A Growing Flame
I live in the shadow of monsters.
Monsters with nice suits, fancy cars, and smiling faces.
Monsters who don’t even pretend to lie to the races.
Monsters who forget, their blood too flows from certain places.
I live in the shadow of monsters.
A shadow with a long and wide and deep aim.
A shadow manipulating the past and an untold future to claim.
A shadow that forgets it has no power in the presence of a growing flame.
I live in the shadow of monsters.
Monsters who yell, and strut, and attack in fear.
Monsters who lie and cry when their shame is clear.
Monsters who forget, they are outnumbered as the revolution grows near.
I live in the shadow of monsters.
And I’m carrying a torch as I gather my brothers and sisters.
NCCO- 135 words- A Growing Flame 2020 Copyright © Toinette J. Thomas
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50 replies on “Long Shadow #WEPFF Challenge featuring A Growing Flame #amwriting #flashfiction”
Oh Toi.
You have nailed it yet again.
How I hope that those torches can light up the world and dispel the monsters and their shadows.
I hope so too.
Thanks for your words.
Love this, Toi. The monsters are sadly oh, so real. The growing flame should scare the hell out of them – and I hope that flame brings much better days!
I’m hoping for better days too.
I’m glad you liked it.
Don’t we all live in a world of monsters, Toi? They cast a long shadow indeed. Sad. I’m with this person who’s obviously getting ready to go protest. Hopefully, he/she makes it home unscathed. Your line was very poignant:
‘Monsters who forget, they are outnumbered as the revolution grows near.’
I’m hearing this more and more. Maybe these monsters should read up on the French Revolution. People can only be downtrodden for a limited time.
It is sad. I wish people didn’t have to protest and fight, and unfortunately die, for freedom, but sometimes that’s the only thing the monsters will respond too. Kick someone long enough and they will eventually kick back. It’s just so sad. Hope it’s get better before it comes down to that.
Toi you carry on from where you left. Yet another well-written and contemplative piece of poetry.
Thank you. I tried to write something else, but this was only thing that made sense.
I agree
Powerful and poignant. I hope and wish we are all free from these monsters soon.
Yes, freedom for all, with all the differences and uniquenesses, everything that makes us individual and still the same. Harmony.
Breathtaking! Another winning entry, and hopefully soon only a glimpse of the past!
I would love for these monsters to be characters in a piece of historical fiction. Right now, reality is scarier than any fiction I can imagine.
I think you should change your glasses… just joking
Sanhita.
That’s a deep and powerful poem. Its brief word count makes it even more so.
Thanks, Olga.
I’m hoping that we can vote the current leader of these monsters out this fall. Biden was not my first choice for the Democratic nominee, but he is, at least, a normal politician. The last three and a half years have been utterly abnormal.
Yeah, I think I’m just ready for something different. Different, at this point, has to be better than what we have now.
Hi,
A dismal but interesting take on the prompt. By dismal, I mean the outlook, the signs of hopelessness that will probably end in a bloody revolution.
This poem makes me think about what will happen next.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Yes, I felt dismal as I wrote it. Tried to write something else, but this is what I got. I don’t want there to be a bloody revolution, but I also don’t want people to continue dying for existing in their skin.
You are spot on with your words and that capture is perfect. Those monsters are something we must attend to, for everyone.
Thank you. I was pleased to find just the right image to going along with my thoughts.
Wow! This poem seriously gave me chills. It flows well and draws the reader in. The monsters of the world cast a long shadow, indeed. I hope we can banish them with the light.
Me too. I’m praying for more light eveyday.
Wow, Toi! You have nailed it again. Your words are so powerful that the fact that they fit so well into the prompt is almost secondary. Let’s hope we can change things before protest indeed turns to revolution.
I too hope things change before it gets to that.
An interesting poem.
Thank you.
Thought provoking and nicely done
Thank you.
A lot to think about in your well-crafted poem.
It’s a lot, but I hope it helps in some way.
Fantastic stuff. This speaks to the current times, in such a powerful and inspiring way that it brings a feeling of hope, not despair.
Thank you. As desperate as I felt when writing it, I do have some hope. I’m glad that came through.
Beautifully written poem Toi. Paced and charged with messages. Wishing you a fruitful harvest of Autumn writing. Take care.
Thank you, Susan. Wishing you fruitful writing too.
Hi Toi – it’s something I don’t want to think about … but this never ceasing violence and need to be best whatever the cost doesn’t help anyone. We need people to be fair … and considerate … let us hope the monsters go away. Well written … take care – Hilary
Yes, we need people to see all people as people.
I remember when Tiki torches got on Twitter and said they didn’t endorse a certain mob. This post is scary, given the number protests and anti-protests lately. Especially where people were paid to turn a protest into a riot. Dark times.
Yeah. Many black people’s every day. I’m so tired.
Huge congratulations on yet another totally deserved win. Your writing tugs at my heart strings and fills me with awe.
Thank you for your kind words.
Congratulations Toi. Second time in a row and so well deserved!
Thank you.
Hi Toi – congratulations … well deserved – your monsters have long shadows, which I do hope ease soon – but so well brought to the page. All the best – Hilary
Thanks, Hilary. I wish I could see the shadows easing in my time, but I doubt it. Still, I move forward.
Congratulations on a well-deserved win! Though my mind is spinning, as you used the imagery of racists burning out the “other” (torches and monsters made me think of the villagers going after Frankenstein’s monster). And maybe that’s only fair… those torches that were used so long against blacks and others getting turned on the intolerant, and maybe to destroy the shadows, rather than more people?
Thank you. It’s not always fun, but always good, to think about things.
Apologies Toi, for this belated visit. Congratulations on a deserved Winner Award. This poem captures the tragic spirit of the time in a powerful piece. It’s personal, and I recognise the evil is closer to you. Yet the monsters threaten so many – as I said in a comment on my post. We live in dangerous times for black lives, and for the planet.
Thanks for stopping by Roland. You’ve always been so supportive. I would have been okay if you hadn’t made the rounds but I know how dedicated you are. It means a lot. We all appreciate you.