Apr19

Untimely Utterances – Part II, Mystic Rain

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{Denise gracefully hosts Six Sentence Stories, where writers unleash their magic under one simple rule: in no more or no less than 6 sentences.
This week’s prompt word is : PRESENT }

Link to Part I : Untimely Utterances – Part I, Bariolage

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Untimely Utterances
Part II – Mystic Rain

I place down the bow, keeping the cello in my embrace… “It’s not your fault I cannot find the peace you usually gift me, Emrys”… still vibrating from the last sorrowful notes (as if my cello, Emrys, nods in understanding) gradually retreats, allowing the rainfall to conquer the soundscape.

After countless centuries walking in the shadows of human history, one would think I might have developed a protective layer against what cannot be unseen once witnessed, like a callus preventing nothing but the minimal input to register… alas, immortality is far from how it is portrayed by those who fail to recognize it in a moment in time.

A coal & a charred child’s toy… for decades upon decades I am watching how selective & fractured human societies are when it comes to their attention; how aware of that short span are those who manipulate what becomes shared history and what not.

A coal & a charred child’s toy… it is not a Christmas story that prompts me to remove these items from their glass case… nor a tale where the visit of ghosts turn the protagonist into a compassionate being, bearing presents for everyone.

April 20th, 1914 Colorado USA… the Ludlow Massacre… it is one of those fucking days that hide in their bosom cruelty and pain… families of miners on strike are digging pits under their tents to escape machine gun fire from the National Guard… eleven children and two women were burned to death inside a pit, when the whole camp was torched.

Out in the rain, for the 110th time, I witness the dawn of April 20th… as black tears fall down from a coal & a charred child’s toy.

*

BTCOWIK
Spira / Nick © April 2024

Filed under creations and tagged , | 29 Comments

About Spira

A Renaissance human. Part healer, part B/W photographer, part artist, part sigh of a writer, part explorer of guitar & piano landscapes, always in love with music..."Music is the fabric that clothes our lives" as Denise Farley once wrote. All done with the dedication, intensity & passion of an imperfect speck of cosmic debris.

29 responses »

  1. This framework makes the perfect platform for revealing dark histories of this exact nature. I knew nothing about The Ludlow Massacre – what a tragic and sadly repeatable incident. This is a “Penny Dreadful” of reality rather than fiction, and nevertheless a true horror.

    Top-notch writing, N.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • As it was mentioned in the story, what becomes shared history and what not…
      I hope the link to the Ludlow Massacre will provide the necesasary context for readers willing to dive in the history of it.
      “Penny Dreadful” was a loved series, therefore your mention/ comment finds me most pleased and humbled.
      Thank you, M.

      Liked by 1 person

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    • Aye, Chris… it is a huge subject in its own right the reason those dreadful events fall through the cracks of general awareness while other informations are spoon-fed to us.
      Thank you.

      Liked by 1 person

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  6. “…one would think I might have developed a protective layer against what cannot be unseen once witnessed,…”

    Why should that be? simply as a function of time. No matter the time elapsed, be it centuries, years, months, any “protective layer” should be subject to dissolution for if not, humanity has ceased. But then, that would presume its existence.

    To say your piece was effective would be redundant, Nick.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • “Why should that be?” you are asolutely right.
      My line is more an echo of the same question (as yours) I had at the beginning of my medical career, when my colleagues were convinced that after a few difficult cases you stop being affected by them at a human level… you get ” desensitized “. I am happy to say that I have not followed that path, thus proving it is possible to do so.

      Thank you, Denise.

      Liked by 1 person

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  7. A truly dynamic and effective post, my very good friend! I knew nothing of the Ludlow Massacre, I’m ashamed to say, yet man’s inhumanity to man baffles and upsets me, its why I prefer animals. I hope you’re well, Nick, and that life is serving up nothing but great times and happy memories! :) Oh, and I’ve launched the new poetry website I mentioned last time we spoke. It’s a collaboration between myself and a (I think I may have mentioned) lovely and talented Polish lady I met, whose influence has helped me learn the artistic nuance of poetry! https://anathemasabode.wordpress.com/ I would love to get your feedback, and, maybe, a follow :) 

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Thank you, Bruce.
      Nothing to be ashamed of, my friend… most of us did not, not even the ones who went to school in the US.

      Oh, perfect, Bruce. Consider me subscribed. May your ink flow with glowing inspiration.
      Best of wishes for the future of your collaboration with Anathema ( if i am not mistaken).
      [if I may suggest something from my first brief look, before i take my time reading your poetry:
      the overlay of colored text and art may be challenging to the eyesight of some readers… yeah, I am an old geezer 😁
      Maybe a workaround would be to increase the size of them. Although, my personal preference would be that text and art coincide but not merged, so that both can be appreciated.]

      Liked by 1 person

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      • My friend, I appreciate the visit, the follow and your continuing friendship. I must look into, maybe increasing the size of the actual posts themselves, as they do feel a tad small, I’m so used to my Precinct1313 theme, that getting my head around a new one is going to take a little while, but I’ll get there. Thanks again, Nick, from Anathema and myself. Good fortune to you, my good friend. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

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  8. Given the excess of (Burn’s) ‘Man’s inhumanity to Man’, it is not the depravity exhibited in this event that makes your post standout, it’s your ability to offer a view that allows the Reader to know of, perhaps ponder, certainly be reviled by the Ludlow Massacre… on their own terms.

    This is an all-too-rare skill in this place where there is no shortage of information yet a deficit in the skill to relate (and, more importantly, recount) the horrific in a way that is neither a club of outrage nor a dry recitation. Unfortunately most culture have an interest in convincing it’s member that all is the only way to learn.

    Good Six

    Liked by 2 people

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    • You have brought forth, once more, the beating heart of it all.
      Clark, I shall let your words echo undisturbed… adding nothing but my deepest Thank You.

      Like

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    • I imagine so… yet, Remembrance or Mnemosyne was a primordial goddess in ancient Hellas ( and. mother of the 9 Muses) for good reason.
      In the case of my protagonist, forgiveness is an option… but to drink from the waters of Lethe is not.

      Liked by 1 person

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  10. Enjoyed this short read as I prepare for dinner. I grew up in Colorado. That history of the massacre is macabre and tough to re-read. But one must remember. Your writing is quite poetic. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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