Written for:  dVerse Poets Pub  – Prosery:  Meet Jane Kenyon  (posted by Victoria)
“Write a flash fiction story in prose of 144 words or less.  The story must include
the following phrase from Jane Kenyon’s book, Taking Down The Tree:
“If it’s darkness/we’re having, let it be extravagant”

She could jump from bedroom window to the sturdy oak
in the backyard. Sit on a limb, look at the sky
spreading out its tablecloth of night, the winking
moon–a candle, the glittering stars–polished silverware.
She imagined being up there, a guest at the table of sky.

In later years,  it became necessary
to cut down her beloved tree. She felt like a piece
of her heart was being cut out. Chill December
winds blew. There was nothing she could do. In a week’s
time, her tree would be gone. Borrowing some ornaments,
red and silver ribbons, she spent painstaking hours
decorating that tree. As the family looked out in surprise,
the girl said, “If it’s darkness/we’re having, let it be extravagant.”
And it was.

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