Creative Writing Challenge April 2018 Winner is.
on: 03/04/2018 | 23:48
There'll be things to embrace and things to avoid and things on which you can depend
We all have a right to freedom, whether right or whether wrong
That freedom of being, that freedom of choice, that freedom makes us strong
Life is one long journey, so use your freedom to be wise
There'll be highs, there'll be lows, and things on which to compromise
One free thought today could possibly reshape your life
With freedom comes responsibility, otherwise you could end up with strife
I used freedom in the past and made some big mistakes
But those choices helped shape who I am so maybe that's what it takes
That freedom to do, freedom to say, that freedom just to be
That freedom not to follow anyone, the freedom to be me
We all have things we need to do but we need that freedom too
I need the freedom to be me, like you do to be you
We all travel on a similar path with our freedoms to be who we are
The freedom to stand up, stand out, the freedom to go far
Sometimes we may feel trapped like our freedom could be gone
But I'll tell you now that's not the case so keep on keeping on
Find the freedom that you deserve, the freedom to be you
The freedom that's inside all of us, and to ourselves be true!
on: 06/04/2018 | 14:07 - edited: 06/04/2018 | 18:44
When I saw this month’s challenge, the first thing that came to my mind was Mel Gibson in Braveheart, playing William Wallace, screaming at the top of his lungs “Freeeeeeeeedom”. It was a truly heart-breaking movie seeing what the Scots had to go through for such a long time.
After a while, I remembered of what Thucydides has ‘written’ a while ago … The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage. Whenever I feel a bit sad, I just think about this and I do my best to change my mood to a better one.
In old times, we had slaves working the fields and many other chores that the rich did not want to mess with. Isn’t it ironic that while the rich were enjoying their “kingdom”, the slaves were losing their freedom? They were not free to do whatever they like, were they?
Unfortunately, nowadays I feel that most of us are modern slaves – to technology. It would be a happier world if we spend more time with our loved ones than faces stuck to mobile phones and “slaves” to the social media.
on: 06/04/2018 | 15:30
Freedom
I lie on the cliff
Look up at the stars
Think of those traveling
In stuffy small cars
Let my feet dangle
Look down at the sand
Think of the people
Stuck further inland
Want to jump from the ledge
And Fly with the stars
Let gravity heal all of the scars
Then I'll Splash into the sea
Swim through waters so deep
Now I am free
It was worth taking the leap
on: 08/04/2018 | 14:53
Freedom
Freedom; now that’s a word that, over the years, has brought a rush of adrenaline coursing through my blood. Lifting my spirit but at the same time bringing real sadness to me. I have spent so many years in this grey, featureless, cell that I have forgotten what freedom really is. I had a life once, fearless and carefree but that all changed on that fateful day. A day I'll never forget and, although some memories of the event have faded over time, I will always remember my feelings as I stood over his prone body. Watching the rich, red, lifeblood ooze from the wound in his chest. Fascinated as it leaked across the front of his shirt and into his mass of blonde hair. I can still hear the crackle of air mixing with the blood in his lungs as he gasped for his last breath. I stood still as he clutched desperately at his body trying to stem the bleeding. I watched as the light in his disbelieving blue eyes began to fade. I listened as he mouthed soundless obscenities at me. I did nothing, but watch him die. I didn’t call for help or an ambulance as that would have transferred the responsibility of his last few minutes to professionals. I wanted to watch him die. The total culpability for extinguishing a life was mine alone and it wasn’t something I was prepared to share with others. I killed him and accepted the total blame for my actions.
I was amazed how easily a human life could be ended, with such little physical effort. A squeeze of the trigger, followed by the ear-splitting bark of the shotgun and, at the same time, the shoulder jolting recoil as the weapon ejected its load. Then the sound of metal burrowing into flesh. The noise of crushed and splintering bone and the bullet ricochet around his chest; all happening in seconds. Those seconds which ended one life and changed another forever.
As I sit on this dreary bunk and stare at the same walls I have done for so many years, I still have no regret for the act I carried out. I feel no remorse for the life I took, only sometimes, for the waste of my own. My loss of freedom has been worth it, knowing justice was served. Killing an innocent would be an unspeakable act but this man was far from that. Born innocent, as we all are, but corrupted via nurture. Some people do not deserve the life they have been given and to breathe the same air as decent humans. My act was an act of desperation, but his was an act of wanton greed. So not exactly an eye for an eye.
The court case was public, the ruling and sentence quick and, in some eyes, harsh. But I took it in my stride. I had committed a sin, broken the law and so I accepted my punishment with good grace. I was satisfied that the man I had killed would never walk away from his misdemeanours ever again. He would never talk his way out of sticky situations. Never be free to ruin the lives of others. I had rid the world of a thief and a liar who would never swindle another innocent woman out of their life savings. To some, I was a hero but to many, I was just a headline, soon to be forgotten.
Yesterday I was told that my parole board appeal had been accepted and that I will shortly be free to return to the real world. To re-stake my claim on life and have a future. After fifteen years incarceration, it won’t be easy. Restarting a life for an older woman will be hard but, a woman who has killed someone will be even more difficult. I can’t see too many men being interested but who cares. I will have that thing that all humans seek. The thought of it makes me smile.
Freedom.
on: 11/04/2018 | 12:02
Have you tasted freedom?
It spreads across the tongue
like a wildfire
with an ocean cool.
Have you smelt freedom?
A rush of air
boasting freshly cut grass
imitating vast forests in lands we can only
imagine.
Have you heard freedom?
The whistle of the new season's new births
chimes in time with the wind-
a melody of
beating hearts and hopes.
Have you seen freedom?
Tears of salt water shed for sugary love
as strings are severed
and the weight of feathers
is lifted.
Have you felt freedom?
The dreams that promise what we
crave.
Of life and love.
