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Lillian here, delighted to host Prosery Monday!

WARNING:  As our name indicates, dVerse has for the past 9 years been a place where folks from across the globe share their poetry with each other. However, Prosery Mondays are different! Instead of poetry, we take the prompt, and insert it word-for-word, into a piece of prose that can be no more than 144 words in length. It can be what is commonly called flash-fiction. Or we can delve into memoir or nonfiction. BUT, the key is, it is NOT poetry!  There are three caveats for Prosery Mondays at dVerse:  1) we must write prose, not poetry; 2) it must be succinct: no more than 144 words; and 3) we must include the prompt line, word for word, in the body of the prose.

So – now that we’ve got all that out of the way – on with today’s prosery prompt!

I don’t know how all of you are feeling in these Covid-days or should I say Covid-daze, but I am definitely feeling a bit discombobalized! My day planner has lots of writing in it: dVerse is noted on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; and then there are events and travel plans listed all the way through December – but they’re all scratched out! Deleted. Poof. Gone. So for me, the days tend to blend into each other. We’ve had no company in our condo since March 11th.  Other than a weekly walk to the grocery (we don’t own a car) and daily walks on routes planned so we see very few joggers and bike riders, we are hunkered down. We live in Boston and we are blessed that Covid numbers are stable and low in Massachusetts. The state has opened slowly and we are now in Phase 3. That means in-door dining, and the possibility of going to the movies, a museum, the gym — but with very strict rules and regulations.  Being in our seventh decade, we’ve chosen to do none of that. We are hunkered down. And so there is a sameness to every day. And I fear I’m developing what some might call mush-brain. I find myself pondering over whether to have peanut butter on toast or just butter-toast for breakfast! 

So now here we are – and I’m to pick a line from a poem that will be the Prosery prompt for today. No problem picking the poem. I chose my all-time favorite: Carl Sandburg’s Jazz Fantasia. Although I did also contemplate using his Chicago (click on links to read full poems). But, Jazz Fantasia it is!  And now I have to choose a line. Just one. But. . . which one? Butter-toast or peanut butter on toast? Some mornings I give up and use both. So why not today?  I’ve selected TWO lines from Jazz Fantasia – and YOU CAN PICK ONE! Remember, you must use one of these lines, word for word, in your prose piece of 144 words or less. Choose 1) “Moan like an autumn wind high in the lonesome treetops” OR choose 2) “a red moon rides on the humps of the low river hills”.  Be certain to give credit to Carl Sandburg’s Jazz Fantasia for the line, somewhere in your post. 

New to dVerse?  Here’s what to do:

  • Write a piece of prose (flash fiction, memoir, nonfiction) that is 144 words or less and includes, word-for-word, ONE of the lines given above. Do give credit somewhere on your post that the lines are from Carl Sandburg’s Jazz Fantasia. Do NOT write a poem!
  • Post your composition Mr. Linky below and to your blog, with its exact URL.
  • REMEMBER to either TAG dVerse in your post, or include a link at the end of your post that leads readers back to dVerse (https://dversepoets.com).
  • If there is no Tag or link back to dVerse, I will gently remind you to add it or remove your post from Mr. Linky. Sorry to be so harsh…..but this is just part of the requirements AND it will bring you more readers and lead more folks to dVerse so they can participate as well!