On the edge of winter, once again lonely —
In my lugubriousness I gazed at wall-papers peeling, swimming in lament I inhaled the reek of cat-urine left in your wake, a dissonant hum from the city lacerating my flesh.
By myself I was where I am.
When the snow began its scent adorned my bedsheets with shades of your sentence, your words.
Ice words of parting, telling of darkness in truth.
“Pathetic, a failure, looser, a joke”
Again, I bring out my mistress, my saviour, my wine and take a swig from the bottle. I feel a tickle of warmth in my veins.
Tomorrow will likely be worse, but tonight in my haze I will almost forget.
That once I had a future, even I, once, even I, was a boy with a mother, a lover, a wife who cared even if… I never knew.
Today we are doing Prosery again at dVerse with Merril who has choosen the following lines:
“I was where I am
When the snow began”
From “The Dead of Winter” by Samuel Menashe. Full poem here.
Join us in writing your piece of prose.
December 4, 2023
Björn Rudbergs writings 
You really created a sense of loneliness and despair in this piece, Björn, with a wintry edge and ‘the reek of cat-urine’. I love the way you broke up the prompt lines and ‘ice words of parting, telling of darkness in truth’.
Btw it’s a ‘swig from the bottle’.
Oh… that one I should correct thank you.
Welcome!
Oh, this is so sad! I’m sure this is a common tale for many.
I hope he can find a way out of the cat-urine stench and the thrall of his wine-mistress.
I think if he leave his mistress there is hope… but it will be a rough journey.
Yes, I think so, too.
Heart-rending, Björn, imagery laced as it is, a moribund stagnation. I’m enjoying looking forward to your AI generated illustrations, btw. This one’s great too.
I am not too sorry for a man who has the bottle as his mistress…
I think you may have more compassion for this pitiable creature than you realize.
Your story and image: well done!!!
Much♡love
A poor miserable guy really
Lugubriousness is such a great word.
Thank you, I thought it fit the season.
💙 very reminiscent of Bukowski.
Thank you… I had not thought of that, but certainly self-destructive.
you had me in tears and added lugubriousness to my list of words to find out about.
Roll on Summer for this poor dude, I say! Great story Bjorn!
“Tomorrow will likely be worse, but tonight in my haze I will almost forget.” Almost. Written with vulnerability and sincerity. Even if not autobiographical, the empathy has to exist in order to write it.
Such a sad tale of utter despair. And I concur with what Lisa said.
Well done. So often we don’t realize what we have until it is too late. A sad story often seen.
By myself I was where I am. – there is so much despair in that… what is it about rain and snow that paints wet and cold into the cracks of loneliness…!
I wonder too, but for me a heatwave would probably be even worse…
🙂
Tremendously powerful, Bjorn! You are always an excellent poet even in your prose. ❤
A beautiful, poetic sharing of utter sadness and despair, Björn.
Fantastic narration and a perfect break in the prompt line! ❤ 🙂
~David
Many thanks David
Well now, your wrote a novel in this great prose piece! Epic, Bjorn.
That little detail of cat urine is a killer.
there is nothing that signals misery more in my view.
A miserable cat gets pretty close.
Ending gave me goosebumps! Nicely done.
Well crafted Bjorn, I do love how you split the sentence, and I appreciate the imagery at play.