Sand
and water
on my feet
tide going out
coming in again
as I walk a shell line
or wade in knee deep
caught in a clouded sky
between heaven and earth
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dVerse prompt on place. I think the beach will always be my place.
Diani Beach
Author: Jane Swanson
Kilimanjaro
In space in time I sit thousands of feet above the sea May Sarton
There are many who have come to my three peaks. Shira is my easiest at 13,140 feet, Kibo my highest at 19,340 (highest peak in Africa) and Mawenzi at 16,893. It is not a technical climb but rather a feat of endurance and determination. Do not get altitude sickness or you will fail.
Hemingway camped at my feet. His interest was in hunting and taking trophy, not in climbing me. Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller were the first Europeans to my summit in 1889. Yohani Kinyala Lauwo, a native, and declared member of this summit party, did my summit three times before WWI, once without shoes.
On a clear day you can see my snows from miles away. Come and see my mountain of whiteness. Come and strive for my highest summit Uhuru Peak, Freedom Peak in Kiswahili.
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dVerse prompt to use May Sarton quote in flash fiction. This is flash historical fiction with Kilimanjaro speaking.
The Little Prince’s Baobabs
What is the last thing you learned?
Do you remember how the little prince plucked out the baobabs to keep them from harming his rose? I learned the baobabs were symbolic of ridding the world of Nazis.
Safari
I went to Mombasa
I did not see rain
there is drought in Amboseli
elephants are dying
wildebeests zebras Maasai giraffe
🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘🦒🐘
I went to Maasai land
I did not see a bow
only spears and panga
arrows used to kill
when the loins attack
🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆
I went to Maasai Mara
to see the wildlife
thunderstorms on the horizon
got wet in the landrover
viewed a perfect rainbow
🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈
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dVerse prompt to use a threesome. My choice is rain, bow and rainbow.
Swimming
I went out into the sea
ready to die
waves crashing at my knees
salt water lifted me
I was made alive
beach walk brought me home
sand sucked my toes
sun on skin
and out on the horizon
the boatman comes
Baobab
I stopped by the side of the road
witness to a baobab
mighty in age and stature—
to behold such a tree
leaves me gasping
as some have been uprooted
for export
left caged in Kilifi
subject now to law
please protect the baobabs
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dVerse quadrille using the word gasp. I have wanted to see a baobab and this one was fine. In November 2022 export of eight huge baobabs was stopped by the Kenyan government. Now they wait in cages.
One Day
Who would think that one day I would be marching to Rule, Britannia with other wazungu, one Indian and a Kenyan. We sweat together, smile and laugh in a cheerful atmosphere of aerobic exercise.
Outside the matatus and tuk tuks drive on, delivering workers and school children under the tropical sky and half-moon.
on a veranda
wait for the rainy season
to fall on us all
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dVerse prompt to write a haibun and use of the word half-moon
Enjoy Life
Do you enjoy your job?
Life is a job and I enjoy my life. It is a paid position of sunny days, sounds of nature and God’s presence.
Traveling to Mombasa
I am travelling to Mombasa with maybe five hours of sleep over two days. Delays, delays, delays and not sure I really slept at all. The movies keep me entertained. The food is okay.
The gritty leg from Doha to Nairobi, I see the desert beneath me and the three small children traveling with their mother let out sounds like a mad cat. They cry and moan sometimes in an echo of the other and sometimes in unison. This cacophony lasts for the duration.
let out a howl
unpleasant in the pleasant
changing of seasons
Swimming
Hold air like water
float
traverse skyward
in a dream
unbroken
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dVerse prompt on AI. This picture came out of an AI program at the Dali Museum in St Petersburg. My childhood dream of swimming in air was typed into the program and this picture was created by AI.
wordshophop 