Restive Telemarketers. A Valiant Attempt. (8/100)
 

My writing could use some practice. So I'm going to have a go at a list of one hundred almost entirely random words and phrases. I couldn't find a list that was weird enough for my taste so I made a new one. You can steal it if you like.

As I write, I'd love for you readers to point out the ones with particularly interesting voice. Or word choice. As I'm searching for something distinctive to work into a play I'm writing. Feel free to join in with your own Drabbling, I'm not protective of this space. Heck, I love reading other people's work. <3

THE LIST.
(Completed are grayed out.)

The Starting Gate
A Limb
Above
Beauty
The Table
Need
Three Drums
A Pool
Sight
Telephone
Livid
Sickness
El Deoderante
Corrections
Note to Self
Light
Numb
A Musician
The Clown
Fragile
Variations
Flower
Flour
Once Upon a Time
Happily Ever After
The Bricks
Home
Only One
Just Two
All But Three
Rubber
Found
Lost
Something New
Nightly
Linger
Undone
Ribbon
Robbin
Bones
A Tired Feeling
The Skull
The Eleventh Hour
Artist
Fire Escape
Hospital
Parking Lot
Rain
The Carpet
Seeds
Sprawling
Power
The Bells
Renaissance
Child
Face
Taken
Movement
An Inner Heaven
This Word
Nostalgia
Smile
Pain
Window
The Moon
The Nest
A Rat
Thread
Uptown
Stained Glass
A Pin
Belief
Message
Same Question
Pontification
Blue
Visitor
Honey Dew
Since Midnight
The Circle
Sparkle
Curtain
The Scissors
A Wall
Fireplace
Repetition
Kinesthetic Response
France
Why?
Grace
The Camera
Slice
Crawl
Out
Us
Bus
Fuss
The Back Room
Heresy
Restive Telemarketers

The Starting Gate.

Cracked paint, fresh oil on the hinges. It squeaks anyway. Dog whimpers, another splinter in its paw. Pushed open the gate. Green field, a hundred sheep. Sun off the horizon now. Clay soil, green field. A Hundred sheep, a whimpering dog. The sun skipping clouds. Cracked paint, fresh oil on the hinges. It squeaks anyway. Pushed shut the gate. Stood in clay soil.

The wind.

Parched mouth, hair washed in hard water. Soft hands, raw knuckles. A hundred sheep.

Sun skipping clouds, the wind, a dog, parched mouth, clay soil, green field. Still a hundred sheep.

Took one step forward.

A LIMB

Backstage there is a box in which there is a leg. They say it was used in a terrible rendition of a terrible play. Back when real actors worked here. The leg, the say used to have a special strap that ran around one’s waist so one might dangle it over a set piece and fool the audience into thinking it were yours. It had a string to run down through one’s shirt. Pulling it would let it fall off for a fantastic finish to a tragic battle. They say the damned limb had a mind of it’s own on occasion.

ABOVE

Don’t look down until you’ve crossed this ancient, hanging bridge. You might finish out the full ninety minutes if you can get that man in front of you to fall in love with you. Oh. He’s fallen off now. No doubt he was only the spunky sidekick. Perhaps that man in front of him is the right one. Maybe you should trip over something. If he catches you then you’ll be in the clear for sure. Or should you wait for the barbarians to carry you off? What if he doesn’t notice you falling? Is that your hero or not?

BEAUTY

Millions are watching and listening. Your voice is on the radio world-wide. Your picture is in magazines, on TV and on people’s bedroom walls. You meet legends at parties. You meet your own childhood heroes. People seek you out to find what's in your head, to find out what got you here. And some might want to go the same way. They would give up whatever small life they have now to be in your shoes. Standing under the lights. With a sea of audience members waiting. You are beautiful, polished, perfect from a distance. Thank you for being afraid.

THE TABLE
You keep you hands by your sides. I hand you your side order. You order another glass of water for your friend. This is me keeping my hands steady but not steady enough. This is me mopping up water. You keep your glassy-eyed listening face for your friend. I keep thinking you might look at me beside you. Some of the water is under the table. I keep my eyes steady thinking how handsome you are and hell, I‘d take your order any day. I hand you a new glass. You listen to the daily specials. I step aside.

NEED
Or "The Tale of Fish"
((Though "need" was the jumping off point, it is no longer an effective title.))

This is the tale of Fish. And how she dreamt of failing to fly every night. And how she didn’t even try when she was awake. And how they told her terrible things about herself, how lazy and foolish she was. And how depressed and anxious she became. And how her mother stuck by her until the end. And how Bird tricked her and carried her some ways. And how the air and wind took her breathe away. And so Fish died. Before Bird cut her into manageable bits and ate her. She gave him indigestion and nightmares about drowning

THREE DRUMS

This one is full of oil from my Chevy when I thought that it might be worth something when the world wasn’t so greasy and dirty itself and this one is full of nails for my tree house I thought that I might need a lot of nails to hold it together if I had to stay there until it rotted and this one is full of blood I’m giving to the insurance company so that if I ever get dizzy and fall into a well my sister will have the money to buy herself a home and a car.

A POOL

On the subject of staying afloat. One mustn’t grind one’s teeth together, it’s unbecoming and gives away too much. Only keep by me and hold tight and preserve your thirsty life. Once I felt the same, it’s gone now. One thought I gave you. One you gave me on the subject of something else entirely. One mess we got in once. Once I drifted alike, it’s gone now. Only keep by me and hold me tight. One mustn’t admit to anything as such, it’s too pessimistic and noisy. One thought I said aloud. On the subject of teeth-clenching, bone-wrenching cold.