(no subject)
This is an early attempt of mine at poetic prose. I remember it had a nice rhythm to it when I wrote it and called it the Hill of Heart's Ease. I'm pretty sure I got better at this kind of thing later on. I'm trying to set up the habit of posting once weekly at least.
The hill was his place to go.
His place to be alone.
He would sit with his back against the pine's rough bark and regard the
wilderness around.
Time would pass him by and his heartache would ease and he would forget.
For awhile.
Forget the crush and press of the human mass, the savage beat of the driven
cities, the weariness of the hard working country, the loneliness of one
lost in a crowd or the madness of a crowd given one mind, one voice.
In the wilderness he was alone and at peace.
The hill was her place to go.
A place to find solitude.
She would go to stand with arms folded to breathe in the wildness and the
emptiness.
A place free of humankind, of men and women and children and all their
drives and needs.
Here she could become herself and be free of all that was demanded of her.
Free of the distractions and the pressures.
Free of the rage.
Here she could be at peace.
They both came to the same place for the same needs.
They both desired to walk alone and be at ease.
Before that day they had never met.
He looked older than his years.
Battered and worn with the miseries he had endured his face was haggard and
his hair was losing its colour.
He regarded her with eyes haunted with all the things he had seen.
He took a cigarette packet from his greatcoat's pocket and offered her one.
She declined with a tight shake of her head.
She was younger looking than her years.
A cool, aristocratic face, oval shaped with a blond fringe and watchful,
distancing eyes that hid their darkness. While she did not often smile nor
did she often frown but her tightly expressive mouth would reveal either and
more with the merest twitch.
If she allowed herself to show her feelings.
'D'you mind?' His voice was soft and gentle.
Again the tall woman gave a slight shake of her head to show she did not
object.
He put the cigarette in his mouth but did not light it.
'D'you come here often?' he asked looking out at the view.
Trees flowed to the horizon beneath a clean, clear sky.
'No,' she said, hands thrust deep into the pockets of her denim jacket. 'I
seldom have the chance. Too much that needs doing.'
'I would stay. If I could. The world is so far away.'
She inclined her head slightly in agreement and understanding.
The moments turned into minutes as they contemplated the world spread before
them.
It was very still. The only noise was the wind in the trees and the creaking
of branches.
A bird would occasionally call but that was about all.
A dragonfly might lazily hum by but there was little else.
They were a long way from anything that really cared or mattered.
He wondered if he should be frightened of her.
She wondered if she would ask him about the future.
But it was a special place. They went there for ease of mind and soul.
Neither wanted the world and its cares to intrude.
The stood in silence and watched the Sun pass across the sky.
They watched the stars come out.
They watched the Moon rise and set again.
They said nothing and they did nothing but watched the world go by.
It was a time for soul peace and heart's ease.
With a glance he would know a person - their past, their present, their
future.
He would know their squandered dreams, their wasted hours, their hurts and prides and passions. And he would know the manner of their last hour.
Know but never tell.
In her soul lay something wild and elemental and dark.
A storm of rage and terror that she must hold in check.
Must never yield to.
All her days and all her hours she must fight it and control it and reign it in.
She must never feel nor ever rest.
Never.
The time passed and time passed for each of them to go.
'We will never meet again in this place or any other,' he said and knew it
to be true.
She nodded.
The world was wide and the world was wild and the world was full of hills.
But there was only one place that was theirs.
There was only one place that would always be theirs.
A place to be alone and at peace.
His place to go.
Her place to go.
The hill was his place to go.
His place to be alone.
He would sit with his back against the pine's rough bark and regard the
wilderness around.
Time would pass him by and his heartache would ease and he would forget.
For awhile.
Forget the crush and press of the human mass, the savage beat of the driven
cities, the weariness of the hard working country, the loneliness of one
lost in a crowd or the madness of a crowd given one mind, one voice.
In the wilderness he was alone and at peace.
The hill was her place to go.
A place to find solitude.
She would go to stand with arms folded to breathe in the wildness and the
emptiness.
A place free of humankind, of men and women and children and all their
drives and needs.
Here she could become herself and be free of all that was demanded of her.
Free of the distractions and the pressures.
Free of the rage.
Here she could be at peace.
They both came to the same place for the same needs.
They both desired to walk alone and be at ease.
Before that day they had never met.
He looked older than his years.
Battered and worn with the miseries he had endured his face was haggard and
his hair was losing its colour.
He regarded her with eyes haunted with all the things he had seen.
He took a cigarette packet from his greatcoat's pocket and offered her one.
She declined with a tight shake of her head.
She was younger looking than her years.
A cool, aristocratic face, oval shaped with a blond fringe and watchful,
distancing eyes that hid their darkness. While she did not often smile nor
did she often frown but her tightly expressive mouth would reveal either and
more with the merest twitch.
If she allowed herself to show her feelings.
'D'you mind?' His voice was soft and gentle.
Again the tall woman gave a slight shake of her head to show she did not
object.
He put the cigarette in his mouth but did not light it.
'D'you come here often?' he asked looking out at the view.
Trees flowed to the horizon beneath a clean, clear sky.
'No,' she said, hands thrust deep into the pockets of her denim jacket. 'I
seldom have the chance. Too much that needs doing.'
'I would stay. If I could. The world is so far away.'
She inclined her head slightly in agreement and understanding.
The moments turned into minutes as they contemplated the world spread before
them.
It was very still. The only noise was the wind in the trees and the creaking
of branches.
A bird would occasionally call but that was about all.
A dragonfly might lazily hum by but there was little else.
They were a long way from anything that really cared or mattered.
He wondered if he should be frightened of her.
She wondered if she would ask him about the future.
But it was a special place. They went there for ease of mind and soul.
Neither wanted the world and its cares to intrude.
The stood in silence and watched the Sun pass across the sky.
They watched the stars come out.
They watched the Moon rise and set again.
They said nothing and they did nothing but watched the world go by.
It was a time for soul peace and heart's ease.
With a glance he would know a person - their past, their present, their
future.
He would know their squandered dreams, their wasted hours, their hurts and prides and passions. And he would know the manner of their last hour.
Know but never tell.
In her soul lay something wild and elemental and dark.
A storm of rage and terror that she must hold in check.
Must never yield to.
All her days and all her hours she must fight it and control it and reign it in.
She must never feel nor ever rest.
Never.
The time passed and time passed for each of them to go.
'We will never meet again in this place or any other,' he said and knew it
to be true.
She nodded.
The world was wide and the world was wild and the world was full of hills.
But there was only one place that was theirs.
There was only one place that would always be theirs.
A place to be alone and at peace.
His place to go.
Her place to go.