Sue Vincent has chosen yet another evocative photo for her #writephoto inspiration series. This time, I ended up with a couple of fragments – a poem, and a short paragraph with hints of a longer story…
Out to sea,
Past waves that shimmer and foam
We dance
Light as air,
Streaming bright through sky and spray
We land
Voices sweet
All flickering bright temptation
We lure…
———————————————-
‘That’s where they live.’
‘Where who live?’ I shaded my eyes against the sun, looking at the smudge of land just visible beyond the waves.
‘The sirens,’ he said. I frowned, looking for a smile on his face, some indication he was joking. But he just stared out to sea, blue eyes creased against the glare.
‘Sirens? Huh. I thought they were Greek or Roman or something.’ I tried to make a joke of it.
‘They are everywhere the sea is,’ he said, clouds drifting in his eyes. I hugged my knees closer, the day gone cold. He turned to me then. ‘And the sea-‘ his voice was soft ‘- is part of me…’
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Helen Glynn Jones 
Reblogged this on Sue Vincent – Daily Echo.
Thanks, Sue 🙂
Oh yes! Defo more to that story! Lovely Helen!
Thanks, Ali 🙂 Don’t know if it will go anywhere, but I feel there might be more one day…
This was lovely Helen. Really captured the picture.
Thanks, Miriam 🙂 Sue does choose such wonderful inspiring pictures.
Loved it! Yes, the sea itself I think is like a siren always calling.
Thanks, Claire! I agree, the call of the waves is so enticing. I used to live very close to the ocean, and I still miss its song 🙂
Yes, me too!
Beautiful and evocative, Helen, and yes, there’s more to that story! It’s probably not very feminist of me, but I love the myth of those dangerous sirens. Have you heard Débussy’s ‘La Mer’? one of the movements is called ‘Les Sirènes’, and is sung by a chorus of women. It’s haunting. xx
It’s funny, but after I posted it more bits of the story arrived, and I hurriedly scribbled them down before they went again! So chances are I will work it up into a short story at some point. I don’t think I have heard the Debussy piece – I’ll have to add it to my playlist 🙂
Love this take on the prompt. Love the sirens — they show up in my flash sometimes. 😉
Thanks, Sarah 🙂 Yes, there is a definite allure to the idea of Sirens (beyond the obvious, of course). It’s cool how they show up here and there 🙂
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“clouds drifting in his eyes”. Perfect!
Thanks so much! 🙂
Ooh, sirens! They’re by far one of my favorite parts of Greek mythology! I’m actually working on a story involving them, though it’s a rather different slant than what you usually hear. Great job with the flash fiction! 😀
Thanks, Natasha! And I’m intrigued by the sound of your story… 🙂
Thank you! Technically speaking, it’s not a story yet. I’m still in the worldbuilding phase. I’m expecting to be there for a while. Redesigning the very basics of the way the world works takes a while. 😛
It definitely does! And it’s worth taking the time to make sure all the pieces are in place 🙂 Good luck with it!
Thank you much! 😀
Wow, that second part felt like a story excerpt. I liked it! I got all locked in, and had questions afterward that need answers!
Ooh, thank you! I think it is a bit from a story – after I published the post, I got a few more bits which I scribbled down. So I think it will be written at some point 🙂
Oh good! I’d love to read it!
I’ll let you know if I get around to writing it soon 🙂
Sirens…exist. Lovely poem. The last line, ‘And the sea-‘ his voice was soft ‘- is part of me…’, is somewhat ominous or on second reading, it could be alluring.
Thanks so much, Michelle 🙂 Yes, I suppose that last line could be read both ways. I did have more of that story come to me, so I’ll have to write it and see what happens…
I look forward to reading it.