Day-19
NaPoWriMo-2025
PC: Sunita
It was early in the morning when the news spread like a wildfire.
Everybody was just gearing up to start on their foot for the day's task.
The morning was beautiful, on a cool, pleasant wintry December.
There was an air of euphoric eagerness for the Christmas season.
The birds have just woken up from a deep slumber in the treetops.
The sun on the eastern skies peeped through the palm fronds
Playing hide and seek on the rooftops of the ancestral houses.
The temple bells in the village announced a blessed new day.
Far away, the church bell syncs in with its peals.
The neighbours greeted "good morning" in the village slang " Kuiii"
A cheerful smile flashed across their faces,
While watering their rose bushes, jasmine, hibiscus,
and many plant babies, their wagging tails squirreled
Down the pathways to chase away the crows.
Such a beautiful, rapturous, serene morning!
The last month of the year always brings cheer as the holidays are just around the corner.
So many plans and ideas swinging to and fro for spending the vacations with family.
This peaceful, rejuvenating morning was just waiting to hear the biggest news of the day.
One of the neighbours had gone to the tiny village bakery to buy bread.
He came with the news, which nobody expected.
All the way to his house, he crossed many houses, sharing the shocking news.
Everybody was stunned. How could it be possible!
This was the saddest news in the tiny village.
Just a day before, a few had met and spoken to him, such a lovely,
Bubbly, full of life, young fella.
What made him take such a drastic step?
He always smiled and greeted everybody, never missing an opportunity to help out.
Many times she has called him to help her weed the garden.
He even shared his biscuits with her wagtails.
She always found him sitting on the temple steps, which are adjacent to her compound wall.
With his mobile phone to play video games or listen to some music.
He belonged to another faith, but his heart was pure and innocent.
He had many friends. Some good, some bad.
Maybe those bad apples of friends prodded him to take the drastic step.
He was getting ready to walk through the portals of higher studies
How come he incurred so much debt at such a tender age?
Must be those rotten minds who tempted him to sway against the wind.
His parents found his body hanging from the ceiling fan.
He was just eighteen!
Prompt: Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem that tells a story in the style of a blues song or ballad. One way into this prompt may be to use it to retell a family tragedy or story, or to retell a crime or tragic event that occurred in your hometown.
