I’m torn and bedraggled,
I’m a man with nothing.
A bottle in a brown paper bag
A lost life, little hope,
Everyday a struggle.
My thorny tree,
Dishevelled in shape
Like me
Friends
Best mates.
The only colour in my life.
I’m reminded of a time
When as a child I sat under the mulberry tree
Hands red from the ripe fruit, clothes stained and mum calling
Warning me of trouble
Should I come back sullied.
That’s what I am now,
Discarded, rejected,
Societies outcast.
The finger of ridicule
Pointed at me
My body folds itself into the foliage.
Morpethroad 
invisibility is awful, darling. Wonderful take on the prompt.
Thank you Helena I appreciate your comment.
Beautifully dark flow, great job 🙂
Thanks Helen somedays when you head is there its not a problem.
A real story of hopelessness. I liked the flashback to childhood, which made it all the more poignant.
Thanks for your comment, yes it needed that to get across the meaning of his present situation.
Written wonderfully and great view of the prompt.
Thank you so much Anja.
A sad, but well told story of the lot of many. I think you really captured the sense of despair.
Thank you so much, I appreciate your comment.
I felt pain and despair that began in childhood and come to fruition now. Very sad. Well done.
janet
Thank you Janet, I appreciate you reading my work.
When feeling down & almost lost – I can see how easy it is to look back in life & wonder where things went wrong or could have been different. You captured a sad reality quite well here.
Thanks RoSy, thankfully it is all a fiction but I know a reality for some.
A shivery piece of fiction, but someone’s reality somewhere. You’ve got a special talent I think of empathizing with other people and you did a great job doing so with this post. Very nice.
Thanks Georgia, I appreciate you reading my work.
Happy to do so Michael and I appreciate you reading mine!
That is sad. How does life turn out like this?
Thanks Patrick, sadly one of the ironies of life, it could happen to anyone.
i really can’t find the words to describe it..but this was really effective… in my mind it was like black and white except for the bright red that truly stood out. i truly felt the profound sense of despair. great piece.
Thanks kz, that’s a lovely comment I appreciate you reading my piece.
A great telling of a life consumed by alcohol. I love that last line!
Thanks Dawn, I appreciate your comment.
So sad beautifully expessed portrait of despair and loneliness! 🙂 🙂
Thank you Helen, it’s a sad reality for some.
Dear Summer,
The despair and hopelessness are tangible in this piece. Well done.
shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you Rochelle, its a sad reality for some.
A powerful piece Summer-with the sadness and despair of a ,lonely existence etched in bold ,tempered with soft childhood memories of naturally better days-tinged thus with regrets of not heeding good advice and lamenting on a life seeped in alcohol-not lived well!Amazing take on the prompt my friend!Loved it!
Thank you Atreyee, that is a lovely comment, i am very flattered.
I really loved it Summer:-)Btw I saw an interaction between you and Bastet–she called you Michael and you called her Georgia-funny I always thought you are a woman and she a man,lol!)May I call you Michael then?:-)
Please do…..the summerstommy name has confused a lot of people……but i like it…..as a blog name…
Sure it is a lovely name and it will take me some getting used to Michael 😉
Well do your best Atreyee, its what my mother called me, and I answer to it…..lol
Mothers know best:-)So from now on I will call you MIchael 😀
It wont be hard to use my name, go and read another of my posts and try it out.
I like the Neruda form here.. it works so well describing the loneliness …
Thanks Bjorn, it works best for me in describing this situation.
It’s so sad sometimes, that when all people need is a little help and understanding, society finds it easier to mock and finger point. The contrast between childhood and the current day is a powerful indicator of how off-course his life has become. Excellent work, my friend.
Thanks Mike, and the sad thing is there is very often a fine line in understanding what it was that tipped a person over the edge to live a live on the streets. Thanks again for that excellent comment.
Summerstommy, I like this one a lot. I like how you incorporated the plant life around him and folded it into the story. I think this is one of the best I’ve read from you! Excellent!
Thank you Amy, that is very flattering of you. I thank you very much for your support and encouragement.
You bet!
Michael – outdone yourself with this – that last line…simply brilliant
thank you Jenny, you think so? Just a line to make up 100 words….!!! Thank you again, sometimes I can get it nearly right.
You did this time my friend 🙂
of course all of it was well written but that last line got to me
thank you you are very kind.
🙂
I like the physical shape of your story. If I turn it sideways, it is a landscape, mimics the stains in sand left by waves as they come and go from the shore. It parallels the tides of life and illustrates how fortune and misfortune alike come to us all. In its vertical state, it mimics a human form, reaching out and pulling back, sometimes in order to strike and flinch. And also it is like the upright of the thorny rose. Roll over William Blake! These lines create a vivid image:
I’m a man with nothing.
A bottle in a brown paper bag
It made me think of how life could be ‘solved’ if we were to look down now and then to check what we are clutching!
Great story, giving much food for thought – in a brown paper bag. 🙂
Thanks and what fabulous comment. That brown paper bag holds so many secrets and mystery.
You present such interesting images to ‘play’ with.
Oh Ann that my humble words are so playable, I am flattered.