drabble day 24 - white plain

the mountains here rise high and swiftly up. the cliffs are impassable by human foot. but goats, evolved from generation to generation, chew on the green moss that grows on the steep cliff sides. their hooves are small and their balance is perfect for climbing such dramatic inclining walls.

at the bottom of a cliff, balancing over the precipice of another ledge, is a small white house with clouds of smoke puffing up out of the chimney. there are not many houses among these cliffs. paths are narrow and winding and long. goats have a much easier time getting food.

drabble day 23 - birdhouses

there are six birdhouses nailed to the old scrub pine in the neighbor's back yard.  only two are painted.  the others are made of bare wood, and inhabited by chickadees. 

during the big storm last autumn, three of the houses blew down.  an old man nailed them back up onto the same tree before the winter started.  no birds lived in any of the houses during the winter.  it was too cold.

in the spring, birds moved into all the six houses.  they make soft nests inside, made of grass trimmings and pieces of plastic they find in trash bins.

drabble day 22 - apology

he remembered something about the flowers. they were expensive, but he hadn't noticed the price when he paid for them.

his socks didn't feel right. he took the red line.  he looked down at his feet he saw two different colors peeking out from the tongues of his shoes.

his palms sweat. he rehearsed what he'd say the whole way, losing track of the stops. and at every stop his heart also stopped until he read the sign.

he didn't recognize the scruffy hipster in the window's reflection. his reflection.

if she took him back, he could start eating again.

drabble day 21 - can't sleep

my eyelids are heavy. i can feel the blood shooting through them. the more tired i get, the harder it is to fall asleep. i can't keep them closed.

so i crawl out of bed. the duvet is in a pile, overflowing off the edge where my leg last parted with the fitted sheet.

the kettle is quiet. it clicks off without whistling so no one else hears me brew the tea. but the damn cat foils me, he meows for milk when i open the fridge.

no one wakes up. i drink hot tea, he laps up his milk.

drabble day 20 - plato's birthday

plato the little tan dog turned five years old today. his human people made him wear an irritating hat, but gave him a special dog cake in exchange for his discomfort. they let him eat it outside on the deck. plato loves being outside. the human people also took plato to the beach which made him happy.  there, plato met a new friend named daisy. daisy is a golden retriever. she was wet when they met. now plato understands why his human people don't like the smell of him when he is wet. It’s a pungent odor on another dog.

drabble day 19 - the house of cats

on one of his many walks through the neighborhood, plato observed a house with open windows. many houses have open windows, but this one was different. sat in the windows were small fury creatures like him, but different. two oranges ones and one with stripes like ... he didn't know what it was like. baffled, plato continued his walk.

later that night plato woke with a start. cats! they were CATS! plato could not fall back asleep. he longed for another walk so he could see these cats again figure out how to chase them like he was supposed to.

drabble day 18 - when it rains

when it rains, plato the little tan dog sits up on the back of the big green sofa and looks out the big front window. he watches the fat water drops fall on the glass and the puddles for on the street. he counts the cars that go by, notes how big a splash they make. in the summer kids go out in the rain and play.  plato wishes he could go outside and play with them. he loves being outside, even in the rain, but his human people don't like the way he smells when he is all wet.

drabble day 17 - the little dog

plato is a happy little dog, covered head to toe in a light tan coat of fur.  his breed is called "japanese chin", but he doesn't really know why.

plato has a passion for the outdoors. he loves to walk around his neighborhood with one of his many human people. he knows that if a human person takes ahold of his leash, then it's time to go outside, and he gets very excited.  he loves to walk on grass, smell the different bushes and plants and greet the neighboring human people he knows. he especially likes the old human people.

drabble day 16 - the long mowe

fill tank with clean gas. pull. pull. pull. chug chug churn thwiiiiirp. engine on. push. push straight. turn. push. rotate. struggle. push. push. lift. clunk clunk CLLLUNK. release leaver. a rock cut in half. still hot. empty bags. drop cuttings in the woods. walk back. fingers turning green. can't touch eye that itches. pull. push. sweat. pull. churn. clink. branch stuck in the wheel. wrestle it out. sweat. check bag. pull weed. empty cuttings. pull. start engine. push mower. push. push. sweat. don't stop until the lawn is evenly mowed. take a break after one hour. drink. sweat. start again.

drabble day 15 - about those goats you saw

there were three of them, right?

and a baby goat. they call those kids. so you saw three goats and a kid?

and the color of these goats and kid?

brown and black, you say? alpine goats.

yes, alpine. they're for milking.

ah, yeah... i guess i do know a bit about goats.

no, i didn't grow up on a farm.



*****

yep, and a baby goat.

yes.

brown and black.

alpine goats?

right, so you know a bit about goats, hun?

did you grow up on a farm or something?

sorry. where'd you learn so much about goats then?

drabble day 14 - the collector

no one answers the door when a suit comes to it.  he knocks, he knows you're home, but you do not respond.  you hope he will turn around and leave.  you hope he realizes his mistake, that he has rung the doorbell of the wrong house. 

but the collector is never wrong.  he never leaves without payment. 

you sit there, still and silent, hoping.  but he will knock again.  he will ring again.  he will wait.  and you will have to give him an answer.  give him the payment he has come to collect.

better to get it over with.

drabble day 13 - sunny

everyone sat out on the back deck eating multi grain nachos and mild salsa.  everyone sat out wearing shorts and little t-shirts and cheap flip flops.  everyone watched as the two dogs chased each other in the back yard and fought over a chewed up frisbee.  everyone soaked in the sun light as it filtered down between puffy white clouds.  everyone shared their opinions on superhero movies in the twenty first century and their predictions for the future of iron man.  everyone had something cool to drink with ice cubes.  everyone was in love with this, the first summer day.

drabble day 12 - 12 days

the morris family were on a two week vacation at yellow stone national park.  andre hated nature and he hated spending time with his family.  he was 15 and definitely old enough to be left alone at home while the family was away on vacations.  at least that's what he argued.  even if he had to stay in the house for all 12 days, anything was better than sitting in a compact rental car with his two sisters, mom and dad in the middle of some mountains in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

drabble day 11 - voiceless

sabina is the smallest and youngest of all eight princes and princesses. she is also the quietest. often at a party she is forgotten about when the time comes to leave. a driver will be called by the party host to come pick up the left-behind princess.

although she is small and quiet, she is never sad. princess sabina lives in a world unlike ours, a world of fantasy and make believe where all of her friends love her and listen to her ideas. it is a world of fast cars and ice cream cones too big to eat alone.

drabble day 10 - brown bag (part 2)

you never know what's in the brown bag your mom packed until you open it.  sometimes there are cookies or a little debbie cake. sometimes a pudding cup has exploded in all the tossing during the bus ride that morning. everything gets covered in chocolate, but that's never a problem  because apples taste better covered in chocolate and your sandwich is always wrapped in plastic or tin foil.  the sandwich is always a surprise on mondays, but if you get ham and cheese on monday, it will be the same on tuesday and wednesday and thursday and maybe even friday. 

drrabble day 9 - brown bag (part 1)

every day you go to school with a brown bag that your mom has folded down neatly.  she hands it to you unwrinkled every morning after breakfast on your way to the bus stop with your big sister.  by the time you get to school the bag has so many wrinkles and bends that it looks as though it has been home to a litter of kittens.  *thunk* it goes into the cubby with your name on it at the back of the room, and there it waits until just before noon when the first graders get to have lunch. 

drabble day 8 - roger

michael and his best friend 'spud' worked hard every day after school in the shed behind michael's house. the shed belonged to michael's father. it was filled with everything they needed.

there were old boards of wood, different colored paints in cans, brushes, plastic buckets, hammers, nails, string, old table cloths, ancient magazines, mops, rolled carpet samples, a moth eaten tent, broken tumble dryer, a car wheel hub that had fallen off and was never put back, a canoe with broken seats, life jackets and paddles.

everything they needed to make the perfect pirate ship, complete with a jolly roger.

drabble day 7 - tea time tutorial

making tea is a ritual in many cultures around the world. to make the perfect cup of English tea one must take time and care. first boil water. clean your pot with the boiling water. place tea bags in clean, warmed pot, then pour in boiling water. cover tea pot with a cozy to keep warm while steeping for 3 to 4 minutes. to serve, pour a small amount of milk into the tea cup before pouring in your hot, brewed tea. add sugar if wanted, stir delicately. enjoy your warm, smooth, tea with a sugary biscuit and excellent company.

drabble day 6 - elephant

our house is a zoo, with cats and monkeys and birds and beasts. during the day our house is quiet, because all the animals are asleep. at night, the zoo is bustling and loud. The monkeys chase the birds. the cats ride on the backs of the beasts, ordering the beasts around with their claws. there is stomping and swinging. animals eat and play and fight all night long. but there is one animal who prefers to be awake in the day time and sleep at night. he is smart, enormous and grey, and his name is Arnold the Elephant.

 

drabble day 5 - who stole the plate and the spoon?

my grandfather told me that a long time ago, the moon was close. so close that if you could leap high enough, you might get caught in its gravity and pulled away from the earth.

that must be where the expression, "the cow jumped over the moon" comes from because, back then, it would have been possible.

but that still leaves the mystery of what a dog sounds like when he laughs, and who stole the plate and the spoon, and what were they having for dinner that would stay on a plate, but need a spoon to scoop up?

drabble day 4 - lightning show

i remember the night we snuck off together. we held hands as we walked, barefoot across the sand, to the edge of the water. it was already raining. i asked you out. you said yes. my heart was on fire. we put our feet in the cold ocean water, the sand billowing around our naked feet. we side-hugged as the rain poured down. you grabbed my side tight at the first clap of thunder. we stayed there for half an hour, holding onto each other. the lightening over the ocean was beautiful. it lit your face so i could see.

drabble day 3 - yellow house

two finches chirp at each other inside the stairs well of a little yellow doll house. they broke out of their cage only to find a feline waiting, prepared to cull. they took refuge in the doll house, where paws could not reach and grab. there is no edible food in this house, though they both prefer the interior design compared to that of their cage and its minimalist ambiance. if they could get one of the small humans to feed them seeds, they may remain in the better house, the little yellow doll house where the cat cannot reach.

drabble day 2 - portraits

remaining on the walls of the orphaned palace of your childhood fancy are many forgotten faces. one is young. it is of a pretty little girl with a pink nose. her eyes pink also, from tears. she was your best friend, the princess of the palace of your childhood. another face is grey and old. it is a woman of a certain age. she is bitter. her mouth is curved down at the sides. her jewelry, which once glimmered, is getting dusty and ugly as time goes by. if only she could remember the little girl waiting there with her.

drabble day 1 - goldfish

how long could you hold a goldfish in your hands without the water spilling out between your fingers?

how long would the goldfish last in your hands, wet but not pooled still with fresh water?

would his gills still flap and soak up the moisture, tasting the last molecules of oxygen in the tiny drops?

or would he flip and flop to escape the drying landscape of your palms in hopes of a wet space underneath?

how would we have gotten here? a goldfish held in a puddle in your hands... the fish bowl broken and smashed on the floor…

DDMM

Drabble a Day in the Month of May 2012

it has begun again.