A bouquet of flowers is the photo prompt for Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers this week. Can you write 100 words inspired by this image?
photo prompt : Rochelle Wisoff.com Poem courtesy of Ernest Dowson 
WHAT IS LIFE ?
I nudge the toast-crumbs around the table, mind elsewhere. Notice a hint of old roses in the air. How can I still be here when you are not ? Can it really be a year since you and I drank cheerful red wine together, laughed at the crab in the rockpool which nipped your foot. We lived that time with casual ease. I read the poet’s words on the crumpled page.
” They are not long, the days of wine and roses :
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream. “
February 25, 2019 at 2:59 pm
Poignantly written, but at least they had those days of wine and roses – she can console herself with that, I suppose. Lovely
February 25, 2019 at 6:38 pm
I appreciate your feedback Lynn. So glad you liked the story.
February 26, 2019 at 4:08 pm
My pleasure 🙂
February 25, 2019 at 12:13 pm
Very touching. A year may fly by for others, but to a person who’s lost a partner, a year feels like a year.
February 25, 2019 at 6:49 pm
Thanks so much for your comment.
February 24, 2019 at 8:03 pm
So much sorrow in this… how much scents mean, a memory of better days
February 25, 2019 at 6:56 pm
I appreciate your comment Bjorn. Think you’re right about scents being meaningful, in a most direct way.
February 23, 2019 at 11:02 pm
Melancholy lies over the story like a veil. There’s sadness but also happy memories. All good times must end, and that comes always too soon.
February 25, 2019 at 7:06 pm
Thanks so much for your comment –I agree about the melancholy – guess its that thing about an awareness of death makes being alive more precious.
February 23, 2019 at 3:26 pm
I like the images you’ve chosen to illustrate both the relationship and the loss. And I love the rhythm of the words, and their consonance, almost rhyming. Very nicely written.
February 23, 2019 at 6:01 pm
Thank you Penny, I’m so pleased you liked the story – the poem inspired me which is a gift.
February 22, 2019 at 11:56 pm
Beautifully done. We don’t seem to realise that we are here for a short time indeed.
February 23, 2019 at 6:05 pm
Thank you – I appreciate your comment. I think losing a dear person is a reminder of own transience.
February 22, 2019 at 10:47 pm
Sadness permeated this. Well done.
February 23, 2019 at 6:11 pm
I appreciate your feedback – thanks.
February 22, 2019 at 1:41 pm
Yes, but you must keep dreaming, because dreams make us human.
February 22, 2019 at 6:51 pm
Thanks James, I quite agree – dreams are the stuff of life.
February 21, 2019 at 11:58 pm
Beautifully done, Francine. I love, love, love this one.
February 22, 2019 at 9:30 am
Thanks so much Dale – I found the poem inspirational and gentle.
February 22, 2019 at 1:54 pm
It is, truly.
February 21, 2019 at 7:11 pm
You conveyed well the time we take for granted and the uncomfortableness of loss. Nicely done!
February 22, 2019 at 9:36 am
Thank you Brenda, I appreciate your feedback.
February 21, 2019 at 5:19 pm
A sorrowful tale that made me smile. Beautifully written.
Click to read my FriFic tale!
February 22, 2019 at 9:42 am
Thanks so much for your feedback Keith – glad you liked it.
February 21, 2019 at 11:23 am
So perceptively written. Well done.
February 22, 2019 at 9:46 am
I appreciate your comment Sandra – thanks so much.
February 21, 2019 at 9:39 am
Sad and touching.
February 22, 2019 at 9:52 am
Thank you Ali, I appreciate your feedback.
February 20, 2019 at 11:19 pm
Dear Francine,
A dear friend of mine lost her husband last night. This touches me deeply.
Shalom,
Rochelle
February 22, 2019 at 6:02 pm
I’m so sorry for your friend’s and your loss. I hope the story sentiments help.
February 20, 2019 at 10:52 pm
The melancholy and sense of loss are palpable. I got chills.
February 22, 2019 at 6:05 pm
I appreciate your comment – a sad subject….
February 22, 2019 at 8:15 pm
I assume Max is your dog. I’ve been identified as “The Guy With Charlie,” which I use online sometimes.
February 20, 2019 at 10:25 pm
The sadness and emotion here is so well-written.
February 22, 2019 at 6:07 pm
Thank you Lisa, I’m so glad you related to the story.
February 20, 2019 at 8:57 pm
Beautiful sorrow. And I will be hearing Andy Williams in my head for a while, singing “In the days of wine and roses. . . . “
February 22, 2019 at 6:14 pm
Thank you for your comment. I know the phrase ‘ wines and roses – though never read the whole poem before now. I find it moving.
February 22, 2019 at 9:18 pm
Yes, me too. Understand it a lot more now than I did as a teenager. I had to look it up and read it just for memory’s sake 🙂
February 20, 2019 at 8:51 pm
They are not long indeed, and seem to be disappearing quicker than I can comprehend. Best to make the most of them while we can.
February 22, 2019 at 6:17 pm
Thanks Iain – I agree with you.
February 20, 2019 at 8:06 pm
The sense of numb incomprehension is well-evoked
February 22, 2019 at 6:28 pm
Thanks for your feedback Neil.