Dawn breaks,
With a fire whipped ocean
And the boatmen’s song.
Voices in waves
Sail the morning winds.
Tumbling from salt spray lips
Rhythm and hymns,
Caught on wings of a guillemot.
In a theatre of fog
Music takes flight,
Rising, like a streak of mist
To face heaven’s door.
And boatmen weep.
Sing goodbye, to the waves,
Lost upon the sorry sea,
As day dies still,
And the boatmen sleep,
And the boatmen sleep.
And we sleep.
©EilidhGClark
Is the ocean chained to the land or is the land chained to the ocean? Are we free is this world or are we chained to a system that benefits the few over the many? Are we chained to a system who would drown those in need in order to keep those who don’t afloat?
I planned to write a prompt based on the above image but when I posted, all I could see is a big rusty chain and it got me thinking. Is it time for change? Can capitalism survive this pandemic or the next? How do the wealthy survive when there is no more capital, do they win or loose? Will the many ever be free from their chains?
Write a short story in the form of a news article, T.V news report or radio report named, The Day That Money Ran Out.
I haven’t seen the sea for over a year. Living in Killin, I am close to several lochs and rivers, but there is something special about the sea. For me, it’s a feeling that wraps around my ribs like a hug. It’s that feeling of wonder, the mystery of nature and the universe. The sea is a place for contemplation, for stillness and a place to feel whole.
I love this photograph , I snapped it while walking on the beach at St Andrews. The photo is of some teenagers huddled together on the sea wall. I couldn’t hear their conversation but I noticed the long pauses where they all looked out into the endless grey water. Perhaps they were thinking about their studies or their future, perhaps they were lost for a moment in a memory. I like to think they were contemplating their place in the world, their responsibility to the earth and her future
Write a story with two characters, each going through individual difficulties in their lives. The characters should not talk out loud to one another, but sit together on a sea wall watching the sea. The story should record their thoughts, perhaps scattered like a stream of consciousness, or like an internal conversation or monologue. Notice the difference between the characters voices. Did the sea calm them or increase the storm within?
Midnight, On the blackened sand.
Waves crash upon the shore,
unfamiliar darkness
yet I’ve seen this place before.
Lying flat, eyes to the sky;
the stars are out of reach,
I’m all alone without you,
on this cold and lonely beach.
The gnawing cold snags my breath.
I wrap myself up tight,
I’m shrouded in a veil of grief
yet bathing in the moonlight,
I close my eyes and ponder
this melancholy mind,
I’m seasick from the universe
vanished from mankind.
Onto my feet I wander,
to the gentle lapping tide,
I asked the stars to help me,
in the moon did I confide,
but the burden was too heavy,
and my face a sorry frown
as I walked into the ocean
I said goodbye and drowned.
©Eilidh G Clark
It was not mine when it caught my eye,
I had never seen treasure like this before;
An opal stone set firmly in gold
Had lured me into the antique store.
Now it sat in a box amongst breakfast and tea,
Eight slices of toast with a message in cheese;
Toast perfectly buttered and words written neat,
Marry me?
Such a mighty feast adorned my table
That my brain was not quite comprehending,
The offer of marriage in edible love
And the unanswered question still pending.
My eyes filled with tears and the word “yes” escaped
And the ring flashed like sun and like fire,
She tenderly slipped the ring onto my finger,
For my love, I just could not deny her.
I mused over the jewel that now circled my finger;
Of its journey, its life and it’s past,
Who wore it before me, and who gave it up?
Was it a symbol of love that still lasts?
Was it owned by a lady who travelled the world,
Who read Shakespeare and Milton and Pope?
Did she write words with new inspiration?
Did the ring give her courage and hope?
Did she sit in a café and hold hands with her love?
Did they fill life with lobster and wine?
Did they explore foreign lands, discover by chance
The opal amongst darkened mines?
My ring holds the secret to questions I pose
Locked tight in six claws of rich gold,
The oval shaped opal like a world filled with fire,
And serpents and magic and wonder untold.
The magic consumed me as I strolled to the light,
The stone changed from fire into ocean,
Its sky filled with morning, with sunbeams
And clouds and a light show of pleasure and motion.
My gem is unique in this world, like no other,
It’s a rainbow enclosed in a stone,
Revealed to the world through endurance and skill,
It’s a lifetime of pleasure I own.
I wear it with pride on my left hand, fourth finger,
I imagine the gem’s sweet voice sing,
“You are unique, you are precious and have
fire in your soul, and your world will live on in this ring.”
©Eilidh G Clark
Eilidh G Clark 
