Tuesday, August 18, 2026

W3 Prompt # 225....THE SKEPTICS KADDISH

PROMPT

An old woman blows out 78 candles on her birthday cake but one refuses to go out no matter how hard she blows. It burns with a blue flame and whispers a name she has not heard in 40 years Your poem is her conversation with that candle What does she decide to do: let it keep burning or pinch it out?




instantaneous reaction
was to throw the cake
out of the window
certainly not
pinch it out
and burn her fingers
certainly not

let it keep burning
she had mastered the art
of turning someone
into a pane of glass
so that they didn't exist

after all
she was the one
who taught her
by example
how to do it






 

6 comments:

  1. Nicely done!! - murisopsis

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  2. So far none of the memories seem to be good ones, but at least all have leaned how to deal witht he bad memories!

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  3. Rall, I think the pane-of-glass image is brilliant, showing how cruelty can become a lesson passed from one person to another.

    Much love,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

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  4. Nice response, Rall.

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  5. Wow! That was fantastic, Rall!

    Yvette M Calleiro :-)
    yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com

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  6. hi, Rall❣️

    Just wanna let you know that this week's W3, hosted by our beloved Michelle, is now live until Monday, August 31st:

    W3

    Much love,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

    ReplyDelete