Skip to main content

Emotion 365: The Land of Powerlessness, The Capitol of Power

Powerlessness stretches long and desert low forever. Shrunken shrubs grow alongside the way in. Almost every one walks along the Powerless road for a good portion of their lives. Every one is born beside the road. Denizens walk, walk, walk unknowing their destination. The smooth Powerless Road road slopes down. A deep river lies beneath the it.


“What is to become of us?” a Powerless One says.


Castles and chalets in the mountains look down upon the road. No trail leads up. 


“It’s so hot today,” says one.


“It was yesterday, too," says another.


“Don’t hurry, we have plenty of time,” the Guide says to visitors. “Talk amongst yourselves.”


But there isn’t much to say and the Powerless walk in silence. 


“All the better the hear the birdsong and insects buzz,” says the Guide.


The way out of Powerlessness lies straight ahead.


“For how long?” a visitor asks.


“No one knows,” says the Guide. “Eventually, the road just disappears and the Powerless beside it."


From atop a high hill, shines the beacon of light Power. Inhabitants disappear from the road when they are done being Powerless and arrive at their destination. Then they find themselves on a stage in an amphitheater under a golden spotlight. It shimmers and shakes and the person feels that they ought to say something important, but really all that is expected of them is that they stand there until another person replaces them. 


Everyone visits power, but no one stays long on centerstage. They fade in and out, glinting like lights until they decide to go on their way and live another better life somewhere else where there is more to explore. 


"It's a small place, Power," says Miss Emeline Traveler. "There really isn’t much to it. Just a spotlight and a thunderous voice from above which claims to know more than it does."


"I'll admit, if not for Miss Emeline," says Miss Doe Friend. "I might have been taken in by the voice of Power."


Everyone leaves Power hungry. 


"There isn’t enough to eat in Powerlessness and no time to eat anything in Power," says Doe. "I was quite happy after all of that to sit back down for tea."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts on "Depression Hates a Moving Target": What I Mean by Relatable

Relatable — I used this word in my reviews of Depression Hates a Moving Target   by Nita Sweeney on Goodreads and Amazon . It's a nice word, but overused of late. So, it feels lazy. What do I mean? I connected with this book. It made me reflect more on my own first marathon experience. It made me want to put on my running shoes and head out the door again. In fact, I did. Now, typically, my mental health doesn't hinder my ability to do the stuff I want to do and my body flies under the radar. Still, I also felt goofy stepping out in my running gear a lot of the time. I didn't see myself as a "runner" or an athlete. And, I had no idea if I could run 13 miles let alone 26.2 when I started. More to the point, could I stay moving for the 4+ hours straight it would take to complete the marathon? To do the training mileage, I knew I'd have to run through streets and trails on my own and that made me nervous, too. Waves of grief wash us to strange shores. Whe...

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers  edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!".  Wings of R...

Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

Why it springs to mind:  You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote:  “All life is an experiment." Notable:  The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin:  The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.