HOLLOW HILLS

MONDAY 22nd MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ HOLLOW HILLS

HOLLOW HILLS


by John Yeo

It is not generally known,

The amazing geography of historical Rome

Was built on seven hills, two of which were hollowed out.

The history of the Roman Empire is an impressive tome

Detailing the historical rise and fall of the empire.

Except for these unknown hollow hills

Under the foundations of historical Rome.

~

For millennia completely unknown

Beneath the foundations of historical Rome.

The fables surrounding this secret were never brought out

The mysteries built up a treasure trove of history grown

Seductive with the telling, filled with historical desire

To unearth the mysterious hollow hills

Under the foundations of historical Rome.

~

The two hollow hills joined by a catacomb

Beneath the foundations of historical Rome

Hold a colony of a million mysterious bats, flying freely throughout

Stalactites hanging above a moss-covered mysterious throne 

Naturally formed from an interior flow of volcanic fire.

Warming the historical skeletal chills.

Under the foundations of historical Rome.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

ARTISTIC FAILURES 

SUNDAY 21st MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ ARTISTIC FAILURES 

ARTISTIC FAILURE 

(A sonnet for Sunday)

by John Yeo

I love adding the detail to a very fine drawing   

Then painting a picture for sensual pleasure.

I love the satisfaction of producing real art,

The pure creative pleasure of building a picture.

A feeling of accomplishment at the completion

Positive reinforcement of my own interpretation

Producing a likeness, a creation of beauty.

The application of paint in glorious colours

To produce a picture to match the mind’s eye

This relaxation has benefits beyond measure

Blocking out mundane thought by contemplation 

Of the subject, and the total intense concentration.

Leading to a final interpretation. Hard to resist.

The question. Why did I not become an artist?

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved 

MASTERING MATH

THURSDAY 18th MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ MASTERING MATH

MASTERING MATH


by John Yeo

Concentration is the spur for a successful introduction

To coax the beauty of numerical thought to arise

Requires a sympathetic enlightened induction.

~

Studying the beauty of numerical form is seduction

Enabling the mind access to mathematical highs

Concentration is the spur for a successful introduction.

~

Mastering the power of higher thought and deduction

Pushing new thought processes to unaccustomed rise

Requires a sympathetic enlightened induction.

~

Interest is heightened through sympathetic instruction

Visualising the totality of forms the ultimate prize

Concentration is the spur for a successful introduction.

~

The logistical power of mastering math construction

Allowing the powerful beauty of math to mesmerize

Requires a sympathetic enlightened induction.

~

Purity and simplicity in mastering math is an attraction

That will lift the thought process as high as the skies.

Concentration is the spur for a successful introduction

Requiring a sympathetic enlightened induction.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

BELIEVING IN THE PRETENDS

WEDNESDAY 17th MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ BELIEVING IN THE PRETENDS 

BELIEVING IN THE PRETENDS 

by John Yeo

The cancer is very advanced,

I had responded to the patient’s call.

The cancer is incurable,

The patient is ready to die

The writing is certainly on the wall.

~

‘Doctor you tell me I’ll die.

I have a confession to make;

Will you hear my deathbed plea?’

I offered to call a reverend priest,

‘Please. No! I never believed.

~

Will you let me get this off my chest?

I would like to tell you in confidence

As a professional and a very good friend.

I have always done my level best

Something has always haunted me.

~

My wife is my Father’s daughter,

We fell madly in love and wed.

We carelessly loved our way through life 

The only people who know the truth

Sadly, now they are all dead.

We married under false pretences

With a nod and a wink and love.

We have always believed in each other

Some say our incestuos union

Is against the laws of God.

~

We have loved believing our pretends.

Please respect my confidence

In your special capacity.

We have known and trusted you for years

As a professional and a very good friend.

~

My wife will inform our children.

When my life in this world finally ends

I would like you to offer her support

And assure her of my love for her.

We lived happily immersed in our pretends.

~

Thank-You 

© Written by John Yeo~ All rights reserved.

FROSTED FOREHEADS

MONDAY 15th MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ FROSTED FOREHEADS 

FROSTED FOREHEADS 

by John Yeo

Night, under the railway bridges in Winter, the wind whistling along graffiti covered walls.

Homeless people sleeping under assorted rags, cardboard box rubbish and grubby woollen blankets.

Twenty supine forms lined alongside each other guarding bin bags full of treasured possessions.

No visible individual recognition characteristics, just a row of naked faces with frosted foreheads.

~

A mangy mongrel tied up with a piece of string, licks the frost off the forehead of one sleeper.

Showing simple animal care for the owner of the hand that periodically provides food.

Vermin, attracted by the odours of rancid food and faeces scuttle around the walls.

Groaning and snoring emanates along the row of naked faces with frosted foreheads.

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

HUGGABLE SNUGGIES

SATURDAY 13th MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ HUGGABLE SNUGGIES 

HUGGABLE SNUGGIES 

by John Yeo

Beryl Jones was a different little girl who grew up to be a different young lady.

When Beryl was a little girl she loved her huggable snuggie.

Beryl’s huggable snuggie was a sabre-toothed tiger covered in fur.

She named her huggable snuggie-toothed tiger, Tina Toasting-fork.

When Tina opened her mouth to breathe her forked tongue would appear.

~

Beryl’s Mother Mary was an incredible lady versed in white magic and spells.

Mother Mary had a huggable snuggie black pussy cat called Midnight.

Midnight had long fur, green eyes and extremely long sharp claws.

When Tina Toasting-fork met Midnight in a huggable snuggie fight

Mother Mary’s huggable snuggie goblin arrived to calm things down.

~

Beryl’s Grandma Meg was the Queen of the underworld coven.

Meg went everywhere with four huggable snuggie horned devils.

Shamus, Erasmus, Septimus and Devious commonly known as Festus.

The fabulous four all covered in fur, fantastically fought all comers.

Tina Toasting fork, Midnight and the huggable snuggie four cuddled up together as huggable snuggies often do.

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

BENDING TIME

THURSDAY 11th  MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ BENDING TIME

BENDING TIME

By John Yeo

Lost in the forest, which path leads to my goal? 

I lost the track some hours ago,

Time has bent into an elastic whole.

~

Bending bushes lead past a grassy knoll

Brushing my face, waving too and fro,

Lost in the forest, which path leads to my goal?

~

Dark smells of damp decay start to unfurl,

An owl screeches in the darkening shadow,

Time has bent into an elastic whole.

~

Minutes turn to hours then seconds control

lmagination mixes as fears start to grow,

Lost in the forest, which path leads to my goal?

~

A ghastly sound starts to screech and cajole

The complaining sound of a roosting crow

Time has bent into an elastic whole. 

~

The spreading treetops as black as evil’s soul

Hours turn to minutes as day’s shadows show
Time has bent into an elastic whole.

Lost in the forest, which path leads to my goal?

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

SPICY TONIC PUMPKINS

MONDAY 8th MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ SPICY TONIC PUMPKINS

SPICY TONIC PUMPKINS

by John Yeo

How to keep your sculptural creativity in train

When you are hollowing out a pumpkin head

By sharpening up the Halloween creativity train.

~

The Jack-o’-lantern needs help to maintain,

With a nip of spicy tonic pumpkin beverage 

Helping to keep your sculptural creativity in train.

~

Spicy pumpkin tonic has gained universal fame

To sharpen up the mind with a keen cutting edge.

A spicy concoction to stimulate the creative brain.

~

 Taken with or without gin, if you usually abstain,

Your carving will fill passing witches with dread

By sharpening up the Halloween creativity brain.

~

A smooth cinnamon tonic with pumpkin in refrain

and a spicy bouquet infusing a tasty herbal bed

Is a delicious concoction to stimulate the brain.

~

Spicy tonic pumpkins will always be hard to explain 

When carving the Jack-o’-lantern’s head,

How to keep your sculptural creativity in train

By sharpening up the Halloween creativity brain.

~

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved 

MISALIGNING MULTITASKERS


FRIDAY 5th MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ MISALIGNING MULTITASKERS

MISALIGNING MULTITASKERS


by John Yeo

I’m a twenty-first century person through and through

Wherever I go I take my indispensable smartphone

This multitasking instrument often sends my life askew.

~

Checking the time and keeping my emails under review

Scheduling my appointments and texting my home

I’m a twenty-first century person through and through.

~

Concentration slips when my current tasks exceed two

Misaligning my multitasking it becomes my millstone

This multitasking instrument often leads my life askew.

~

By neglecting the main task I’m desperately trying to do

I blame my smartphone addiction, my curiosity is prone

I’m a twenty-first century person through and through.

~

When I discipline myself to a solitary task in my view 

Set a timer to work when I can make use of my phone

This multitasking instrument often leads my life askew. 

~

Turning my smartphone off when I have work to do

Making social media and online interests a no-go zone

This multitasking instrument often sends my life askew

I’m a twenty-first century person through and through.

© Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

THE QUEST ~ PURPLE NURPLE NINCOMPOOPS

WEDNESDAY 3rd MARCH 2021

This is a response to a Flash Fiction prompt from ‘Putting My Feet In the Dirt’, Writing Prompts hosted by ‘M’.
Which can be found by following the link below..

Prompt ~ PURPLE NURPLE NINCOMPOOPS

THE QUEST

by John Yeo

I have travelled the world on a mission,

I seek to follow the clues,

My existence hinges on the answers I find

To questions that haunt and confuse.

Purple nurple nincompoops

Will always be a puzzle to me.

~

The trail is hard to follow sometimes

The branches of the whole go awry.

Often when I’m sure I’m on the right lines

A new path opens and new shoots appear.

Purple nurple nincompoops

Will always be puzzling me.

~

Records were kept very poorly

The clues are confusing and suggest 

My heritage will remain a mystery to me, 

But my instincts for clarification see

Purple nurple nincompoops

Are fascinating to part of me.

~

When my Mother reached the age of sixty 

She dressed completely in purple

Her behaviour became young and frisky

Uninhibited and gloriously free

Purple nurple nincompoops

Will always be an example to me.

~

My urge is always to continue my quest

Throughout the whole colour spectrum

Following the clues to discover

The roots of my family tree.

Purple nurple nincompoops

Will always be a part of me.

~

 ©  Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved