Protagonist<\/p>\n
It\u2019s our Wednesday night workshop,
\ncreative writing group meets via Zoom
\nuntil the governor allow libraries to open
\nafter this pandemic has finally passed.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re virtual so no masks required
\nbut Robert \u2013 don\u2019t call me Bob
\nor Bobby or may fairies and sprites
\ndevour you, not Robby ever \u2013
\nwas wearing a bear mask. Strange.
\nHe clears his throat, twice; I realize
\nit\u2019s Robert\u2019s turn to read.<\/p>\n
He adjusts his furry mask, and begins.
\n\u201cI was walking a forest path, the treeline thinning
\nas I ventured on. I saw a pigtailed girl catching
\nfireflies in a bottle. I asked her name but she
\n\u2018poof\u2019 vanished.
\n\u201cI kept walking, the morning heat growing,
\nmy stamina depleting. An intense lethargy
\novertook me and I felt myself swooning.
\nUp ahead, I saw a little cottage, lavender
\ngrowing in the garden. The door was open
\nbut I knocked anyway. Crusted bowls
\nof cold porridge sat on the table but
\nthere was no one home.
\n\u201cI found a comfy bed, too big for me,
\nand a smaller one still too big, and finally
\none that was just right. I fell asleep.
\nThe end.\u201d<\/p>\n
We clap, I ask for comments for Robert
\nbut there are none. I am at a loss for words;
\nRobert snarls.
\n\u201cYou people aren\u2019t writers; you don\u2019t get it.
\nIt\u2019s so simple. I\u2019m a metaphor for Goldilocks\u2019
\nalter ego.\u201d
\nHe growls into his mask and clicks his screen off.
\nOur Zoom room is silent.<\/p>\n
~ J R Turek
\nJune 27, 2020
\nHour 11<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Protagonist It\u2019s our Wednesday night workshop, creative writing group meets via Zoom until the governor allow libraries to open after this pandemic has finally passed. We\u2019re virtual so no masks required but Robert \u2013 don\u2019t call me Bob or Bobby or may fairies and sprites…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1325,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70213,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70197\/revisions\/70213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}