Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y.
The noise of the gallop grew louder. Breathless, the sound of the beating hooves reverberated through her head until she felt that she was sitting astride one of the horses advancing rapidly toward her. They were a beautiful sight with all legs airborne, a momentary touchdown and then airborne again. Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y, Ken -tuck – y.
“What’ll I put on the death certificate?”
“Long standing gallop rhythm, terminal heart failure.”
In response to Charli’s prompt where she asks:
February 24, 2016 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about galloping. It doesn’t have to be about horses. Is galloping a burst of energy, a run for freedom? Or is it a sense of urgency that borders on anxiety to get tasks accomplished? Explore the motion in different ways — a galloping stride, a galloping relationship or a galloping mind.
Respond by March 1, 2016 to be included in the weekly compilation.Rules are here. All writers are welcome!
About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Aargh, Irene, loved that clever twist and how you captured the rhythm so perfectly at the beginning. Another fabulous flash.
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Thanks Anne. Glad you felt the rhythm was captured, I struggle with description.
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Absolutely my kind of ending! Lol!
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Thanks. If it is your kind of ending I know it is good. 🙂
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😀
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Haha! Irene! Dark humor is so beautiful. 😜
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Thanks Sarah
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Great job.
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Thanks Don.
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You’re welcome.
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Your dark humor and knowledge of medicine are a lethal combination! And how creative to tie in Kentucky to the galloping; I never realized the rhythm of it before. Brilliant!
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Thanks Charli.
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Perhaps some do gallop enthusiastically toward the next world, without fear. She must also have lived with great spirit. A fabulous story, Irene.
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Thanks Sharon. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go.
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Wow! Irene this is an awesome flash. I didn’t expect it be be death galloping her way. There’s such power in this piece.
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Thanks Norah. Then I achieved my aim.
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Awesome flash Irene, I had no idea where you were going with this until the very last sentence… very clever…
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Perfect. That’s just what I wanted.
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You got it!! 🙂
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Great flash, Irene. I’m going to ring 000 is I ever hear galloping horses.
Many years ago, I was driving along hearing the sound of helicopters. That turned out to be a flat tyre. I got paid out for missing that but I did get rescued.
Hope you’ve had a great week. I’m starting to think about libraries and the memory of finding someone unexpected in the uni library. My heart was galloping at the time.
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LOL. Glad you survived the flat tyre helicopter. Yes gallop away if you hear galloping horses. Looking forward to reading your library meeting but I won’t until I do one of my own. See you soon.Hope you’ve had a good week.
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I haven’t written mine yet. My son didn’t save his Haiku so we had another poetry night after our beach walk last night. I hope it was as productive for him as it was for me.
He has to write a Haiku for each season and he wanted to set it here, which is pretty challenging when we don’t have four seasons. I ended up doing it myself and posted the results. You’d no doubt relate. Here’s the link: https://beyondtheflow.wordpress.com/2016/03/06/haikus-for-four-seasons/
And my mango romance? I had a thing for a Queenslander once upon a time. I had recently discovered the word lackadaisical in my thesaurus and wrote a poem with this great line: “lackadaisically lazing under the mango tree”…talk about trying to use all your vocabulary at once but I was young!
Hope you’re having a great weekend. Went for a lovely beach walk with the family at dusk yesterday.
xx Rowena
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Rowena, Your photos were just lovely and the haiku couldn’t have described the four seasons better. Warm, hotter, almost too hot and perfect. Cheers Irene xx
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Don’t you love our weather? You described that really too. Actually, that was quite funny!
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Asolutely love it.
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Wow. I spent about ten days in Kentucky last year, summertime. Not during the race – though.
A unique take on the prompt. Now there are so many questions. 🙂
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Thanks Jules. All questions welcome but whether I can answer them is another matter. 🙂
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I thought perhaps at first it was a horse, but after a re-read I think I can gather it was a person. 🙂
But just think if it were a horse that ran, won and then at that finish of the fame derby… collapsed. It is the repeat of Kentucky that spins those thoughts 😉
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Yes it was a person. I used kentucky because of the states association with horses and also because when you say the work kentucky it sounds like a gallop sound. I love imagination and where ever it spins you to is good.
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Wonderfully unique take on the prompt! Well done!
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Thanks Roger.
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