She was walking for almost an hour now, always with the Thames by her side. Her thoughts went back to Manas and how she had met him first in a small hut-like construction in Cameroon. She had landed quite abruptly in the field near his house and had hid the parachute under the sand and foliage beneath the trees. She had removed her jumping gear and shoved it under the sand before straightening her clothes. She could not see the remaining members of her team and remembered that she had seen no member of her team jump after her. She knew what her mission was anyway: look for and then report Manas once she had identified him. She had headed towards the house and found the household in great agitation and fuss, celebrating a marriage.
Without further warning, she had been whisked into the cohort and had become part of the celebration. With her local clothes on, nobody suspected her of any ulterior motive than just the wedding celebration. She had looked around for Manas and identified him sitting next to the bride. She looked at the wristwatch with the small camera, but the camera place seemed damaged. She had turned it nevertheless towards Manas and the bride, hoping that the camera would transmit the images of Manas to her team in the airplane that seemed to have vanished in the skies.
They probably will come back after viewing the images sent by her camera she had thought. She had sunk into a small couch next to several other women and joined the celebrations, keen to keep her identity safe. Manas had walked over towards her, his smile engaging and charming like she was told it would be. Her boss had predicted accurately that she would be Manas’ type and that this would lead him to bring his guard down. Manas had bowed towards her, with his hand extended, inviting her to dance alongside him like the Muslims in Cameroon did. She had stood up and had slowly been taken by the banter and the dance and almost forgotten what she had come here to do.
She looked back at the Thames and threw a stone in it, watching the ripples grow as the water was displaced by the impact. One of the images that haunted her mind was Manas standing in front of the policemen in Cameroon where she had taken him, and he had not fled. He was free now, walking sometimes in the streets of London when he needed to but all she could think of was the Manas in chains in Cameroon smiling at her, with his followers at his side. She realized that the only reason Manas was free now was because some policemen in Cameroon admired his jihadism and one of them had released him making use of the lax state of security in Cameroonian prisons.
Her story with Manas had been a very controversial one when her boss realized that she was actually falling in love with the man she was supposed to bring to justice. She had been demoted and was no longer on the anti-terrorist team so she resigned and joined the private sector. She thought back to how the story had evolved. It seemed so long ago now while it had only been 6 months since she had first met him. She remembered how he had reached out to her when he had first got out of prison. She had wondered how he had found her in London as she was not on the phonebook and not a registered voter. She threw another stone in the Thames and realized that it was raining, making more ripples than with just her stone. Her love story with Manas had begun in a very strange way so it was probably just as well that it could lead to strange things. She let her mind drift…
She was on a ship to be sold
Pirates around her swarmed anew
Cuts in her skin were quite a few
So ran her blood like liquid gold
Streaming to write stories untold
The pen inked bloody red wrote long
Her heart kept its pulse ever strong
On went her heartbeats with a throb
Her throat retained many a sob
They rang at her temples a song
Reading of the poem:
Pranamystic - Shaman’s dream
Based on challenge by Ronovan Writes using the word “Gold” in line A of the decima.
In brief, for a Décima, there are 10 lines of poetry that rhyme and there must be 8 syllables per line.
There is a Set Rhyming Pattern we must stick to: ABBAACCDDC or ABBA/ACCDDC.
For more information or to view other contributions, please follow the link here
https://ronovanwrites.com/2021/05/05/ronovan-writes-decima-poetry-challenge-prompt-no-56-gold-in-the-a-rhyme-line/
You can also view a full explanation regarding the Décima here
https://ronovanwrites.com/2020/04/16/how-to-write-an-espinela-or-decima-poem/
Glory of new-found mystery
The rhythm of the feet now changed
Embracing magic once estranged
Bodies melted in ecstasy;
Like long lost pagan symphony
The moon the clouds in night did chase
Fervent dancers in trembling daze
They locked their arms in restless link
Skies defined them in magic ink
Of lucid embrace transient phase
Reading of the poem:
Lonely – Cosmic Balance
Based on challenge by Ronovan Writes using the word “Chase” in line C of the decima.
In brief, for a Décima, there are 10 lines of poetry that rhyme and there must be 8 syllables per line.
There is a Set Rhyming Pattern we must stick to: ABBAACCDDC or ABBA/ACCDDC.
For more information or to view other contributions, please follow the link hereRonovan Writes Décima Poetry Challenge Prompt No. 53: (CHASE) in the C rhyme line. | ronovanwrites
She was bedraggled
The fleas were like a waistcoat
spreading around her
She smoothed her hands down
over a sea of darkness
It caused her to sneeze
The ticks clung on hard
Waves of red and black coloured
points where some pests died
Reading of the poem:
NEUROQ - External Intention
Written in the context of Ronovan writes Haiku challenge using the words “fleas”, “sneeze” and their synonyms. For more information and to read other poets collaboration, follow the link here
She jumped suddenly
from the comfort of the couch
wisps of hair flaring
The couch burst alit
Once an abode of pleasure
it now spouted flames
Her hair gushed red streaks
The warmth at her temples hurled
sinister designs
All contentment gone
her face erupted fury
as eyebrows belched fire
Blankets of water
trickled down path of relief
on flanks that spewed rain
Quiet times restored
her throat emitted strange notes
she regained her poise
Reading of the poem:
Cavernous
shadows sight my eyes
I follow
dark inside
A dialog between us
overcomes cobwebs
Thought expressed
ringing through my head
the message
sits clumsy
an attempt to understand
meanings of half light
Piercing ray
resounding echo
burning through
retina
the stratosphere now reckons
the light spilling fast
Reading of the poem:
The birds chirp outside
their hymns a mortal lace spun
across my eardrums
Heart favours sunset
when the call of birds subsides
nightfall slows their trill
Mind sings to quaver
an echo forms its tendrils
while the dusk falls through
My head seeks not sound
eye reaches out for twilight
ensnared by evening
Birds’ lilts in decline
a chirrup within mindscape
follows afterglow
The mind now shines bare
silence gained within the core
the soul sits so still
Reading of the poem:
Swan song - lana del rey lyrics
Written in the context of Ronovan writes weekly Haiku challenge using the words “Chirp”, “Twilight” and their synonyms. For the rules and other poets’ works, please follow the link here.
Curse lifted
Waters seeping through
the tendrils
fluttering
My heart and mouth uttering
secrets of the soul
The hands joint
invoke better days
They falter
in defeat
Whisper of reunions
calm them in solace
The mind stares
through the passing waves
Removal
in springtime
of the slow wavering rhymes
unwinding in eye
Reading of the poem
With a bowing head
she welcomed the contrivance
her plan hid in mind
Fools thought her broken
She smiled at the morons’ schemes
her vengeance supreme
The arch in her brows
hiss of her inner being
only dunce ignores
Stellar detection
she examined first the clowns
The idiots stared
A flutter arose
In hearts of the compromised
The innocent woke
Prime numbers sashayed
The nerds ran helter-skelter
Her arms crushed their will
Reading of the poem:
Wolves hurry
across the landscapes
fiery crops
burning high
Bosom utters not a sigh
crossing through the flames
Horses dive
through etheric lanes
shaking manes
hooves thunder
The moonlit sights a wonder
etched into our hearts
Two to grieve
My breast torn did heave
coils cleft
none bereft
They ask me now in pieces
crescent moon to leave
Reading of the poem:
