Not Morse
Not Morse
They spoke in code, each word a secret agent
of another, so that, “I need more time
for myself,’ meant ‘I’m seeing
someone else.’
And so on.
At first, even uttered letters
delighted in the game, dipthongs preening
at devices, consonants peacocking
about the vowels, but soon language stretched
to strain, silence pained.
*******************
55 words for Kerry O’Connor’s prompt on Real Toads, with a special challenge to write something stemming from the art of Erte. A piece on the letter M by Romain de Tirtoff, known as Erté, above.
Explore posts in the same categories: poetryTags: flash 55, http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com, manicddaily, not quite love poem, Spoke in Code
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ManicDDaily 
August 6, 2017 at 10:30 am
Umph. That’s code for I totally understand
August 6, 2017 at 11:02 am
Those were the days of playing games and teens thrived in them. Some ended in disappointments but most were fun!
Hank
August 6, 2017 at 11:24 am
How clever to anthropomorphize the words as the artist did. The deescalation of words and feelings you describe are very apt when it comes to relationships.
August 6, 2017 at 11:43 am
Oh yes, I have heard that one about “needing more time”………it wasnt long before he had all the time he needed.
August 6, 2017 at 11:51 am
Very painful. Those codes we make for each other when we can’t speak the truth.
August 6, 2017 at 12:02 pm
Its highly painful when the person you care about doesn’t even have the decency to talk to you other than in code.. sigh…
August 7, 2017 at 3:06 am
Brilliant!
August 7, 2017 at 6:55 pm
Having suffered from the pain of such a situation it was as if everything she said was in code and I understoood not one word. I loved the way your wrote this.