Crafting Poetry One Syllable at a Time
Posted on September 22, 2018 by Colleen M. Chesebro
The Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge is on! In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a parade of nations. It can be literal, or it can be a phrase that you use to describe a situation. Explore what it could be. Go where the prompt leads. Respond by September 25, 2018.
“Eyes left, salute!”
I listened to the drill sergeant’s voice and a sense of pride swelled in my chest as I raised my hand to salute the onlookers in the parade stand. Exhaustion had set in weeks ago. Air Force Basic Training had drained me of everything I possessed, but somehow, I carried on.
This was my flight’s crowning achievement to march in the Parade of Nations to salute our NATO allies. We had earned the honor as the first women’s flight to graduate from the USAF. The cadence of my life slipped into place and time stood still.
© 2018 Colleen M. Chesebro, Veteran USAF
P. S. I was in the Air Force but not in the first flight of women to graduate from Basic Training. All I can tell you is that 1976 was an interesting year. 😀
Happy First Day of Autumn
Category: Authors Supporting AuthorsTags: 99 words or less flash fiction, Carrot Ranch Literary Community, flash fiction
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“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone’s knowledge of himself and the world around him.”
—Dylan Thomas
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Colleen M. Chesebro is an American Poet who loves crafting paranormal fantasy and magical realism, cross-genre flash fiction, syllabic poetry, and creative nonfiction. Colleen sponsors a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called Tanka Tuesday, on wordcraftpoetry.com where participants learn how to write traditional and current forms of haiku, senryu, haiga, tanka, gogyohka, tanka prose, renga, solo-renga, haibun, cinquain, Etheree, nonet, and shadorma poetry. Colleen's syllabic poetry has appeared in the Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, and in “Hedgerow, a journal of small poems.” She’s won numerous awards from participating in the Carrot Ranch Rodeo, a yearly flash fiction contest sponsored by carrotranch.com. In 2020, she won first place in the Carrot Ranch Folk Tale or Fable category, with her story called “Why Wolf Howls at the Moon.” Colleen is a Sister of the Fey, where she pursues a pagan path through her writing. When she is not writing, she is reading. She also loves gardening and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art.
Salute! ❤
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LOL! Hup, two, three, four…
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Love it sis!
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LOL! Seems like a lifetime ago! 😀
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A great honour! I salute you, Colleen!
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LOL! Thanks, Olga. That one old picture is the only I have of me in uniform. So long ago. LOL! 😀
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Wow, I had no idea. But I always knew you are a strong woman! Salute!
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Thanks, Erika. A long time ago. ❤️
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A special part of your life 😊
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What a great picture of you in uniform!
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LOL! I was a baby! 18 years old! ☺️
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I loved this! And I loved how you got in your NATO allies. ❤ xx
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Thanks, Sis. It rolled out of me. One of the fastest flashes I’ve ever written! 🙃❤️
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Similar to how my tankas roll out! ❤
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Exactly! 🤣🔮🦄💜
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🙂 ❤
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
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Thanks, Traci. Hugs! ❤️😍
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No problem! Hugs back!
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Hi, Colleen, I thought it was you before I read the post. I salute you, great memory! You look sharp in uniform! ❤
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LOL! Thanks, Miriam. ❤️❤️❤️
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You’re welcome. ❤ ❤ xox
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Thank you for your service! ❤️
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Welcome. It was ages ago, but I always benefited from the experience. ❤️
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No matter the time, you served, and that is something you should always be proud of!
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Oh, yes. No worries there! ☺️❤️
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Great flash piece Colleen and love the pic. ❤
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LOL! Another lifetime ago! 😍❤️
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❤
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