Posts Tagged ‘Friends’
Jun
The Price Of Love
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The ozone scent of the ocean reminds me how much I have sacrificed to be here: friends, family, home, heritage.
Was it worth it? Most days, yes, but on black days – every step painful – I find myself back before the water.
Mother warned me. But I knew better. “You don’t choose who you fall for.”
“Mark my words, no good came of such a union.”
I brushed it aside – another of her fables.
He is a devoted husband, but he cannot bridge the loneliness.
I lose myself in the roaring of the waves: a world I can no longer enter.
From Guest Contributor Iqbal Hussain
Apr
Orange Man
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Once upon a time, an orange man became president. He dressed in red, white and blue, but he liked white more than black and brown, and he loved orange most because he was orange.
The orange man made many people cry.
One day the orange man and his friends were indicted, prosecuted, convicted, liquidated, and incarcerated under state laws.
The orange man couldn’t pardon himself or anyone else convicted under state laws.
The orange man painted his prison cell orange, because he loved orange most because he was orange.
And people of every color lived happily ever after.
The end.
From Guest Contributor Todd Matson
Todd Matson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. He has written poetry for The Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling and has been published in Vital Christianity. He has also written lyrics for songs recorded by a number of contemporary Christian music artists, including the Gaither Vocal Band.
Apr
Drinking
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
There was a time that drinking carried with it a thrill. The flash of acceptance by his peers, the risk of being caught.
Then it became a habit. An expectation, though not a conscious one. It was just a part of everyday life, like the friends he no longer really connects with, but finding new friends seems complicated and lonely.
Now it is no longer drinking. It is alcohol, and he needs it to not feel sick, to not hate himself.
Maybe he should quit. But that strikes him as uncomfortable. Better just to not think about it too much.
Jan
Disruptions
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
People, she thought, were like gadgets. They could be tucked away neatly into white boxes, each waiting to fulfill their role. Friends, family, coworkers—they each had their own purpose in her life, and she never let them stray. Few coworkers ever became friends, and even fewer friends became family. Nobody crossed the inner circles of her life without her permission. And then, there was him. The glitter explosion that disrupted her perfect life, bringing just a little mess with him, wherever he went. She now carried that intoxicating aura as it radiated from her chest in amber waves: Bull’s-eye.
From Guest Contributor Kelsey Swancott
Kelsey is a senior majoring in English with a minor in Visual Arts and Spanish while also being involved in the campus literary magazine Angles. She plans on furthering her education by getting her masters degree in English as well. Her work has been published in Entropy Squared, The Dribble Drabble Review’s Spring 2021 issue, and Otoliths in February 2021.
Nov
Shame
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
I take a bite of the chocolate cheesecake, stolen from a remote corner of the refrigerator and want to savor with closed eyes, but I don’t dare. Mom can come anytime. I gobble it up, throwing the carton in the trash.
She descends the stairs and frowns at the cake crumbs on the floor. I hate her for that.
I look at the book I’m supposed to be reading and try to hide my shame, my secret. The same secret that’s hers when she introduces her teenage daughter to her friends, her eyes apologizing for the girth of my thighs.
From Guest Contributor Anuradha Dev
Oct
Beauty Of Life
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Walking through the park’s garden, the fresh scent of grass and flowers soothes me. The leaves are slowly blowing in the breeze and the chipmunks race around the path.
Children are laughing and playing baseball while their parents proudly watch, and it reminds me of my own childhood summers, playing catch with my friends while my father coached us on our throws.
I wish I could go back and be young again, but I can’t change time. I’m elderly, brittle and fortunate to be able to walk at my age.
This is why I’m thankful for the beauty of life.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Aug
Rags To Riches And Back
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HUBRIS CONTEST:
Mr. X fell. How badly?
Initially, he didn’t know. He continued contriving grandiose schemes. To deceive and conquer. Gain at the loss of others.
Friends he once had dwindled to one. They witnessed him gloating. How he went from rags to riches, increasing net worth “like no one else.”
Until the world sank into monetary collapse.
His temper shot up. Those he benefited from abandoned positions of his corporate ladder. He maintained headstrong in his quest of greatness, overriding those needing assistance.
Indeed, Mr. X fell. Sad thing, he had no clue how to rise.
Nor do others marked ‘X.’
From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs
Aug
Flash Bang Boom
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
With the encouragement of family and friends, I adopted a retired bomb-sniffing dog. I called him “Flash” – after the flashing lights of a migraine, I would joke to anyone who asked. One day he discovered under the couch a severed doll’s head I didn’t even know I had. Next the piano stopped producing sounds when I sat down to play it. Then the tree outside my window appeared suspended like an astronaut in space. Now I often catch the dog lying on the couch studying me with cold, squinty eyes as if calculating exactly how much a person can bear.
From Guest Contributor Howie Good
Howie is the author of THE DEATH ROW SHUFFLE, a poetry collection forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.
Aug
The Hubris Of An Atheist
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HUBRIS CONTEST:
Steven had few religious friends. He’d hector and accuse anyone who was a believer, demanding proof they both knew didn’t exist. He belittled their faith, claimed they were wasting their time, and insisted that all plausible evidence pointed towards the folly of religion. No matter how generous of spirit they might have been, Steven’s condescending demeanor drove them off.
In some ways, Steven’s faith in his own rationality was stronger (and more misguided) than the religious devotion of any of his former friends. Ironic that he now found himself at a loss for words before Saint Peter at the gate.
From Guest Contributor Sarah Levy
Jul
Troubles
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Covid-19 has taken a toll on my social life. The quarantine has me cooped up other than grocery shopping or a drive, and I miss the sounds of my friends boisterous laughs when we joke about men while watching romance movies chomping on popcorn.
Reading a novel with my feet up, the same words stare at me. I toss the book aside and pace, when a tapping on the back door distracts my thoughts. I look outside and a black kitten is on the patio meowing.
I forget all my troubles when I step outside and pet this adorable animal.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher