Thursday, November 19, 2015

The Hearts Desire






letsmakeapainting.com



     Just to the west of a Texas prairie town, maybe Midland, maybe Odessa ("It's in Odessa. I'm from Odessa. I was born there.") at the end of of a rutted, overgrown, dirt road, I came upon this cottage. Dusk had brought its evening palette and had begun to paint in ever broadening strokes it's warning of the impending night and its countless anxiety laced secrets. There were no signs of habitation, no modes of transportation or a remnant of a days work, there was only the desperate wails of the cicadas as they contemplated the length of a life surely at the cheated end of the biological spectrum. The cottage, sturdily built out of only the best salvaged lumber and thrice used nails, while remote, had an inviting charm that tugged at the soul of the casual passer, inviting even a total stranger to find a curious comfort within the ramshackle walls. Sunlight gave way to a steady but low light coming from the windows. It was a comfortable light, the kind of light you eat biscuits by, the kind of light only good mother's turned out while kissing the forehead of that devil by day, angel by night child, knowing that the dark is tight fisted baby sitter and the bringer of peace and wine.

     At the head of the path, near the porch was a stone plaque of sorts set into a concrete foundation. The plaque, constructed of smooth faced, gray, granite, the occasional rivulet of black or pink catching that last of the evening light and turning the face into a road map flecked with quartz. I imagined at that moment that the flecks were the location of diamond mines, this thought illuminating the  folly that the mind glimpses in that hour between the real light of day and the translucent ghost light of the evening. On the plaque in bold carved letters were the following lines:

For the soft of heart, to spread the love
For the feint of heart, a friendly shove
For the stony heart, a sculptures core
For the hungry ghosts, wanting more

Make a wish, break the bread and see the truth in the morn.......


Hey Toads....Heorotomost here.  So its been quite a year for me, published my book, quit smoking, quit my job, started a business with my wife, yeah it has been exhausting but super fulfilling at the same time. As the Holidays approach I realize that I have pretty much fulfilled my new year resolutions (a first) and I am in a bit of a reflective mood. Hence, todays Friday prompt.  In the little scenario I wrote above, I was thinking about wishes.  What if there was this cottage, this wish cottage where if you stumbled upon it you could have one wish.  For the prompt I don't want it to be the same old wish that you might throw out when asked this question.  I want you to reflect on the right now and here, whats going on around you personally or in the world.  If you are heavy hearted about recent events, if you are joyful and full of love and light about others, I want you to consider your present and make that wish in the form of a piece of writing. No form, only function.  I want to know your hearts desire. This will be the first reviewing I have done in a while and I am looking forward, that is if I haven't been disowned!!! LOl.

As an added bonus, without looking it up on the net, if anyone can tell me where the Odessa quote in the parentheses above is from, I will write a piece specifically for you, to you and about anything you want me to and present it to you as my Christmas gift to you....Oh Joy!!!!!!! And you wanted a new iPad....sheesh.


Love each and every one of you, hope you enjoy the prompt.  I look forward to reading anything that anyone has to offer, you have never let me down.

17 comments:

Kerry O'Connor said...

The quote doesn't ring a bell, but knowing you, I'll guess it's Steinbeck.

:-)

Helen said...

I was mesmerized by your "little scenario" ~~~~

hedgewitch said...

Really loved your prose-poem, Corey--I am always amazed at how vividly you can create a scene. It sparked a few thoughts, and I thank you for the nudge, as I haven't been writing much lately. Will be back later to read and visit.

hedgewitch said...

PS--The quote sounds like a bit of Rowley to me, but what do I know? ;_)

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Cool prompt, Corey. And way to go, meeting all of your goals for the year. Hmmmm......maybe that should have been MY wish. LOL.

Carol Campbell said...

Love this prompt. Very healing for the times we are living in! Thank you, herotomost!

Outlawyer said...

Hey Corey- wonderful prompt. My guess is cormac McCarthy whose name I may be misspelling. I don't know if I can get to prompt but it is beautifully written. Many congrats on your exciting changes. K.

Marian said...

I'm guessing Odessa, Texas and maybe Steinbeck is right? Love this prompt, Corey. Miss your writing HOP TO IT WILL YA!

Magaly Guerrero said...

I'm not sure where quote comes from. But I love this prompt. I think I'll give it a go. ;-)

Fireblossom said...

I have no idea, but I'll guess "The Last Picture Show".

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the flow of words in this passage. It beckoned me to read the lines as a page from a southern author, not sure who to suggest.

brudberg said...

As everyone else seems to be guessing, I think Corey is pulling my legs by referring to Odessa Texas, while it's really about Odessa by the black sea... so why not guess Chekhov?

Hannah said...

Thank you, for the challenge, Corey...I went with a little reminisce for this one. :)

Margaret said...

I know it's not ... but it reminds me a bit of Willa Cather. Thanks for the challenge and your beautiful writing! And congratulations on all your life changes - sounds exhilarating and exciting.

Glenn Buttkus said...

Hey Corey, great prompt. I took my cue off of you, & wrote a prose poem; hope you dig it. The quote seems very Robert Frost to me; strong rhyme scheme. I really had fun with this one. Thanks.

Susie Clevenger said...

Corey, this is a great prompt. I went dark on this one, but healing and forgiveness isn't always easy or pretty.

Herotomost said...

Wow...great response everyone. Sorry, been up north with only my phone that last couple days and blogger and my phone hate each other. But, I believe it is time to start opening my presents. Have read a bunch of them yesterday, just couldn't comment so today and tomorrow I will review and comment. Thanks so much for participating, you are all so lovely.

Oh and the quote is from the movie Tin Cup when they are discussing whether the Waffle House is in Midland or Odessa. Don't worry Ill still write all of you something for Christmas (you thought you were off the hook!!)