Talking Stories Radio # 37

Hey everyone! Time to check out broadcast #37 of Talking Stories radio. My friend Ger White reads two poems. They're fantastic! Note: They start around 43:45 min.

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Surface Tension - CafeLit

Hi Everyone!
I'm thrilled to share this story with you. Many thanks to Gill James for featuring it.
https://cafelitcreativecafe.blogspot.com/2020/03/surface-tension_13.html

Here's the link if you don't want to use the link:

Surface Tension

He remembered it from biology class. Surface tension. It meant, The tendency of water molecules to shrink into the smallest area possible. He remembered something else, too, about a water bug being able to walk across the surface, which at the time he'd thought was pretty amazing.

            He'd never been the best student and probably failed the science test back then, just like he'd done years later with their marriage; failed. He'd shrunk, become smaller as a human being while she'd grown and blossomed like the flowers he grew in his carefully tended garden. He'd stayed safe and secure in his IT job. She had grown like the bright blooming lilies in that same garden, excelling as a fast tracked manager in an prestigious marketing firm, making new friends, traveling both home and abroad and even joining a running club and completing a triathlon. She'd grown and he hadn't. He'd taken the safe way, kept his head down and played it safe. She'd moved on like that water bug, moving ever foreword, fearlessly into the unknown.

            Now this.

            Sure they'd tried, especially during those early years. They'd made time for date night once a week and together planned three getaway vacations each year. But now, nine years in, their interests had changed and they'd drifted apart and their marriage had died. He hadn't been enough for her. She had given up and now she was telling him she was leaving, moving on.

            "I've had it, Bill," she said coming down from upstairs. "I just need something different."

            He had nothing to say, knew her leaving was inevitable yet now was emotionally unprepared and stunned speechless by the finality of it all.

            "But...But..." he finally mustered

            "No buts, Bill. It's over."

            He watched her eyes slip off his to some unknown, but for her, eagerly anticipated future. A future that didn't include him. There was a twinkle there. And something else he hadn't seen for years. A spark. She was on fire with her passionate desire to leave.

            She picked up a single suitcase and her laptop satchel, kissed him on the forehead and turned and walked out the front door.

            He watched as the door closed, leaving him alone. She was gone, gone for good. The finality finally settling in, a heavy weight in his chest. Man, how he still loved her. Man, how he wished he could change. Man, how he knew that he couldn't.

            He went to sink and ran some water, filling the teapot. Some tea would be nice, some nice soothing chamomile perhaps. He sat waiting for the water to boil, looking out the window toward his garden but not seeing it. Time slowing to a crawl.

            The water started boiling, the teapot whistling but he didn't hear a thing. He stood and started into space, remembering the rest of the definition for surface tension. How it allowed for objects to float on the water's surface. Suspended and drift less. Just like he felt now.

 

In Her Dreams - The Drabble

Hi Everyone,
Special thanks to the staff at The Drabble for featuring my poem today!
https://thedrabble.wordpress.com/

If you don't want to use the link, here's the poem:

In Her Dreams - 100 Word Drabble

She rides a painted pony

Over rolling grassland hills.

She walks a shaded woodland path,

And listens to the wind whispering.

Sometimes she stops to breathe the scent

Of a fragrant upland meadow,

Or drinks to quench her thirst

From a rushing mountain stream.

She uses the images in her young mind

To take her far away

From the filthy city her parents have taken her

While fleeing the ravages of war.

She travels from there often,

In the quiet of her mind,

And gives her youthful spirit a chance

To grow into something beautiful,

Just like in her dreams.

 

Letter Writing - The Academy of the Heart and Mind

Hi Everyone!
If you get a chance check out my story at The Academy of the Heart and Mind. A special "Thank you" to Thomas for featuring it.
https://academyoftheheartandmind.wordpress.com/2020/03/08/letter-writing/

What Grandma Said - The Literary Yard

Hi Everyone,
Many thanks to Onkar at  Literary Yard for featuring my story What Grandma Said.
https://literaryyard.com/2020/03/08/what-grandma-said/

Down in the Dirt Magazine - Frozen Fingers

Hi everyone!
Check out my story, Frozen Fingers, in Down in the Dirt Magazine and enjoy!
http://scars.tv/cgi-bin/works_e.pl?/home/users/web/b929/us.scars/perl/text-writings/g8723.txt

Spillwords Spotlight on Writers - Jim Bates

Hi Everyone!
If you get a chance check out this link. I'm honored.
https://spillwords.com/spotlight-on-writers-jim-bates/