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Stairway to Heaven
His calves
burned. His breath came in raw ragged gasps. Blood of a thousand falls slicked
his palms and streaked the dank walls he leaned on for support. One bruised, aching
foot after another he screwed up the feeble vestiges of his remaining courage
and trudged towards the sweet shining promise of the light. He barely dared number
the remaining treads lest they prove a cruel uncountable Escher trick of his
rheumy, sweat stained eyes. He yearned for the surcease of a cool breeze,
unpolluted by his own ever present stench; the sound of the open, not echoes of
his own desperate progress, the sights soaring aloft on the wings of a distant
horizon, not sight of more rough hewn walls. Soft bludgeons of sleep battered his
resolve and, weeping, defeated, he fell before them. Awake, crushed beneath the
weight of familiar darkness, he once more began his allotted climb.
150 words
@nickjohns999
This story was written for Angela Goff’s ever excellent
Visual Dare challenge
O goodness. Why does the story of Tantalus come to mind here? This sounds like the most inexorable torment - to be that close, slip, and return to the beginning again! The phrase "a cruel uncountable Escher trick" really nailed it for me. Such tension and heartbreak in one well-crafted fist. Well done!!
ReplyDeleteHi Angela. Thanks. Yes the story has elements of Tantalus with dash of Sisyphus. Another great prompt photo, with such a different feel from the lighter tone suggested by last week's offering.
DeleteWell Nick, that's it for me. How can I possibly write a Visual Dare response after reading yours? This is deliciously written; the cadence and usage is beautiful. I felt like I was alongside this fellow as he journeyed up the steps and then began his journey again. A most wonderful use of 150 words!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks Jo-Anne! To get such feedback from a poet, for whom careful and measured use of words is vital, is wonderful.
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