The sun shines on Parkgate
Inspiration can strike anytime, anywhere. It can be overhearing something in a cafe, a well written paragraph in a novel or a line from a poem. For me, I’m often struck by ideas when listening to music.
This month all my writing prompts are about begging, stealing or borrowing from great artists. And today, I’d like to introduce something a little different with a challenge to be inspired by this favourite of mine, Sunshine On My Shoulder by John Denver.
What does this song inspire you to create? Is it a poem, a story, a memory? Why not leave your inspiration in the comments below. You could even use it as a starting point for a complete piece of flash fiction, a poem, or a short story for this year’s Hysteria Writing Competition.
And here’s my effort .. please be kind 🙂
Mum and I would sit in the car windows wound down to enjoy the breeze off the marshes at Parkgate. Ice cream in hand there would be silence while we savoured the flavours we had chosen. Every so often a wader would fly up out of the sedges, startled by something before settling back to grubbing around for food. It was peaceful; no need for words or conversation, just the gentle joy of being with someone who loved you no matter what. And the sun always shone brighter when she was there.
I felt the sunshine ray rush through me when you opened the door and smiled the warmth you smile.
I knew the hug would fire me up to dance across the hall with you.
I heard our laughter vibrate across the bright garden
We glowed in each others radiant glory.
And the sun always shone in those meeting moments.
That is lovely Sarah and isn’t the sun amazing 🙂
This song brings back so many memories. It never fails to make my cry. Thank you for the link.
Me too Janis 🙂
☀️Sometimes the sun is so bright it dazzles
☀️Sometimes it melts away tension, worries and fears
☀️Sometimes it’s a happiness hit lighting up my soul
☀️Sometimes it’s a warm, soothing hug
☀️Sometimes its heat reminds me there are times when seeking a shadier spot is wise and nudges me to find balance
☀️ Sometimes its light on a cool day brings hope of balmy days to come
☀️Always, always, it makes me think of you. And I smile xxx
It’s such a powerful force for good Joanne and yet here in the UK we’re never happy 🙂
Several things are pulling me back towards Country Music at the moment…I must make time for it. Meanwhile, my first response to this prompt brought out a poem that I’m saving to work on and hopefully send elsewhere (sorry!) – but it also brought out this, which might prove to be the start of a longer memoir piece:
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The long hot summer of ’76. Kiln Park, an appropriate name for a caravan park where the people living in those corrugated iron cabins must have baked. We were under canvas and under the trees that for all the heat of the days, dripped dew in the mornings, and the long grass soaked our shins as we shimmied back and forth to the toilet block, while Mam surreptitiously emptied the night bowl in the hedgerow. This would be before the Scotland trip when the tent shrank and Dad started its metamorphosis into something patchwork and expanded.
These were the days of the Mini, or maybe the Mini Traveller, whose registration numbers I still remember. GPT 108C and PPT 749K – street addresses on camp sites, just look for the car. These were days of TALM, who never did get her name painted on her inflated ribs. The bucket & spade days, the days of digging improbable holes and staying in the water until the sun went down. The days when DJs seemed like sensible people to fall in love with.
It seems I can only click “like” if I log in to a WordPress account I don’t have – so let me do it this way Joanne, Janis & Sarah – love what you’ve written. Gentle & heartfelt responses. 💙