But First

/ Liz H-H
Image source: Echo by Ellen Thesleff, Finnish (1891)

Join us for a weekly blog party in Six Sentence Stories, hosted by Denise and attended by some mighty fine, fun folk. Prompt word=FUNCTION. Read, write and come back for more SIX SENTENCE STORIES.  (Link goes active Wed night).

We are clearly well beyond the summer solstice as the light has changed to the crisper blue that contrasts so well with ripening pumpkins, while a brisk late morning walk continues to pool sweat in the lower back’s hollow and between one’s breasts.

Morning dew counters this lingering summer with cool intimations of darker nights to come, frost glittering white where sunrise fails to muscle aside shade on crisping leaves and thinning grasses that prefer shiver and sway to the inevitable snap and fall.

I roll to one side of the bed and swing my legs over, feet planting firmly on wooden floor, determined to catch these last moments of summer’s soft-damp ground, ears tuned to bird call and the rattling breath of a breeze through trees just beginning to punch out their kaleidoscope of colors.

But first, the coffee…to function.

Cat lifts his head, blinks slowly, and then lowers it; he knows I’ll wash and fill his bowl before I step outside. He also knows that because I’m a sucker, he’ll be fetched for breakfast while the earthy waking libation chugs and spits from the modern fountain of youth, filling my favorite sacrificial hand-turned mug that I’ll drink from as I walk the yard.

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2026)

20 thoughts on “But First”

  9. The first word that came to mind was ‘calming’. I don’t drink coffee, but I felt like I wanted one in a special mug. The entire piece is calming and relaxing and I really liked the last paragraph. Poetically they almost stand on their own.

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  11. That sounds an interesting Six! I totally agree with you, we are clearly well beyond summer solstice. The autumn season is coming closer, and the heat will finally cool down. 👍

    Have a great day and week, Liz! I’ll write my Six soon! ☺️

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