Hello dVerse Poets, this is Sanaa (aka adashofsunny) welcoming you to another round of Prosery where we ask 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.

Since it is a kind of Flash Fiction, we here at the pub have a limit of 144 words. What’s special about Prosery is that we give you a complete line from a poem, which must be included somewhere in your story, that is, within the word limit.

You may change punctuation but please bear in mind that you are not allowed to insert words in between parts of the quotation.

Photo courtesy: Blue Jay bird on a tree by Andrew Patrick, Pexels. 

Lisa Bellamy is the author of The Northway, a full-length poetry collection (Terrapin Books). Her chapbook Nectar won The Aurorean’s poetry chapbook contest.  

Her writing  has appeared or is forthcoming in TriQuarterly, The Sun, Massachusetts Review, New Ohio Review, The Southern Review, Sho, Allium, Verse Daily, Hotel Amerika, Salamander, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Chautauqua, Kestrel, Gyroscope Review, The Southampton Review, Calyx, Cimarron Review, Brilliant Flash Fiction (2nd-place competition prize), Tiferet, Anglican Theological Review, PANK, Christian Century, and Literary Field Guide to Northern Appalachia (University of Georgia Press), among other publications.  

She has received two Pushcart Prizes, a Fugue Poetry Prize, honorable mention in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, and has been featured in podcasts, including The Writer’s Almanac. The U.N. Network on Migration featured her poem “Yoho” in its 2022 exhibition.

Photo courtesy: People on Narrow Street in a French town Chamonix at the Foot of the Mountains by Alex Andrews, Pexels. 

This evening, I would like you to write a Prose piece which includes the line: 

“As a seed, I was shot out the back end of a blue jay when, heedless, she flew over the meadow.” From the poem, “Wild Pansy.” 

Please also include the dVerse link in your published piece.   

Here’s how to take part in the Prosery Prompt: 

• Write a piece of flash fiction or other prose up of up to or exactly 144 words, 
• Including the given line from the poem. 
• Post your Prosery piece on your blog and link back to this post. 
• Place the link to your actual post (not your blog url) on the Mister Linky page. 
• Don’t forget to check the little box to accept use/privacy policy. 
• Please visit other blogs and comment on their posts!