I haven’t written a Prosery prompt for a while, so this Monday I’m delighted to be hosting at the dVerse Poets Pub and asking you to write a very short piece of prose that tells a story, with a beginning, a middle and an end, in any genre of your choice. As it’s flash fiction, we have a limit of 144 words (not including the title); an additional challenge is to hit 144 exactly.

The special thing about Prosery is that we give you a complete line from a poem, which must be included somewhere in your story, in the same order and with no words in between, within the 144-word limit. You are, however, allowed to play with the punctuation.

One of my favourite modern poets is Seamus Heaney and, as his poetry is part of the GCSE English Literature curriculum, I had the pleasure of teaching a selection of his poems until I retired in 2014. I also have copies of some of his collections; my favourite is his debut, Death of a Naturalist, which includes the poem ‘Twice Shy’, a vivid poem that explores a young couple taking an ‘embankment walk’. They seem to have both had unpleasant romantic experiences, ‘Mushroom loves already / Had puffed and burst in hate’ but, rather than being bitter about their experiences, although hesitant, they are hopeful.

Free image found on Unsplash in collaboration with Getty Images

I really like the opening lines, describing the woman’s ‘scarf à la Bardot’ and her ‘suede flats’, and the intensity of the walk before they relax and enjoy each other’s company. It is a complex story in a misleadingly simple poem.

I would like you to write a story that includes the following line(s) from that poem: 

‘Traffic holding its breath,
Sky a tense diaphragm’

You can read the complete poem here:

Here’s how to take part in Prosery:

–   Write a piece of flash fiction of up to or exactly 144 words, not including the title BUT including the given line.

–   Post your Prosery on your blog and link back to this post.

–   Link it up to our Mr. Linky.

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–   Visit other blogs. Enjoy some amazing writing, and don’t forget to comment.