Submissions by Lozzamus
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
I compare poetry to painting, believing that I lack any drawing/painting skills but believing my imagination and training in writing has enabled me to transfer my love of visual art to the written word
Secrets - The Disclosure
I have chips and gravy for tea, along with a couple of chunks of homemade bread to dip in the gravy. Doorsteps, we called them when we were kids. Mel shakes her head and says I need to eat more sensibly.
Afterwards, we retreat to my flat for a few minutes and talk with the door open, keeping an eye on Robert who's in the other flat on Mel's computer. A delicate matter, she said earlier, one she would prefer Robert not to overhear.
'There's something I think you ought to know,' she says. 'Gordon Day's living in Burrington and is in charge of the gym there.' ...
Afterwards, we retreat to my flat for a few minutes and talk with the door open, keeping an eye on Robert who's in the other flat on Mel's computer. A delicate matter, she said earlier, one she would prefer Robert not to overhear.
'There's something I think you ought to know,' she says. 'Gordon Day's living in Burrington and is in charge of the gym there.' ...
#friendship
#memories
#mystery #risk
#mystery #risk
103 reads
8 Comments
Secrets - Back to Lancashire (3)
After a cup of tea in Mel's flat, I return for the rest of the luggage, grab the remaining bags from the boot of my car and use the electronic keypad to get back in The Factory. Once inside, I drag my belongings to the lift at the side of the building and ride up to the top storey, watching each floor disappear through the door panel. Mel's flat faces mine across the drop. I don't like heights, though. Never have done. The surrounding valley looks tiny from the drop.
Mel's laughter floats across the top floor of the building. She has a one bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchenette...
Mel's laughter floats across the top floor of the building. She has a one bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchenette...
#breakup
#family
#memories
#mystery
#risk
136 reads
6 Comments
Secrets - Back to Lancashire (2)
Hills, and more hills, conjuring up thoughts of the old tongue twister about the ragged rascal running round and round the rugged hill. I get lost on the way. After stopping to look at the map, I retrace the route over a bridge and past a tiny village church, the colour of hay.
'Nearly there,' I say to Robert, listening to an iPod in the back.
My son doesn't reply, just stares out of the window. He's eight.
I wish you could meet Robert. I'm sure he'd warm to you. He does to certain people, but he has never bonded with me. I won’t use the word autism, but...
'Nearly there,' I say to Robert, listening to an iPod in the back.
My son doesn't reply, just stares out of the window. He's eight.
I wish you could meet Robert. I'm sure he'd warm to you. He does to certain people, but he has never bonded with me. I won’t use the word autism, but...
#childhood
#mystery
#risk
100 reads
6 Comments
Secrets - Back To Lancashire (1)
Let me explain, Craig. It's a mess.
Where do I begin? At the present time, I suppose. I started making notes this summer, hoping to regain a clearer picture of what actually took place on Whaley Hill. A therapeutic quest of sorts, especially after my marriage fell apart.
But I'm still searching for answers.
Nine years have passed since Macarthur attacked me with the crowbar during the storm.
But was it him?
According to the police, yes. He planned it while still in prison and he acted alone.
I can just about accept that...
Where do I begin? At the present time, I suppose. I started making notes this summer, hoping to regain a clearer picture of what actually took place on Whaley Hill. A therapeutic quest of sorts, especially after my marriage fell apart.
But I'm still searching for answers.
Nine years have passed since Macarthur attacked me with the crowbar during the storm.
But was it him?
According to the police, yes. He planned it while still in prison and he acted alone.
I can just about accept that...
#memories
#mystery
#risk
115 reads
7 Comments
Secrets - Confrontation (2)
A fresh downpour has started. I make my way down the hill, stopping when I hear footsteps. Nothing. I continue on through the icy wind to the clearing where I've parked my car. The dog's barking gets louder in the distance. Nearby, more branches snap. Silence again. The white van is still parked a few yards from my car.
I feel it then. An invisible presence, the same one I felt a few nights ago near my flat in London. I hear movement in the trees that separate the clearing from the deserted field and I shine the torch in all directions.
A figure slithers through the...
I feel it then. An invisible presence, the same one I felt a few nights ago near my flat in London. I hear movement in the trees that separate the clearing from the deserted field and I shine the torch in all directions.
A figure slithers through the...
#memories
#mystery
#risk
119 reads
9 Comments
Secrets - Confrontation (1)
The sky's darkening, urging me to turn back.
The contact's not answering his phone.
He and I have an agreement: I must stay out of sight and not approach his home.
But I've driven all this way.
Now what?
Go home, I hear you whisper.
***
Good idea.
I resume my journey.
Long shot, but I'm prepared to take a chance.
It started in one place. And I believe it will end in that same place.
Whaley Hill, in particular the reservoir at the top.
...
The contact's not answering his phone.
He and I have an agreement: I must stay out of sight and not approach his home.
But I've driven all this way.
Now what?
Go home, I hear you whisper.
***
Good idea.
I resume my journey.
Long shot, but I'm prepared to take a chance.
It started in one place. And I believe it will end in that same place.
Whaley Hill, in particular the reservoir at the top.
...
#memories
#mystery
#risk
145 reads
9 Comments
Secrets - The Threatening Notes
Anyway, Macarthur's free after sixteen years, and I receive another of those notes done on a portable typewriter with fading black ink. You know, the old-fashioned sort of typewriter that makes a clackety-clack-clack din and predates the electronic typewriter. The note comes through my door shortly before dawn.
Liar. You'll get your commupance in the end, you watch.
He's misspelt comeuppance, but I know it's him from the rhythm of the words and the northern dialect. The words sort of leap off the slip of paper, each one stamped with his smell. Remember the...
Liar. You'll get your commupance in the end, you watch.
He's misspelt comeuppance, but I know it's him from the rhythm of the words and the northern dialect. The words sort of leap off the slip of paper, each one stamped with his smell. Remember the...
#memories
#mystery
126 reads
6 Comments
Secrets - They Say I Fled
They say a group of teenagers saw me on the field that August Bank Holiday Monday.
One called over, asked if I was all right. I didn't answer, apparently. Just continued stumbling in the direction of home, sweat dripping from my face. The teenagers didn't hang around. They assumed I had sunstroke. If I had seen myself, I would have probably thought the same.
Others noticed me wandering along the main road towards the estate where we lived. Drinkers in the pub watched me stagger like a drunk. I continued walking. Up the hill, through a ginnel, past the church....
One called over, asked if I was all right. I didn't answer, apparently. Just continued stumbling in the direction of home, sweat dripping from my face. The teenagers didn't hang around. They assumed I had sunstroke. If I had seen myself, I would have probably thought the same.
Others noticed me wandering along the main road towards the estate where we lived. Drinkers in the pub watched me stagger like a drunk. I continued walking. Up the hill, through a ginnel, past the church....
#memories
#mystery
#risk
196 reads
10 Comments
Silent - Conclusion
In the present, Gavin returns to his musical studies and learns to come to terms with Philippa's betrayal
Lucy, similarly, returns to her University studies in Manchester and comes to appreciate her family and the sacrifices they made for her.
After a while, contact between Gavin and Lucy fizzles out as the past loses significance for them.
*** Spoiler if reading for the first time
.
As Katie Whittacker explained in the denouement, her father-in-law Arthur Harlesden ordered the fire that killed Lucy's parents when Lucy was 8.
In the...
Lucy, similarly, returns to her University studies in Manchester and comes to appreciate her family and the sacrifices they made for her.
After a while, contact between Gavin and Lucy fizzles out as the past loses significance for them.
*** Spoiler if reading for the first time
.
As Katie Whittacker explained in the denouement, her father-in-law Arthur Harlesden ordered the fire that killed Lucy's parents when Lucy was 8.
In the...
#mystery
#risk
99 reads
4 Comments
Silent - Caught In The Fire - Part 2
Now, Gavin
Switching on the flame again, the bloke set the cloth alight.
'No, don't,' Jace shouts.
Taking a few steps back, the Angel of Mercy hurls the burning cloth on the floor and ball of fire leaps from one side of the room to another, narrowing missing him.
'Run,' Jace shouts.
We leg it from the main storage area, into a draughty corridor at the rear, searching for a window or for something to escape through. I don't exactly leg it, as I can barely walk, let alone run, but somehow I manage to keep going, past cement walls with...
Switching on the flame again, the bloke set the cloth alight.
'No, don't,' Jace shouts.
Taking a few steps back, the Angel of Mercy hurls the burning cloth on the floor and ball of fire leaps from one side of the room to another, narrowing missing him.
'Run,' Jace shouts.
We leg it from the main storage area, into a draughty corridor at the rear, searching for a window or for something to escape through. I don't exactly leg it, as I can barely walk, let alone run, but somehow I manage to keep going, past cement walls with...
#anger
#escape
#revenge
146 reads
7 Comments
Silent - Caught In The Fire - Part 1
Gavin!' A voice.
A hallucination in the dark – audible, not visual. Somewhere in the distance, water trickles down a wall.
'Gavin!' The hallucination again.
'Gavin!' Desperate almost.
I hear it three times. A powerful fantasy of rescue, like a mirage in the desert. The false and cruel offer of freedom.
My name again, slightly louder.
I try to sit up, wince. The wires dig deep into my body, hurting. The voice gets closer. I hear footsteps in a corridor, running, and I try to shout out, but the gag prevents me from making...
A hallucination in the dark – audible, not visual. Somewhere in the distance, water trickles down a wall.
'Gavin!' The hallucination again.
'Gavin!' Desperate almost.
I hear it three times. A powerful fantasy of rescue, like a mirage in the desert. The false and cruel offer of freedom.
My name again, slightly louder.
I try to sit up, wince. The wires dig deep into my body, hurting. The voice gets closer. I hear footsteps in a corridor, running, and I try to shout out, but the gag prevents me from making...
#anger
#revenge
129 reads
7 Comments
Silent - Warehouse On Fire
The Present, Lucy
She walks, or rather hobbles, across a path as fast as she can – difficult after a day or so lying in a dark room. She has to keep stopping and starting, ready to pass out from exhaustion. Eventually, she comes to a car parked behind a high, abandoned wall and waits outside, trembling. Her hands are tied, so she can't get into the vehicle. What's happening? Does Katie know this man? Was Katie involved in the fire too? Terence?
Katie Whittaker returns. 'Jace phoned me in a panic and Pete and Scott told me everything. Come on, Lucy, I'm taking you...
She walks, or rather hobbles, across a path as fast as she can – difficult after a day or so lying in a dark room. She has to keep stopping and starting, ready to pass out from exhaustion. Eventually, she comes to a car parked behind a high, abandoned wall and waits outside, trembling. Her hands are tied, so she can't get into the vehicle. What's happening? Does Katie know this man? Was Katie involved in the fire too? Terence?
Katie Whittaker returns. 'Jace phoned me in a panic and Pete and Scott told me everything. Come on, Lucy, I'm taking you...
#mystery
#risk
122 reads
4 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Lozzamus