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ryandebraal
A kid from Wisconsin whose pretending to be an adult in Chicago.
8 Posts • 7 Followers • 4 Following
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Challenge
Is youth wasted on the young?
100 words or less
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ryandebraal

Potential

When I was young, I was dumb.

When I got old, I got slow.

When I was at my peak physique, no one would have me.

When I was as low as I could go, everyone was so friendly.

Youth is not wasted on the naive adolescent; nor wisdom on the grizzled vet.

Life is wasted on people who can’t imagine today could be their best day yet.

Challenge
A star came sneaks in your room tonight. Write a cute poem on what happens next. Make me go awww :D
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ryandebraal

Twinkled

Last night as I lay in bed drifting off to sleep, I decided to make a wish.

I asked a tiny point of light, if she might come and visit me tonight,

And if she did, could she please take me for a ride?

At a quarter past the hour of three, I awoke to a creak at my window sill.

I clutched my blanket tight, imagining some frightful thing with claws and fangs,

I was releaved instead to find it was my friend.

I said with excitement, “I’m so glad you came!”

She said in voice as warm as a candle’s glow:

“I had no where else to be tonight, except at home alone.”

“Can I come with you?” I asked her fervently, but to my dismay she declined.

“I’m sorry, but you should rest your weary head. Tommorrow is a very big day.”

Then she smiled, bent and kissed my forehead, twinkled my nose and flew away.

Challenge
In less than 100 words, explain why you love to write.
Self-explanatory.
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ryandebraal in Words

Clay

I made a place where none was before.

I made a person who was never born.

I made the rules that a whole world had to live by,

Then I changed those rules on the fly.

Challenge
My Final Valentine Challenge and this is a limited time ... closes Feb. 15th ... The object, write 14 things that you love about Valentine Day ... it could be the day itself, a relationship, friends, family - but 14 things is the key here since the 14th is Valentine Day. (Poetry only)
Tag me in the comment section only, so I can read what you post as: @Danceinsilence ... here's a special treat (of sorts) whoever I choose as the winner will get a Valentine Certificate with your Prose name and the name of the winning piece! So, lock and load and rock & roll!!
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ryandebraal in Poetry & Free Verse

Fourteen Things ♡∞

For if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be me.

Openly I admit, I wouldn't have made it without you.

Universally we are insignificant, but you make me feel like the center of yours.

Routinely I forget to tell you that you are the center of mine.

Tangentially, I just wanted to say that I am sorry.

Earnestly, I did not mean to make you feel that way.

Emotions are like waves, they can carry you safetly to shore or pull you under.

No one ever taught me how to navigate this sea.

Together we are more than the sum of our parts.

How did we make something so precious from nothing?

I think I got very lucky,

Never have I ever felt so complete.

Good things sometimes do come to those who wait,

Suddenly, you were there for me forever. ♡∞

Challenge
It's Lover's Month, and Valentine Day is behind us ... but the love, joy, happiness and peace of mind still remain... can you breathe it in? Write, either in Prose or Poetry form, a "lost letter" you wanted to send someone in your life that tells how you felt about him/her; a letter they never saw.
Make sure I am tagged only in the comment section and not in the post itself or I may never find you ... tag me as: @Danceinsilence
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ryandebraal in Poetry & Free Verse

Dear Someone Else’s Someone,

I used to see different versions of you almost every time I left my house. Sometimes you were in the supermarket buying squash. Sometimes you were in the park walking your little dog. Sometimes you had red hair, sometimes you had tattoos, sometimes you were short and wore glasses, other times you were tall and had on a lovely yellow sundress.

Everytime I left my house, even if it was just to buy a gallon of milk, I always saw some version of you. I saw you and you pretended to not see me and in my mind’s eye we met, fell in love and grew old together. Sometimes I fell in love and grew old several times in one outing. Running errands was exhausting.

I’m writing you now to let you know, I’m glad we never met. There’s someone else now and she’s nothing like you and everything I ever needed. We met, fell in love and are growing old together.

Challenge
Challenge of the Week CIX
Was that a Question? Begin your entry with a question. Perhaps it's one you know the answer to, and we too will know by the end of our reading. Perhaps it's something you barely fathom an answer for, and will ponder via the pen. You can write anything you want, so long as it begins with a question. Fiction of non-fiction, poetry or Prose.
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ryandebraal

Challenge of the Week CIX - A question

How do I delete this post?

Challenge
Challenge of the Month IV: February
The Villain. Some villains may be innately evil. Others may be the product of unfortunate circumstance. Still others may simply be misunderstood - heroes willing to do the unsavory, but ultimately necessary deed. Tell the tale of a villain. Fiction or non-fiction, poetry or Prose. $100 purse to our favorite entry. Outstanding entries will be shared with our publishing partners.
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ryandebraal

Pleased to meet you

I am the greatest villain the world has ever known. I‘ve never done anything to anyone; at least nothing that can be pinned on me. I get others to do terrible things on my behalf.

I make promises that I will not keep and then tell the people I’ve lied to that it’s their fault that I didn’t keep my word.

I sit on mountains of gold, quote archaic words from long dead strangers and convince as many people as I can that I’m the only one who knows the truth.

Four fifths of the world loves me and the rest just wish I didn’t exist.

By now you’ve probably guessed one of my many names. If you haven’t, I pray you don’t because I want prey on you.

Challenge
The second of three Valentine Challenges ... this time include the words "butterfly" and "heart". There is a word limit, and I will not change it this time. Let your mind run free.
Remember to tag me in the comment box only as such: @Danceinsilence or it may be some time before I will see your piece.
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ryandebraal in Poetry & Free Verse

The Risk of Touch

Butterfly wings are fragile.

If touched, they lose scales and may never fly again.

Human hearts are fragiler still.

If not touched, they may never fly.

If touched, however, a piece of you will forever be a part of it.