A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. CONFUCIUS

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Nouvelle 55: Dawn After The Wreck


JMW TURNER Dawn After The Wreck (1840)

It ended badly:
the sextant smashed,
the rocks rearing,
the storm’s screaming furies,
the ship lashed and wrecked.

Later, an insubstantial watery dawn,
with little trace of those few dark hours:
only some ragged clouds,
a worn-out, ravaged sea,
both sand and sky opaquely mirroring
a troubled calm,
a dog
howling at the crescent moon.

(This is my attempt at a nouvelle 55, a piece of flash fiction written in only 55 words and based on a work of art. Thanks to Ruth over at synch-ro-ni-zing for the inspiration! For an explanation of what flash fiction or micro fiction is read this.) 

7 comments:

Ruth said...

Bravo, Robert! What a gorgeous piece of art and fiction to pair with it. Without the title of the painting, who would know? The calm color of the sky mirrored in the beach belie the scene of the night before. What has been lost? What oh what transpired in those horrifying hours?

I'm glad you took up the challenge!

Dan Gurney said...

I particularly like the first sentence with its alliteration and sibilance. The short 55 form is fun to work with and easy on readers. I hope that you'll do more.

ksam said...

I like this very much (so you were with us on that flight home from our vacation last night)!! 'Cept for the actual lack of a crash!! :-) This is a very neat concept.

The Weaver of Grass said...

I like that Robert - given a finite number of words does concentrate the mind.

Love the ploughed field in the header.

Friko said...

I am sorely tempted to join in.
This is an excellent piece.

The Solitary Walker said...

Hi Karin! So you had a rough flight, did you? Scary. I hate even the slightest bit of turbulence.

Pat, thanks. The pic shows early spring in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Friko - perhaps we can look forward to your own nouvelle?

The Solitary Walker said...

And thanks, Ruth and Dan. I really liked your own nouvelles too.