superb. And that picture goes so well with your words.
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So glad you enjoyed! I’d had the photo from a poem over a year ago….remembered it and am so glad I did.
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Wow, Lillian… I’ve probably been watching too many psychological thrillers recently, but I can see this as the basis for a movie plot!
-David
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So glad you enjoyed!
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Only if that feeling was real…
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