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This week’s prompts: Write a story or poem around the phrase, “It changed everything …”, and general writing.
Prompt: General writing
Ode to Breakfast
There is no doubt in my mind
that breakfast is the best meal of the day.
Start with some coffee, but not the grinds,
and have some waffles, I pray.
Because, obviously, waffles are the best,
so add some blueberries or chocolate chips.
Get the syrup and forget the rest,
free the liquid gold from the bottle, let it drip.
Cereal’s pretty good too, I have to say.
Cheerios and Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops.
I would eat it all the time if I may.
Seriously, cereal’s probably my favorite food group.
Don’t even get me started on French toast.
Homemade French toast is divine.
Almost as good as waffles — almost,
but it’s delicious anyway, so I won’t whine.
As you can see, breakfast is the best part of the day,
nutritious and delicious, and in no way pernicious.
Breakfast is here to stay,
because, unlike lunch meat, there’s no way it’s malicious.
Prompt: “It changed everything…”
Kristallnacht
Broken glass and it was night.
They came marching in and then shot apart.
Jew was wrong and Nazi right.
A heartbreaking act of Satanic might.
Broken glass and it was night.
Only face: must be white.
The Jew that night felt the Nazi bite.
Only light was the fire bright.
That burned in homes and caused Jew flight.
Broken glass and it was night.
Jew cowered from Nazi fight.
Only thing left in sight.
Was smoke and fire and Nazi smite.
Broken glass and it was night.
How Jew wished for the daylight.
World War Two had knocked.
And opened on this night of Kristallnacht.
There It Was
There it was, far, far, away,
a light.
I couldn’t reach it,
for I was too short.
I asked myself,
“Why can’t it just be closer?”
I grabbed a stool and stood on it.
One leg of the chair was uneven.
I wobbled back and forth trying to grab at the light
but I couldn’t reach it.
I climbed a willow tree to catch the light,
but the limbs were weak.
I fell and hit the ground hard.
I felt so close to the light,
but I still couldn’t reach it.
I needed to catch this light
before the light would catch me.
It was like a race
and I wanted to be in the lead.
I boarded a plane,
for I knew it could fly far beyond the light.
It was perfect.
I got in my seat,
buckled up for the ride,
and the plane finally took off,
making a straight line toward the light.
When I got closer to the light,
my eyes were blinded;
I couldn’t see.
I wanted to go back but I couldn’t.
I cursed to myself,
“Why was I so eager to go the light?”
Hard Truths of Growing
It changed everything.
And how could it not —
when it affects everyone and anyone,
when your likes and dislikes and sorta likes
change to your dislikes and sorta likes and likes?
And when you can’t even remember the last time you talked.
Or what you used to talk about.
It changed everything.
And how could it not —
when something that used to be simple,
and used to happen organically
becomes robotic, and scary and hard,
when weekly sleepovers, and daily check-ins
turn to monthly sleepovers, and weekly check-ins
till altogether it stops
because people grow apart
and people discover new things
and interests change and sometimes,
that’s enough
to change everything.