(freeform and prosy
future’s not lookin’ rosy
I struggle to rhyme)
Be Kind, Rewind
We don’t exactly know when the Great Clock stopped,
But we could’ve had a sense of the pendulum’s swing faltering,
Except that everything went digital and we lost ourselves.
The cycle of sunrise sunset sunrise sunset should have clued us in that time was passing,
But we were in a place in history when mechanical lights never completely go away.
So busy doing, we forgot about being, and we lost touch with Nature’s rhythm and rhyme,
Lost the music of the chime
Marking hours and halves,
Slender arms embracing never-ending salutation and welcome.
No reason there, either, as we argued
Over land we never owned, abandoning self-accountability for greed,
Soiling the spot where we’d eat at the communal table,
Basing morality not on if you got caught, but whether you got punished;
Pass the biscuits please,
Take one and leave the rest for your neighbors,
Except there are no more biscuits to be had by anyone.
We can’t quite remember where we’d stashed the key,
Although the drawer underneath the Great Clock seemed the best place for that treasure,
The tool that when faithfully used for its intended purpose could reset the pendulum swing—
A powerful, peaceful arc, back and forth and back again—
While the Earth heals and reminds us how to truly thrive.
Is it too late to be kind and rewind, or
Must we crouch here alone in the silence cold and dark;
What’s that glows behind the far horizon…a hopeful spark?
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2025)
The challenge? Write a story in exactly 6 sentences based on Denise’s one word prompt: WIND. Visit, comment, and write & post your own on SIX SENTENCE STORIES. The Café is open. Come as you are!
Valley of the Trolls 
Definitely something to think about. I found it very powerful. Great Six, Liz.
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Thank you, Chris. I’m never sure when I’m hitting the mark with poetry; glad it came through.
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The key includes kindness, compassion and respect for all, including this beautiful planet. At least, I hope it does and I hope we find it.
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I hope so, too!
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It’s never too late to be kind, but rewinding? I’m not sure. Maybe re-finding?
I like this line: “we forgot about being, and we lost touch with Nature’s rhythm and rhyme,
Lost the music of the chime”
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Thanks Miichael, glad you liked! Maybe rewind, realize, reset, repair?
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Respect!
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Yes, this little planet is a very unsettling place right now.
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‘Tis.
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A beautiful piece… And timely too.
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Thank you for your kind comment, Bernadette!
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Timely, well written piece, Liz. No, no pun intended.
Yes, perhaps in the glow of a hopeful spark, we will find the key.
Because we really need to find it.
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Thank you! Struggling with the times, hoping for a halt and reset for better…
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Great six. We have to find that key. This whole world needs a reset!
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Pray for do-overs, yah?
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