Seismic Activity (cataclysmic love)

Posted on February 8, 2020 by

34 Comments

In the morning she lay, peaceful as she did, the grasses and trees which took root within her skin stretched toward the sun. The verdant greens of fresh life covered her and she rested, calm.

She felt a breeze run across her hilltops and she shivered. A downward pressure and a shift in temperature. The breeze gusted and became a gale as the sky darkened above her. She shivered again, more violently.

An explosion of movement as birds of every size and color burst aloft. She raised her arm in an attempt to silently call them back. A yawning abyss opened. Many four-legged creatures were swallowed. The sky became darker and then a FLASH! and a deep rumbling.

The birds flew fast. She saw the whites in the eyes of the deer. Rabbits burrowed deeper. Foxes ran. She turned to stop them from fleeing, begging them to take solace in her lairs. A hill tore in two, the wide ravine which replaced it consumed many retreating beasts. Their cries of terror followed by silence.

More flashes of light and then HEAT! she cried in pain as something slapped her skin. Pain in its intensity became almost pleasure. She cried out again. Something moved, exquisite warmth that started at the touch and spread rapidly as the wind became stronger. She lifted her shoulders and fell back down.

The great orange glow devouring everything it touched, ravishing her. She threw her head back and another chasm opened wide, rivers swiftly draining into the deep well she’d created. Cries of terror and loss rose from the throats of the many.

The wind diminished, became a breeze, and then stilled suddenly. The great fire reached an edge, sparked up then leisurely ebbed down until it was nothing. She trembled. Devastation lay along her surface. Raw flesh rising up from violent furrows and claw marks. A fresh stream trickled from a narrow cleft.

She sighed, shattered and exhausted. The sky began to lighten and she lay her head back down. Some timidly peered from their hiding places, those which had survived. Echoes of torment and rapture still ringing in their unperceiving ears. Her eyes fluttered closed and she rested again.

tara caribou | ©2020

Category: Flash FictionTags: , , , , , , , , , ,

34 Comments on “Seismic Activity (cataclysmic love)”

  3. This is superb, Tara, great imagery. To me this is almost a creation story; Mother Earth, in all her glory, ravaged by Father Sun, and left never quite the same, yet also a reflection of womanhood, the transition from the girl to the woman followed by what is both liberating and chaining in equal measure – man.
    Excellent writing.

    Liked by 3 people

      • One of the things that I like most about your writing, Tara, is the depth of meaning that you convey. Your work always demands more than one reading, I feel, to unwrap its layers.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Thanks. That is indeed how I write. I usually say one thing but mean something else, as the underlying message anyway. There’s the surface… and then there’s the real reason for the writing. You’re priceless, Chris, seriously.

          Liked by 1 person

  4. Brilliantly evocative imagery with that beautiful personification of both Earth and Sun – great parallels between the mythology of Gaia and Helios! Great work 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Rachel. I’m terrible with titles. I can’t tell you how many poems I have literally stared at the screen trying to figure out what to call it longer than it took me to write it. Pathetic, I know. But this one felt right. I feel like I should explain myself on this piece because so far… no one has interpreted it as I wrote it. I thought I was being too obvious but… at least it is very interesting to read people’s takes on it. This is why I love art. It’s so subjective.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I’d love to hear your take on it! I interpreted it as a transformative event or experience, particularly the heat and power between a couple, the connection with Mother Earth. A cataclysm… the earth moves… I feel like if I read it more times (I read it twice but there’s a lot in it), the layers would become more evident. It’s very enjoyable, no matter how it’s interpreted!

        Liked by 1 person

        • Yes, that’s the essence of it, indeed. I’m glad you saw that! The short answer is that it’s about a passionate sexual coupling, yes. Each part and piece, every sentence has a particular meaning.

          In the beginning, a woman lays on her side, resting or sleeping. Her lover walks in the room which causes her to shiver. The downward pressure is him standing so close she can feel his presence. The breeze becomes a gale is the build-up of their natural passion. The explosion of movement and her lifting her arm is goosebumps and her shifting to her back, lifting her arm above her head. Later the birds flew fast/whites of deers eyes etc alludes to her eyes rolling back and the increased passion. The lightning strikes and spread of fire are him slapping/spanking her. I’ll let you read the rest, you can probably follow it to it’s conclusion with these clues. But yes, very sexual. Without being uh sexual. Is that a thing?

          Liked by 1 person

        • Most definitely a thing, and in many ways, the best kind of thing. Sometimes hinted erotica is the most erotic of all. I guessed about some, but not all of those specific aspects. Now I’m going to reread and enjoy even more. Such great writing Tara, love it.

          Liked by 1 person

    • Thank you Gina for stopping by and reading this. Mark is one of the best people I’ve known ever. He’s far too kind to me but I sure appreciate everything he does!

      I’m so pleased you enjoyed this piece. It was sure fun to write. ☺️

      Liked by 1 person

      • I love this writing from you, it just lets me float around a world created with beautiful words and there’s this passionate heart fluttering in between the lines.

        Mark has mentioned you to me before but I never found your site, so I so pleased he reblogged this. He is the most amazing soul, not just kind, which comes naturally like breathing but he has been a light in some really dark periods of my life. He is a very grand human.

        And I am so happy to connect with your words today Tara.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Powerful writing. I see in the comments you wrote it as a sexual piece and I can see that. But also I saw Australia in flames. So two visions in this piece.

    Liked by 1 person

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