Misapprehension
upon mischance
upon mistake
upon misunderstanding
were all piled on top of high hope
and higher wish,
then sandwiched with ballbearing layers
of worry
and weary.
Girl, forgetting she was no acrobat,
clambered up the teetering stack
and, naturally, lost her balance,
landing quite hard on Boy
without even saying excuse me
(though grateful he had broken her fall.)
Briefly, as she tumbled down,
it seemed to Girl the sky was falling
or the earth was rising
awfully fast.
They picked themselves up
and dusted one another off a bit,
checking for bruises
(no broken bones, thankfully.)
Too tall a stack, thought Girl,
Must remember to practice closer to the ground.
For his part, Boy
felt a sign should have been posted,
and decided to watch where he was walking
and glance upward more often,
just in case.
A "Brian" is a short-form story of exactly 50 words, with a title up to 15 words, which occasionally requires some acrobatic wordplay. Also called a mini-saga, the Brian is named for British author Brian Aldiss and is popularized in competitions held by The Daily Telegraph newspaper of London. This one aims for a triple, but only manages
slightly more than a two-and-a-half gainer.
slightly more than a two-and-a-half gainer.
You can write your own mini-saga and post it to the Comments!
I love this one! I don't know how I missed reading it before. I remember seeing it, but I suppose I became distracted by the others around it.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could write my own "Brian" here in the comments. Ha! Doubt that'll happen, but maybe...as long as you promise not to laugh at my most inept way of writing poetry. ;-)
I Promise.
DeleteI don't know how you missed it.
I know you remember seeing it,
but I suppose you became distracted
by the others around it.
I wish you would write your own—Ha!
Doubt that'll happen, but maybe...
Promise not to laugh
at my most inept way of writing
poetry.
Ever.
LOL! You made me cry! Why does that bring tears to my eyes? We have GOT to meet in person some day, sister!
DeleteOh, I hope so! Nice work, BTW. XO
DeleteIn case you thought your mini-saga needed to be in verse form, here is the first "Brian" I ever read, with permission from the author for educational purposes only:
ReplyDelete"Minimal Fable" by Ralph Fiennes
Piers Fable lived alone in a white studio flat. In everything he did he was carefully measured. Even in the way he spoke. In time he reduced himself to a perfect cube, containing a perfect sphere. His friends admired his achievement—but were sad at how removed he had become.
And here, my response at the time:
"Maximal Fable"
Maxime Fable was as impetuous as his elder brother Piers was deliberate. Though outwardly flamboyant, he privately envied the attention Piers’ austerities gained. Max labored long in secret. Finally, his friends encountered a brilliantly colored double helix spinning wildly on his veranda. They said, “DARling! SPLENdid!” but thought, "—poor Fable!"
Love it! I love Ralph Fiennes as well...I think I need to ask his personal permission about using some of his work. ;-)
DeleteVery interesting Brians -- the both of you. I'm intrigued and mystified at once. Must enlist Amy to read and evaluate these two Brians...