Image: http://miriadna.com/preview/still-life
My focus goes to the crab, cooked and ready to be consumed, to be sprinkled with a little lemon juice. The lemon has been peeled and is awaiting my grasp sits upon a fruit stand with additional lemons should they be needed. A knife with checkered handle sits balancing on the edge of a table set for a luncheon repast. A food installation awaiting consumption, the tomes supported by an old water vessel sit behind the blue and white plate containing the crab give off an old world feel. In front sits an elaborate oil burner sitting above the bread rolls, selected nuts and a polished sea shell resting on an old lace lined cloth. In front a small plate contains a bunch of black grapes resting in a fruit bowl and behind them is a seeded condiment with an elaborately ornate serving spoon. In front is a salad dressing vessel. The entire feast set upon a table with a table cloth partially covering it awaiting your arrival.
This was far more difficult than I initially thought!!!
Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2016/09/18/writing-prompt-september-18th-tell-me-so-i-can-tell-you/
I love it! I can see why an exercise in writing like this one can feel difficult to accomplish, because we are bombarded all the time with Show , don’t tell, show and tell and yadda yadda,so I personally sometimes find it hard to find a balance. I speak into the air:”Do you want to know about this or not?” to my reading/proofing self.
What I especially like about the way you handled the prompt is that, if the picture was not there, I would never have guessed this is a still life, a composition set there to be captured for an eternal moment. I am seeing it as a feast, the writing is making me evoke smells and wonder about who and why is going to sit down and eat this, where, what era, time of day or day of week.
Thank you for your comment Oloriel, it was a great prompt actually and looking at Kim’s response I can see we can all see slightly different things….its a good writing task for me as it made me sit and think of ways to describe and that was good I enjoyed that. Its given me a thought for the Tale Weaver not to copy your task but devise an variation for that prompt. Hope you don’t mind but other people’s ideas often send my mind off on tangents to explore. I hope more folk have a go at this one…..its a lot more challenging than write a story about a bunch of food.
Oh, i would not mind at all, in fact I feel honored and love the idea, I am looking forward to seeing it!
Thank you. It won’t be for a few weeks but keep your eye out for it.
It’s a much more nuanced variation on the “how do you tie your shoe laces exercise.” You are brave to take this on. Far braver than I. Oloriel has set a very complex task, the sort that can seem deceptively easy. I’m curious as to what Tale Weaver prompt will emerge from this.
I’m curious as well, thanks for stopping by.
Extremely well done and yes I can see the level of difficulty.
Thank you my friend Jen, challenging it was but one I enjoyed…..hope you are doing well today…
I’m quite tired, a service this morning. I can see you enjoyed it, or breathed a sigh of relief on completion! 😊
Huge disappointment on the conclusion it was a real puzzle to work out…best you get to bed I think… 🙂
I loved the picture. It made me want to wax poetical but I restrained myself. Lovely descriptions, Michael.
Thank you Debi.