What follows is my response to the new GirlieOnTheEdge word prompt for this week. The word is absent and the instructions are to write six sentences, no more no less. So here are my six sentences.
Since I published a novel set during World War II a month ago, the first thing that came to my mind when challenged to think about absence was “absent without leave.”
To me, though, the outstanding characteristic of that period was people’s unyielding presence.
I wrote about a family, an ordinary family, who just kept showing up—not just to fight the war, but also to support the warriors who did.
I know mostly about farm families because I came from one, and one of my favorite photos depicts my aunt, in a dress she made herself out of flour sacks, sitting next to a pile of worn-out tires saved for the war effort.
I have a newspaper clipping, accompanied by a photo of my grandfather with some of his hogs, that reports on stepped-up farm production, with much of the labor force gone, to feed the troops—and some left-over ration books with icons of commodities punched out.
In the end, the survivors’ faces held the presence of absence—the sons who never returned, the lost peace of mind in the faces of the ones who did, and the years torn from lives that never quite recovered.
Faith <3
“…the survivors’ faces held the presence of absence—the sons who never returned, the lost peace of mind in the faces of the ones who did, and the years torn from lives that never quite recovered.”
What a telling. description, talk about speaking volumes.
Excellent Six
My dad was always there, until he died, but there was always a part of him that was inaccessible.
I remember wearing some of those flour sack dresses when I was a little girl. Beautifully written Six about the war years. So true that some lives never quite recovered.
Mom made playsuits for my sister and I. A flour sack or two, some elastic, and voila. We were small kids.
War is h*ll, truer words have seldom been spoken.
“Presence of absence” is powerful terminology. It is there after you leave a job, a city, a relationship …at least till a replacement has been found.
Exactly right.
Excellent Six. I especially like the last sentence. Sad, true, eloquently expressed.
Like others “presence of absence” this piece has so much emotion beautifully expressed
Thank you.
My goodness this says so much! Thank you for sharing your words.
Thanks for your encouragement.
That is a powerful response to the prompt.
Good luck with the novel!
Thanks. I’ve had my first readings. Here in western Nebraska we have SMALL crowds, but I’ve had one book club pick up the book.