Valkyrie

What Parker said

Wow... that was a very powerful story. Like Cole said, you did a fantastic job of showing vs. telling. I wondered why Tristan was acting so strained toward Miguel. My first thought was he was having an affair. I thought the too-large shirt belonged to someone else, but see now it's probably his own and he lost a lot of weight. I really felt Miguel's concern for his friend. I'm wondering about their relationship. They're referred to as friends, but there was a comment about how Miguel was familiar with Tristan's bedroom. When Miguel finally stepped into the room and saw the disarray and the noose, it immediately brought tears to my eyes. You portrayed the chaos in Tristan's mind extremely well, with the disordered room and the scribblings in his notebook. I have a feeling that Miguel isn't going to be travelling as much now. Very well done, Cali! Any progress on "What's Real to Me?"

I think you captured the moment perfectly. You reminded me of when my grandmother was in the same situation. Nice job.

Yay! Perfect timing, since I have the day off today. Congrats to Cassie and a huge thank you to Renee and team for making the anthos possible. It's nice to see such a large turnout and some new participants.

Casey starts a new job after being released from prison. He wants to make a new start, but his past mistakes aren't far behind him.

This story is well worth reading. I loved it too!

First I have to say that I absolutely love my Ariat paddock boots. lol But I think of them as more of an English company, so I imagine there are better western boots out there. Whew... that was yet another intense chapter! I can't muster up much sympathy for Eric. He certainly deserved to get his ass kicked. I also picked up on the line "All the Coopers are." It's certainly ominous. I don't think we've seen the last of Eric yet. Your writing, and this story, just keeps getting better and better. Oh, and you have me worried now about Ben's revelation that he may not be able to stay monogamous. I'm still rooting for an HEA.

There are three sides to every story. Person A's perspective, Person B's perspective, and the truth. You need to know A and B to get to C. We hear Simon's story and hate the farmer. He must be a horrible person to let such an atrocity happen. Then we learn his own struggles, and develop some empathy for the man. Why do we have to decide who gets compassion? Can't they both? Here's a picture I saw on FB this morning that shows that compassion is still alive. A group of people surrounded a suicidal man on a bridge and held him until help could arrive. It brought tears to my eyes.

It's very easy to judge and condemn others, especially when you only have one side of the story.

Thank you for reading and for the kind words. I really appreciate it.

I bet a Halloween contest would very popular. *hint hint*

I agree with the other reviewers, that is a very powerful line. I also love the last two lines. Great job.

While I wouldn't call this absurd, it's quite lovely. I can picture everything clearly and loved the end.

I think this is the strongest of the lot so far. Encounters such as this are so rife with possibilities, but then we go on our way, our hearts a little happier. Great job.

I could see each one clearly. Nice job.

There's a nice message here. Scars can be looked at as life lessons to learn from and embrace. Nice job.

Thanks for reading, Lyssa. Glad you liked them.

Thanks! The rays are here now, but still waiting on the gelato I had fun this month, too.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Tim. Congrats to you for finishing as well.

I agree with aditus. I particularly liked "September" and the "ashes ashes" poems. The second one also conveyed a lot with few words. I'm very impressed with how you played with the same poem in different forms. They all work quite well in their own way. Nicely done and thanks for participating. See you next April!

Day 21 Prompt: Go anywhere with the idea of mirrors. The wood-encased glass reflects The room in perfect opposition. Mahogany chair with plaid cushion In front of the oak rolltop desk. The leather recliner that the cats Like a little too much. The bed with skewed sheets and Blanket crumpled in a pile of brown softness. The woman in the frame Blinks when I do Waves when I do Dances when I do Weeps when I do. She lea

Nice way to finish the month. I liked them all, but 27,28,29 stood out to me. And a bonus poem too Congrats on completing another National Poetry Month!

Sounds like fun, Addy

Congrats on completing the month! It's been my pleasure working with you, my friend. I love how you picked a theme and were able to stick with it through the whole month. My hat's off to you. In one year... same Bat time, same Bat channel.

Thanks for sharing, Mac. That's quite the coincidence! I'm always amazed when things like that happen. I think art and life have a reciprocal arrangement. And I love the photo.