The journey of my life
February’s writing prompts are all inspired by the theme ‘Getting Started’. Once again though I’m asking you to think beyond the obvious associations you might have with such a phrase. Today is no exception.
I was thinking about how to make a few changes to the writing prompts (new beginnings from last month and getting started from this) and it occurred to me that perhaps we could try a photo prompt with a twist. The first writing prompt for February is a first-line prompt. I’ll supply the first line and the image, your task is to come up with how the story, poem or article continues. You can write as much or as little as you like, but it should really be enough to give a flavour of where the reader might be taken.
And the first line is:
If I were to write the journey of my life thus far it would probably start with the ……
As usual, if you want to share your creative writing I’d love to read it and so would my lovely readers. However, you may prefer it to remain private and for your notebook only. If you have your own website, you could add it as a post there and then provide a link in the comments here to get you extra kudos with the search engines!.
My effort is below:
If I were to write the journey of my life thus far, it would probably start with the word ‘hum’. According to my mother, and she has the photographs to prove it (so she says); I was born on board a ship heading east, away from the land she was birthed in towards a new and uncertain future in that of her newly fledged husband. The hum of the ship’s engines was the only thing, she says, that kept her sane during the 36 hours it took for me to finally appear in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, belonging to no country but the sea. She says I was determined to be ‘of no fixed abode’ even then, and she has been pretty much proven right ever since!
(Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay)
Tried to leave a like, but the button seems unresponsive. Could be my computer…
I’m sorry to hear that Lindy and I have no idea what the problem may be, but I’ll take a look and see if I can spot anything obvious 🙂
If I were to tell the story of my journey so far…
I would have to start with the stopping,
all the rest was preparation, and packing,
and waiting at stations where I was
confused by all the signs of all the wrong
destinations, where empty tracks spoke
in rusted tones of trains that had stopped
running.
I would have to start with the leaving,
all the rest was learning, and forgetting,
and waiting at stations where I was
suddenly alone and departing from
everything I’d ever known to be true
or false.
I would have to start with the releasing,
all the rest was accumulating and getting
and waiting at stations where I was
drowning in wind-blown garbage and
walking with the homeless in sun-kissed
dawns.
This was what resonated with me most Lesley “I would have to start with the releasing, all the rest was accumulating and getting and waiting at stations where I was” as it represents much of what my life has been this last year. Thank you.