Crafting Poetry One Syllable at a Time
Posted on March 22, 2019 by Colleen M. Chesebro
This week, we are to write about a bucket of water. I’m a bit out of practice, but hopefully this story will resonate with you.
I stared into the bucket of water expecting to see my own image stare back at me. Instead, the image of a Rusalka water nymph wavered within the watery depths. Her eyes glinted with green fire and her golden hair drifted around her shoulders.
She slipped from the water and stood before me clothed only in the gray mists that circled the banks of the river.
“Come, friend. I’ll show you the way.”
“The way?”
“You died before your time, and now you’ve transformed into a Rusalka water nymph.”
“I’m dead?”
“Of course. You belong to the river now.”
© 2019 Colleen M. Chesebro
Category: Authors Supporting AuthorsTags: #FlashFiction, 99 words or less flash fiction, Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction, Carrot Ranch Writing Challenges, Rusalka water nymphs
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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.
Bummer. So much for that trip to Harry Potter World.
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LOL! Seriously, you need to check out some Slavic mythology. There is some dark stuff there. 😀
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Love your take sis 💜
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So much research for my book. Time to put it all to good use. LOL! Thanks, Sis. ❤
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😂
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Now i’m sure you are batty
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LOL! I’m in good company! 😀
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I love how even your stories are informative! Satisfies my cravings for heady stuff.
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Thanks. I LOVE research. I should have gotten my degree in library science. LOL. I have an uncanny desire to learn. 😀
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Library science would have been perfect for that!
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I would have been in seventh heaven. 🥳
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You belong to the river now… leading to a whole new story, methinks! ❤
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I love this mythology of the Rusalki nymphs. You’ll read a lot of this from me. LOL!
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:Lovely Colleen… ♥
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LOL. Great fun. Thanks, Sally. 🥰
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thank you so much, Jaye and Anita. ❤
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I think these 99 word challenges are really difficult, not much room to really get going!
You managed to capture the essence beautifully though, well done!
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I agree. That is the challenge… what I like is that the reader can fill in the blanks. She belongs to the river now… you know there is another story there. ❤
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magical story, have a productive and inspiring weekend🙏
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Thank you so much. You too. ❤
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Wonderful piece, Colleen.
I hope a water nymph is waiting for me 🙂
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The Slavic people believed that woman who died violent deaths, or committed suicide, or female babies born out of wedlock turned into Rusalka nymphs. I think it was a way to make sense of their deaths. I love Slavic mythology… very dark but interesting. ❤
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OH dear, Colleen. It might be nice to be a water nymph but not if you have to die first.
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LOL! I love the mythology of the Slavic Water nymphs. This is but a small part. ❤
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Gave me goosebumps!
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Ohhhh… that’s cool. Thank you. I would love to make this story longer. ❤
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I’d love to read the longer one, too! I recently learned of Rusalkas when I reread “Hunted” by Meagan Spooner. Fascinating. And heart breaking. I always love a dark twist though. Nicely done!
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Thank you! What a compliment. ❤
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My pleasure!
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Fabulous piece Sis. And definitely the makings for another book! ❤
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LOL. The Rusalki Fey… this is who we align with. ❤️
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❤
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Lovely take on the prompt!
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Thanks, Luccia. I love this challenge. It opens my mind to the possibilities. ❤
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Lovely flash fiction. Your Rusalka water nymph seemed so real. 💕🤗💕
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Thank you. Just wait till my new book comes out. 😀
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😍
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I’m looking forward to it!
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Pingback: A Bucket of Water « Carrot Ranch Literary Community
Of course, a water nymph in the bucket. Why not? And she’s dead – what a rude awakening. Or maybe a joyful one? This is lovely, Colleen.
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LOL! Thanks, Norah. Magic is found everywhere!
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