90 sec-Sinking

Sinking in a ship, the water slowly rising. Churning about inside this vessel of no escape. All the while thinking, because thoughts don’t sink. Salt water in the air, smells of dead fish. Gasping for oxygen.

10 min – Full Moon

It’s a full moon on Halloween night. Trick-or-Treaters scamper about in the moonlight. To & fro, from door to door they go. Collecting candy & small nicknacks. Covered in sheets with holes cut for eyes. An eye patch under a pirate hat with a hook for a hand. Little girls in wigs & big ball gowns. Princesses twirling in circles round and around. Under the full moon the black cat strolls by. The wolf howling in the distance, but no one hears his cry. The full, yellow moon lights up the night sky. A reflection of the sun on it’s stark, barren surface. Illuminating the dank, dark corners of the corn maze. Hay rides & candied apples, or carmel if you like. Bobbing for apples in metal vats of water like farm animals to win a prize. More children dressed as yellow & orange crayons, like candy corn. Dinosaurs and dragons and one eyed monsters. Zombies, & witches with pointy hats & striped leggings & moles with hair growing out of them.

10min-Swan

Swan, beautiful, majestic, loyal for life. With it’s long slender neck, & feathers of innocent white. I have heard that swans find mates for life. I wish people were like this too. But they aren’t and this is true. People will leave you as soon as another shiny object comes along. They will stab you in the back rather than stand by your side. Swans float through the hard times together. In unison they remain. Women have been judged for wearing white wedding dresses, when they have already lost their virtue. But swans don’t have this problem, they can sport snowy feathers as long as they like and it isn’t a lie. Sitting atop the water, wading through life. Vicious they might become to protect their young. While bite you they may, with their spouse they will stay. For eternity. This may sound crazy, and no doubt there are exceptions. But this animal proves that it is possible for any animal, and humans are after all animals right? In the family of mammals.

5 min on Peanuts

Peanuts tucked neatly inside of the pretzel of the elephant’s trunk. Slowly the wrinkled, gray elephant raised the bow to it’s mouth where it unwraps it and pops the pent into it’s mouth as if from a pez dispenser. A little mouse in uniform riding in Dumbo’s hat. African elephants in the dry dusty air, slinging mud onto their backs and fanning their giant ears to stay cool. Peanuts, such a tiny treat for such a large creature.

Last object writing exercise for the week. 10 min on Ice Cube.

Ice cube. Cold, solid, rock. Frozen water. A glass through which to look for a distorted reality. Cut into squares with jagged edges on one side. Running water sloshes into blue trays full of squares, placed in the freezer. Not just water, trays filled with sweet juices, pineapple, etc. Making tiny frozen popsicles. Toothpicks for handles. Melting ice cubes down on your head on a hot summer day. Letting the cool water trickle down the sides of your face. As the sweat is washed down, you can taste the salty mixture. Rubbing another one on the back of your neck & chest. Ice cubes crushed into a smoothie in a blender. Strawberry daiquiris by the pool. Music playing in the background. Ice cubes, good for a bump on the noggin, a muscle injury, or insect sting. But I don’t like too many in my drink oddly enough. Frozen fruit works better for my water.

Almost done with this week’s object writing exercises. 90sec on Chalk.

Chalk, thick, colorful. Sidewalk masterpieces ground my pieces into tiny nubs, circles made square by scraping against the pavement vigorously.

Once again I had to write on a subject for 10 minutes that I could completely not connect with, peaches!

Peaches are something I do not eat. Squishy & sweet, with a tough round pit. I’m not even sure what bothers me most about them. I think of “sploosh” that Caveman (Stanley Yelnats) & Zero (Hector Zerony) ate in “Holes.” Jars of peach goo. Disgusting. So many other fruits are far superior! Bananas, apples, oranges, grapes, watermelon, even pears. None having that disgusting hard center to be carved out. Only avocados can compare there, but avocados are delicious & even better for you. The peach is a light orange albeit salmony color. Smells like summer, fresh and juicy. Soft & fuzzy on the outside, with a tiny thin green leaf attached to the stem. Peach cobbler isn’t so bad. Chunky yet mushy.

Raincoat-10min

I pull on my raincoat & matching rain hat. Thick, slick. Definitely waterproof! But also holds in heat on this warm southern day. Pouring rain crushes the ground outside turning it into a giant shallow lake. The sounds of not individual droplets hitting a tin roof, rather waves of slanting rain blowing sideways. Hair pulled back, I slip my feet into my rubber galoshes covered in graffiti! I chose them over the plaid ones with red trim lining the laces. I prepare to trudge across campus to my 8am Old Testament class. Carrying with me all I will need for the entire day! After an hour of biblical studies I sneak off to the Music building with soundproof rooms each adorned with a piano. I listen to the sounds of opera vocals and instrumental warmups. Can’t hear the rain so loud in this colossal stone building with the big marble steps leading up to it. The floor slick with water tracked in on peoples shoes as they shake off their umbrellas. My raincoat & hat… purple, an odd green color and tan…. a smooth rounded chevron pattern lain across the wet fabric.