the storm came knocking quietish, just
fingernails on windows, just
the creak of dry eyes rolling, just
exasperated outbreaths, and
feathers plucked from bird-breasts, and
seed heads snapped out empty from
the fists of ancient summers, as
cloud-drummers playing rimshots got to
testing out the timpani, but the
thunder bred a litany, and the
wind blew up a mutiny, while the
orchestra were tuning, up
scuppering the teacups, the
candle wicks extinguished, the
squeaking of the catflaps, birds
caught in reckless hedges, on
ledges pigeons hunkered, on
the roofs the ridge tiles riddled, and
the churchyard railings rattled, down
the street the refuse slithered, and
the rain came down like penny drops, hit
the tarmac like a cannon, flooded
gutters, bollocked drainpipes, swept
the rubbish from the bus-stops, sent the
people running homeward, to their
kettles and their blankets.
Those was written in response to the #FromOneLine prompt on various social media platforms (Twitter, Bluesky)
The prompt gives a phrase which must be used as the first line of the piece.
