Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Podcast – #Poetry and #Flash – Farewell to Summer and White Washing by Sally Cronin

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing some syllabic poetry and 99 word flash fiction from my collection Life’s Rich Tapestry…woven in words

Sally Cronin – Smorgasbord Blog Magazine · Smorgasbord Poetry and 99 Word Flash Fiction Farewell to Summer and White Washing by Sally Cronin

Farewell to summer
With
sadness
I utter
the words goodbye
to warm days though brief
that boosted my morale.
The glow that has bronzed my skin
reminds me of the longer days
of a summer that has been too short
though bolstered me for the winter to come.
But, in the interim we have autumn
a welcome season of fruitfulness.
Leaves will turn gold and apples red
with fields stripped of their harvest.
Soon we will give our thanks
for all this bounty
that fill the stores,
giving life
through dark
months.

White Washing by Sally Cronin

One angry brush stroke at a time, the old man painted across the words on his neighbour’s garden gate,

They were a lovely family, who had been kind to him since they been granted asylum three years ago, and moved in next door. Having recently lost his wife he had been lonely, but they invited him in each Sunday for dinner, did his shopping when he was ill and the father often popped around for a chat after work.

The least he could do in return was to white wash over this mean spirited graffiti before they discovered it.

©Sally Cronin 2022

One of the reviews for Life’s Rich Tapestry: Woven in Words

Thank goodness for the blogging challenges that inspired Sally Cronin’s Life’s Rich Tapestry Woven in Words. An enriching and engaging collection of verse, micro fiction and short stories, her work is mesmerising, always uplifting and often humorous. Throughout humanity and the spirits of humans (and some animals) is a beacon of hope for us all.

Sally’s poetry is enticing, thoughtful and soothing; they are written tightly within the framework of syllables for various formats such as haikus and tankas yet explore a vast range of topics encompassing the wonder of the seasons, recognising human frailties and celebrating the warmth of togetherness. She manages to take us on a journey from cave drawings to digital code across the universe, from the mystical of the ugly troll with his bewitching music in The Moonlight Concerto to the enchantment of Fairies!

As a writer, one poem – an ode to writing – particularly struck a chord with me:

The Freedom to write

The freedom
and time to create
written words
to be read
by those open to our thoughts
intoxicating.

Sally Cronin is a master storyteller and I was immediately drawn into the lives of the characters in all her short stories. Her writing flows with ease and self-assurance within this diverse selection of short stories. I was moved by the reunion of siblings, impressed how a story told through the point of view of a polar bear both touched me and touched on environmental issues. The reason for a black sheep was raised in one story and had me smiling as did My Mouse, a clever play on words and a predicament experienced by most of us!

The superb stories in The Underdogs section had me in awe of the strength of the individual personalities of the dogs. Later, in For the Love of Lily, I was cheering on as eighty-year-old Millicent found her courage to stand up to her overbearing son with the help of her cat Lily and her kindly neighbour Eric. This was an excellent depiction of what I hope isn’t a scenario that takes place often.

The final longer pieces in the book are under the title of Speculative Fiction and these are all exceptional and shows Sally Cronin’s incredible imagination and ability in writing across all genres.

A moment of alignment is superlative and left me with goosebumps (of the happy variety!) as a child, following her death, manages to cross from the other world for the briefest of times on certain occasions to talk to her mother. Great Aunt Georgina left me tear-eyed and is a wonderful and powerful story partly told through the use of old letters; a deft use of an evocative writing technique. The Enhancement Project combines the tantalising hint of romance between a surgeon and her patient cyborg, all against the backdrop of the end of civilisation. It is a terrific blend of human and futuristic, of dark and light, love and destruction.

I can’t recommend Life’s Rich Tapestry Woven with Words highly enough and look forward to reading more of Sally Cronin’s books.

Thank you for listening and if you would like to know more about my books and their reviews you can find them on my books page Sally’s Books and Reviews 2022