PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson (Many thanks for the gracious loan of your photo. 😉
This year’s river ain’t no ankle wetter,
no minnow chaser,
no roll up your pant legs for a sunny Sunday wade.
This year’s river ain’t no trout fisher,
No flat-stone skipper,
no Sunday supper-dinner all strung up on a string.
This year’s river ain’t no parasol spinner,
no baptizing sinner,
no check-blanket picnic in the shade.
No, this year’s river is a bridge-out blocker, a gully road washer, a sweep you off the banks, because—
This year’s river is a baby-child taker, a widow-man maker, a trade-your-everything for mud, because—
This year’s river is a flood.
—
96 words (if you forgive liberal hyphenation-for-effect)
104 words (if you do not)
This has been an edition of Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. This week’s photo courtesy Dale Rogerson. To read more stories inspired by the prompt, click here.
k. Rawson 
Loved this the repetition and the imagery, well done – and lovely to see you back on FriFic too 🙂
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Thanks Iain, great to be here!
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Nice cadence to your story. Karen.
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Thank you kindly, Neel.
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Love the tumbling rhythm here. It would make a great song. Well done.
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Very kind of you. Now can you write some music to go with? 🙂
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Lovely, entertaining read – well done, Karen!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thanks Susan!
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Dear Karen,
I agree with Josh. It would make a good song. Hope he’ll set it to music for you. 😉 Love the rhythm and the voice. “widow-man-maker” is brilliant. I am forgiving of hyphens. Use them myself. Well done and happy to see you in the FF queue.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Great to be here. Thanks for your kind words. Good to know your verdict on the hyphens for when I slip in my 456-word story next week 😉
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Now that I might take a bit of issue with. 😉 There are limits, my dear.
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Lovely, turbulent, musical torrent
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Thanks Neil 🙂
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Makes the point brilliantly.
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Very well done. And, yep, that sounds like this year’s river…
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I hope you stayed out of the river’s crest where you are. Thanks for reading!
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Terrific, powerful, rhythmic. Very well done.
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Thanks so much, Sandra
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Brilliant, Karen! Have to agree, that rhythm got some groove to become a song.
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I need Josh to compose a tune. Or perhaps are you a musician?
This is a lovely spot in your picture–is it a place you get to visit often? Or one you only visit now in your photos?
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I wish I were…
It’s in Woodstock, N.Y. I went there to meet a friend half-way…☺
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Aw…but what a great place to meet up!
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Absolutely! And the next one was in Brooklyn a couple of weeks ago!
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Fantastic writing, you really carry the reader along with your words.
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Thanks so much!
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Very nice!
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Chilling, all the way to the end. The pacing and progression are wonderful, as with a flood, the poem gets deeper with every line… until the last one overflows taking everything.
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So glad you liked it. Thanks for reading!
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Poetic piece had me dancing along till the final fall.
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I’m so glad! Thanks for reading ceayr 🙂
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Loved this. Sounds like it should be put to music.
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Thanks StuHN!
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Frightening stuff, I like this muchly and am happy to accept the 96 word count!,
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Thanks for reading and commenting.
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A stunning and elegant poetic message. Beautifully done.
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Thanks so much! Glad you liked it.
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Wow, loved this one, really powerful piece. Well done! 🙂
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Thanks so much
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Love the progression of the water becoming deeper and deeper. Nicely done.
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Nice one, great rhythm.
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I agree with J Hardy Carroll – it would make a great song.
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Thanks Clare!
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Love the clear descriptive words, the rhythm, an almost floating-down-the-river sensation 🙂
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So glad it worked for you. Thanks for reading and commenting!
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That was great! Such a fun read!
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Thanks for reading 🙂
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I thought this absolutely brilliant, the language, the similes, the imagery the lot, thanks.
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Thanks for your very kind words!
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Great writing – full of energy and images tumbling over each other like the river – so skilfully expressed.
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Thanks so much Francine!
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Love the rhythm of this powerful piece. Nicely done!
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Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by!
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First of all I love your use of repetitive negation… a technique I love myself… then of course the conclusion which made me think of all devastation we have seen and what future will bring
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Amazingly written.
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