ONCE A HOUSE

For the third year, literary agent/author Kaitlyn Sanchez and author Lydia Lukidis are nudging 100s of writers to create Fall themed stories with the Fall Writing Frenzy contest.

​This year, Ameerah Holliday, junior agent from Serendipity Literary Agency, is joining as a guest judge. Welcome, Ameerah!

The contest is open to entries from October 1-3, so you still have time to participate.
​
Entry form here.
lydialukidis.wordpress.com/2021/09/30/fall-writing-frenzy-entry-form-2021/

Once again, we have a 200 word limit and 12 photos to choose among for story prompts. I love the range of these images! There are SO many beautiful options--take a look:

lydialukidis.wordpress.com/fallwritingfrenzy-2021-rules/

If you're on Twitter, check out the hashtag #FallWritingFrenzy to keep up with the fun. It's a fast moving, active event--you'll love it.
​
To the right is the prompt that inspired my poem. I hope you enjoy it.

Photo credit: Julia Solonina / Unsplash ****** A reverse search on this image reveals the building is the chapel at Berg Eltz, an 850+ year old castle in Germany. The age of the property and location were two of the sparks for my poem. Read more about the castle's fascinating history here: https://burg-eltz.de/en/eltz-castle-the-attractions/castle-tour.html

Once a House 
by Carrie Karnes-Fannin
(177 words)
 
She'd once been a house,
but that was long ago. She remembered
what it was like.
 
seasons
stacked memories,
piled like cordwood ahead of winter snows
 
For at her heart
were the trees.
 
timbers
people called them,
turning the black forest
into boards and rafters
 
And trees
never forget
those they’ve sheltered.
 
Chicks under the eaves
with broken shells clinging
to their damp heads.
 
Mice and their hidden highways
between golden paneled walls.
 
A girl’s laughter ringing in the hall,
and through the years.
 
she’d loved them all
 
But,
the wood reclaimed her
as its own,
while
 
time dripped down
slowly slowly
 
leafy crowns bathed by crystal rains
fed the tender roots
that coursed through cracks

twisting turning tasting
 
and drank deep from her well
of memories.
 
A thousand dappled suns
kissed her ruined walls,
casting shadows
among the saplings.
 
she loved them still
 
Now
under a frosty blanket,
her bones slept
 
yellow orange red
drifting falling dreaming
 
as the
once-and-future girl climbed,
ascending
echoes
 
of
the house
who used to be a home,
and would always
remember.