Before parting we went down to the docks where we first embraced.
Since then, kisses have grown cold.
The harbor reeks of spilled oil, and from the estuary a lost fog-horn wails. a black cat eavesdrop our failing effort to communicate:
“It’s the burn of your deceit …”
She: no longer my bright star but a charcoal shadow against the yellow fog
“…that rubs…”.
Its back upon the window-panes the cat smirks.
“… and aches…”
My voice trips and falls, she stays silent, shrugging as she has ceased to care.
The foghorn wails again.
She turns around…towards the city where her new life awaits.
“I have nothing to say…”
One step at a time she leaves, each footfall another stab to my gut.
Finally alone with the cat and the foghorn I hug myself, shiver, as a cold breeze from the sea embraces my loneliness.
Today I host dVerse prosery, where we write prose of 144 words or less that includes this line:
The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes
from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Elliot.
September 15, 2025
Björn Rudbergs writings 
You’re an expert at breaking up the prompt lines, Björn, and I love what you made of it in this atmospheric piece. I love the use of the senses: the harbour reeking of spilled oil and the lost fog-horn; and the use of colour in the ‘charcoal shadow against the yellow fog’.
I find the breaking up of a line is one the best way to create something truly new… and yellow fog carries so much atmosphere that I wanted to use.
The yellow fog is dread-full! Favorite line, which is so vivid:
She: no longer my bright star but a charcoal shadow against the yellow fog
The yellow fog is terrible, and at least it shows that with stricter regulation we have come some way.
WOW!!!
This is intense, bravo Björn
much♡love
🙂
”Finally alone with the cat and the foghorn I hug myself,..” there is something very satisfying about this line. I am just really attracted to it. I love how you broke up the Elliott line. That was very clever. Thank you so much for posting your bit of prose.
Thank you, I am glad you liked the prose. The end of an affair is something that is somewhat intriguing to write about.
You are very welcome!
I love how the black cat is also a kind of fog. Wonderful atmosphere and story – Jae
Thank you… yes the cat is kind of mysterious, a fog, a guardian or something similar.
That was some story! They say black cats are bad luck. In this case is sounds like an omen of some sorts.
Could be that, or the black cat is a guardian and new companion.
Very well done dramatic piece, Bjorn.
Thank you so much….
You are welcome.
I didn’t realise we could break up the line in this way – it is most effective Björn and I will bear it in mind for future prosery…
I always try to break up the line to make the text more my own.
Beautifully written.
I love the way you broke the prompt line. And that image you generated is beautiful.
Thank you… I really enjoy breaking up the line… and as for AI generated pictures they have gotten so much better..
True.
Very nice. Melancholy.
A tad sad…
Sad but good
Love how you separated the given line! A brilliant piece of writing, Bjorn!
Separating the line is what makes it fun I think
Brilliant! Love how you incorporated the line into such a resolved bit of flash fiction 👌🏼
Brilliant use of line breaks on the quote. This was so well done!
You captured the sense of what loneliness in a particular moment feels like, the lingering grief of aloneness, but also the the move of the ehart to acceptance.