“Yeah, right, a talking rock. What, with a Biblical message or something? Like if we hide our faces we’ll get turned into a pillar of salt? Come on.”
“Shut-up. Listen, there it is again.”
Pat remained skeptical, Chris was visibly alarmed, Kelly cautiously curious.
“Right? Swear to God, it does sound as if that big rock there is speaking to us.”
“The Rock cries out to us today,” Pat mocked, “You may stand upon me, but do not hide your face.” Pouring the last of his water on the ground he crumpled the plastic bottle and bounced it off the rock.
“Knock it off. This is too weird. I’m getting out of here.”
“Wait up. But I’m so bad, ooh, I’m hiding my face.”
And then Pat was silent, a shamefaced stone statue.
People of this hallowed Earth, face your selves! There’s no hiding!
It’s Prosery time again at D’Verse Pub for Poets. Using the line, “the Rock cries out to us today, You may stand upon me; But do not hide your face”, from Maya Angelou’s On the Pulse of Morning, we are challenged to write a prose piece of no more than 144 words (excluding title). Thank you Frank J. Tassone for hosting and providing the prompt. I wrenched the line into a flash, but with apologies to Maya Angelou and her beautiful poem.
Love the Biblical allusions, and the final note of justice in the end. Great write!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed your interesting spin on this story. Well done.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not the easiest line to use… well done 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was not! Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLike
You wrenched it well. No salt pillars, just stone statues.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did manage something, but meeting a prompt is still not something I take for granite.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤣😁😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rather scary, your take on the talking rock. So hard for most of us to not “hide our face.” But taken in metaphorical ways, that’s what we writers work on every day – taking the hands away from our face and hiding nothing. I like your prompt reply.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A bit scary, though the rock meant it as a friendly warning. The rock is tired and has no time for smugness or for denial.
Thanks for coming by!
LikeLike
Pillar of salt segued into shamefaced stone. An interesting direction for the quote!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you.
LikeLike
I really love the allusion the story of Lot’s wife.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. A Lot.
LikeLike
This story actually relates to the words of the quote! Bravo. Good ending and I like the implied reference to the pillar of salt. nice modern parable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. This was a tough prompt (I feel bad transplanting such beautiful poetry into a story but this idea came along and seemed to work. But the Angelou poem is so wonderful. Thank you for coming by!
LikeLike
I like the direction this poem decided to take. Hiding is not an option.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So sayeth the rock.
LikeLike