Author: Reena Saxena

“Shhh! It’s your turn now”

She pinched my nose and run

She could run and how

Topple her, part of fun

She pinched my nose and run

We heard a tocsin

The whistle and we won

It’s like in boxing

She could run and how

Any contest, she’ll win

And she’ll take her bow

That’s how it’s always been

Topple her, part of fun

She’ll just lick her wound

Forward as she spun

By the fence she’s found*

(c) ladyleemanila 2021

• Quadrilew

For: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/reenas-xploration-challenge-193/, https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2021/08/02/wordle-252/

https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/reenas-xploration-challenge-193/

This fun challenge from Reena is to try this as a first or last line: “Shhh! It’s your turn now”

I love watching the spelling bee, and movies about it. My own attempt failed in second grade when I accidentally misspelled the word “hungry” in my nervousness and lost in the first round at my school. Still, I love spelling, and at the least, it has inspired this light tale.
Bee-atrice’s Revenge

“Shhh! It’s your turn now,” said a girl with pigtails in the requisite white shirt and khaki shorts. She was talking to the boy on Beatrice’s left, who had been muttering to himself. Both he and Beatrice looked up sharply, but only he got up.

Beatrice sat patiently. It was hard for her to be quiet even at normal times, but today was extra hard. Difficult. Painful. Excruciating. The synonyms piled up in her head.

She tapped…

“Shhh! It’s your turn now”

The small boy visited his elderly neighbour each day.

They would sit on her garden seat admiring the goings on of nature around them.

The old lady was a font of information on all topics, garden and the universe. In later life the boy was to appreciate the lessons she taught.

But would happen most days the boy would grow hungry and would ask the old neighbour if he could have a sandwich.

To get one he had to spell bread.

It took him a few goes and eventually with her help he mastered the word. She always had a loaf of white bread on hand and would butter it generously and smear a light coating of fish paste, roll the bread over and hand it to him.

This ritual went on for some time, he became an expert of spelling bread and eating it.

“Shhh!  It’s your turn now”, said Jack as he handed me the knife.  Nobody was around, but we thought it would be best to keep quiet about this.  We ambushed him and he deserved to die, but I was reluctant to go through with this, as I had never stabbed anyone before.  He was already bleeding like a pig, as Jack had cut him deep, but maybe it wasn’t too late, as with the proper medical attention, this bastard might still be able to be saved.  Jack wanted to torture him and that is why he was bleeding and not dead, as I remember Jack saying that he had to die by a thousand cuts.  We decided to take matters into our own hands when the law didn’t see things the same way that we did and now it was my turn to do my part.  He was responsible…

Reena is the host of Reena’s Xploration Challenge

PROMPT #193

“Shhh! It’s your turn now”

Use this as the first or last line in your piece.

There is no restriction on length or format of the piece. There is no last date either, unless you wish to be featured in the Weekly Wrap.

➰➰➰

Shhh! It’s your turn now

They ask me to speak, but gag me with conditions

Hand me the mike but ask me to say nothing

What sort of freedom of expression it is, I ask

When I can only say what they think it’s proper

Where my voice can only be heard when I’m mute

Shhh! They say, don’t blurt out the truth openly

Don’t wash the dirty laundry in public, save our faces

Don’t air your grievances in front of strangers

Shhh!………..

You have the liberty to express your thoughts

But don’t cross the boundaries…