Writing Exercise in Second Person
by Miss Mae
I don’t believe second person is called for in most writing articles today. But here’s one I wrote for a writing class…
WHIM OF THE WIND
You arrive as the sun yawns over the horizon. You glide slowly, almost hesitantly to the ground, skimming the top of the silent pool, careful to disturb not a ripple. You moan with dismay as you swirl over the victims of last night’s rampage. You didn’t flatten the grasses to lifeless straw; the icy-hearted hailstones murdered them. You didn’t scorch the mighty oak to a charred stump; the crackling lightning sizzled it. You didn’t smash the anthill and flood its tunnels; the pelting rain drowned it.
You had no hand in those things. Instead you attacked the pine tree. You buffeted it with your fists, bending it to one side and then twisting it to the other. You ripped off its hairy needles, its explosive pops of pain from snapping limbs swallowed up by the roar of your demented screams. Deer raced from you, their white eyes and flaring nostrils begging for mercy. Rabbits scurried away, their giant feet tripping over the knot of broken branches you scattered in their path. Your mad howls nipped at their heels, deriding their fear.
You’d spied something lodged in a crotch of the pine’s waving boughs. Whirling over, you’d seen a lone fledging cowering in its fragile nest. Outraged that you’d missed this in your earlier assault, you’d snatched the tiny twigs and hurled them to the ground. You’d watched, watched, watched as the helpless bird plummeted to the forest floor, the sticks that’d been its home stacking tent-style over its still form.
Satisfied that your authority went unrivaled, you’d swirled upward, tightening yourself into your most commanding posture. You’d ordered all the dark clouds to cluster around and, together, you’d merged and shaped into one being, billowing into a raging monster. Your staff of lightning, hailstones, and rain joined you to wage war. Nothing withstood your fierce army. Yet after the onslaught, when the lightning ceased and the rain halted, your fury abated and you’d slunk away like a defeated coward.
All through the night, you’d remembered what terror you elicited. You’d regretted how the forest animals distrusted you. You’d cried at the thought of how you mutilated the pine tree.
But, oh, the worst—what anguish torments you now with the knowledge of the life you stole. You recall during the spring how you’d watched the baby bird grow as its parents nurtured it. You’d smiled with the realization of how in two more days it’d join its older siblings when it’d take the first brave step at leaving the nest. But then—the sun angered you. During the long hours of yesterday, your resentment had risen along with the relentless baking degrees. By evening you’d lashed out in defiance. You’d robbed the sun of its strength. Because of your combat, the suffocating temperatures dropped to those reminiscent of a cool fall day. But, at what cost your victory?
Now you whisper between the strands of grass that survived. You find the spot you’re searching for beneath the skeletal pine tree. Gently, carefully, you blow away the twigs that’d been the nest, and then you see it. Downy feathers ruffle under the sigh of your breath. And then, one little eye blinks open. The bird shakes itself and stands to its feet. Stretching its wings, it lifts itself and you, with joy singing in your heart, provide the support it needs. You cup the fragile life in your hands and carry it to a high branch where its mother is only now awakening. As chick and parent greet each other by lightly touching beaks, you breeze away to seek out the deer and rabbit. Today you’ll caress their fur with gentle fingers. Today you’ll soothe away the fear of the storm during the night.
copyright 2007 L.M. Thomas
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Last 5 posts by Miss_Mae
- Spam, Anyone? - July 17th, 2008
- Writing Exercise in Second Person - July 14th, 2008
- In Tribute of My Own Mother - July 11th, 2008
- Are You the Author? - July 9th, 2008
- Hilarious Take On My New Book - July 7th, 2008
Tags: anguish, bird, clouds, combat, fight, fire, flood, forest, rage, repent, sorrow, storm, struggle, torment, victim, war