Pick some wildflowers. Weave a wreath. Breathe in the minutes of summer, slipping away too soon. Say a prayer, sing your gratitude for all things living, growing and blooming. Let your soul sing. Let it dance by the bonfire. The warmth of the fire reflecting in the eyes of your loved ones. Share a meal with them. The ale, the cheese, some pies, the little joys that bring us closer, when shared. Greet the dawn smiling to yourself - sleep is not an option on Midsummer . Bathe your bare feet in the morning dew. Feel its cool bite stinging your skin. You are alive. This is a celebration of life.
Midsummer in my world is a reminder to live. A bleak existence is not what we’re here for. The nature speaks to us in colours on Midsummer. Open your eyes, take in its wisdom. The living will of the Creator. Pick some wildflowers. Make a wreath.
Some pieces of flash fiction and poetry I wrote this week:
Bureaucracy
She raised her tired eyes to the next client. It was five minutes before closing, but a line of some ten people were still waiting. Working overtime. Again.
She froze in awe and sat silent with her mouth ajar for whole five seconds. Was it his manly jaw or brown eyes, or maybe that tiny seductive smirk that rose on his lips when their eyes met, but she couldn’t say a word. The man slipped his filled form underneath the glass wall separating them. She cleared her throat, took the paper, and typed the data tapping on her keyboard nervously. This was the man of her dreams in the flesh and she was not going to let her chance go by.
“Very well, sir! But…” her tone was formal, but her eyes smiled and caressed his features.
“Anything wrong?”
“Oh no, but I’m afraid you’ll have to stay longer and fill another form. I could help you… it’s… a tricky form.” She gave him a tiny wink.
“A tricky form, eh?” He smiled back. “Alright. I’ll wait till you have time to help me. Though I’m quite good with…filling tricky forms.”
She bit her lip. Her eyes followed his manly frame, as he went to find a seat in the hallway.
“Excuse me, miss?” A line of filled forms and keybord-tapping minutes separated her from the man of her dreams.
(This one will be expanded into a very romantic short story!)
Pride
The tombstone withstood everything. The wind and the rain. The snow and the blazing summer heat. The moss and other wildlife slowly overtaking its cold surface. It was indifferent to tears and curses, to warm hands touching it or dirty boots kicking it. The tombstone stood proud, just like the man buried underneath it. His heart was cold as stone, love had no place in it. His pride was a pedestal he stood upon, looking down on others. The tombstone was all that’s left of him, the moss covering the words “Here lays a proud man…”
Envy
I hiss in the darkness of the night, hiding in that corner of your mind you don’t wish to see. Curled up all cozy, my golden scales glitter in the light of praise you receive. I whisper sweet words in your ear, They don’t deserve it, all those goods, you deserve it, only you, you… I weave around your neck, you choke with anger, your heart races. They don’t deserve it, I do! You repeat my words. You are my slave. And I am envy.
Greed ( horror?)
I want all of you. Give it to me.
Desire is a hunger. An itching need.
Call it lust or greed, but feed
My starving hours. I will not
Share a minute or a single drop of you
With others. We’re not just lovers.
We’re symbiotic plants feeding on
Each other. I won’t share with another.
Either all of you is mine, or you won’t
Live long enough to see the sunlight
Crawling up the dirty face of the earth.
I know my needs and I know your worth.
Give into my greed, before it hurts.
Gluttony
You lick your fingers, all that grease!
The fatty juice, your mind at ease.
The tasty bits you save for last,
You let the vicious hunger pass.
Your fingers slide on silver screen;
The hottest post they’d ever seen!
You gobble up those clicks and “likes”.
Your phone aglow, your metrics rise.
Attention is the meat you seek,
You like it raw, each day, each week.
Attention feeds your every dream,
The likes, the comments, all that cream -
Blood pumping through your online stream.
The carnivorous joys won’t last
Tomorrow your hot post is past.
You’re wanting more, more of that stuff
Attention never is enough.
Morning rain
I opened the window to let the morning rain in. Hallo, old friend, how you’ve been?
He sighed with a gust of cool wind. No good, huh? He nodded with sweet tears dripping down his grey eyes. His gaze was clouded by tears. Have no fear, I said. They never appreciate us when we’re near. You’ll see; when we’re gone, they’ll wish we were still here.
***
I will carry you
On my shoulders
My friend.
Right till the end.
I won’t let you
Lose your voice.
Forget the noise
Of the crowd.
Say it out loud -
I’ve found
The words
To name
Every cloud.
Every raindrop
Shines its
Praise, soothing
Your tired
Face.
I don’t care
About the time
And the place.
I will carry you,
My friend.
Now some news about what I’m planning to drop into your mailboxes next week. Have no fear - nothing much:
Due to national holidays (yes, Midsummer is a National holiday in my country! Which means spending time outdoors with family, bonfires and stuff, like a giant camping trip.) I’m posting the next chapter of my urban fantasy Cirque du Macabre 2: Cabaret Sauvage on Wednesday, June 26 instead of Monday, as usual.
On Thursday, June 27 I’m posting another romantasy flash fiction from To seduce a scribe series.
On Friday, June 28 I’m sharing the next installment from my Sci-fi series The Gravediggers of Orpheus.
On Sundays I usually share some ramblings and thoughts, and also new flash fiction and poetry.
Thank you for reading my work! Thank you for subscribing! And happy Midsummer!
Love,
Kathrine 🩶
I love that photo Kathrine! You radiate much joy! ✨💜🤗
I liked bureaucracy. Would read the extended version :)