51 comments

Contemporary

THIS...is the END...of the UNIVERSE







Endless nothingness


Utter silence


Complete, all-encompassing blackness


Eons pass. They are mere moments to the cosmos


A dazzling flash


Atoms vibrate in time to the rhythm of the universe


Molecules form, linked by unbreakable bonds


Stars blaze, sending rays outward, illuminating the vacuum


Arranged together, the stars shine within their galaxies, forming the teeth in broken smiles


Innumerable galaxies, each with their own precious planetary systems


YOU ARE HERE


The Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy within the Virgo Supercluster


Oort Cloud, Sol System. Planet: Earth


Photosynthesis devours Carbon Dioxide and exudes Oxygen


Climates change, rising and falling like the ocean tides


Epochs pass, seen by man as entire tomes, but mere paragraphs to the universe


New lives begin. Life endures, marking the planet as its own


Some species die out while others thrive


Humans dominate, continuing their reign for thousands of years


They take pride in their cities and towns. Extol their infrastructure


Men and women applaud their advancements and sing the praises of their ingenuity


Babies are born while the elderly pass on


Children play in the streets


Friends gather in bars


Families grow together, sharing meals, memories, and experiences


Laughter, rage, and sorrow permeate the air in equal measure


You are content and consider yourself lucky


You try not to dwell on the bad times, but they ring through your mind as you try to fall asleep


In daylight, negative thoughts disappear like forgotten dreams


Life is good but it could be better. You pray it does not become worse


You focus on your relationships. Your home. Your job


You set goals for yourself


You strive to improve


You follow your passions


You write until your hand cramps


Read until your eyes blur


Sing until your voice falters


Run until you are breathless


You revel in the challenge


Bathe in your sense of accomplishment


You continue to chase fulfillment


Times are tough but you forge ahead


Gratitude is fleeting but its vitalness is never completely lost


Failures, though inevitable, slow you down


You push past your failings, lest they drag you under


Success, no matter how minor, nourishes you


You press on


You watch clouds pass overhead


You track shooting stars as they streak across the heavens


You stop to smell the roses


You feel the raindrops on your skin


You fall asleep to the sound of the storm


You wake to the Sun's warm light


Cool air caresses your skin


You wish. You wonder. You worry


You dream. You dare. You dance


You forget, only to remember days later in an anxious flash


You make time for the things that matter


You make room for that which brings you joy


You push past those things that hold you back


You try not to dwell on the past


The future holds potential, but you linger in the present


You reach for possibilities and hold on dearly to what you already possess


Life goes on


There are busy days and lazy nights


There are tranquil mornings and hectic evenings


Weeks and months stretch out before you


Seasons pass in their cycles


Time is short but love is everlasting


THIS...IS EARTH...AS YOU KNOW IT


Time is short but love is everlasting


Seasons pass in their cycles


Weeks and months stretch out before you


There are tranquil mornings and hectic evenings


There are busy days and lazy nights


Life goes on


You reach for possibilities and hold on dearly to what you already possess


The future holds potential, but you linger in the present


You try not to dwell on the past


You push past those things that hold you back


You make room for that which brings you joy


You make time for the things that matter


You forget, only to remember days later in an anxious flash


You dream. You dare. You dance


You wish. You wonder. You worry


Cool air caresses your skin


You wake to the Sun's warm light


You fall asleep to the sound of the storm


You feel the raindrops on your skin


You stop to smell the roses


You track shooting stars as they streak across the heavens


You watch clouds pass overhead


You press on


Success, no matter how minor, nourishes you


You push past your failings, lest they drag you under


Failures, though inevitable, slow you down


Gratitude is fleeting but its vitalness is never completely lost


Times are tough but you forge ahead


You continue to chase fulfillment


Bathe in your sense of accomplishment


You revel in the challenge


Run until you are breathless


Sing until your voice falters


Read until your eyes blur


You write until your hand cramps


You follow your passions


You strive to improve


You set goals for yourself


You focus on your relationships. Your home. Your job


Life is good but it could be better. You pray it does not become worse


In daylight, negative thoughts disappear like forgotten dreams


You try not to dwell on the bad times, but they ring through your mind as you try to fall asleep


You are content and consider yourself lucky


Laughter, rage, and sorrow permeate the air in equal measure


Families grow together, sharing meals, memories, and experiences


Friends gather in bars


Children play in the streets


Babies are born while the elderly pass on


Men and women applaud their advancements and sing the praises of their ingenuity


They take pride in their cities and towns. Extol their infrastructure


Humans dominate, continuing their reign for thousands of years


Some species die out while others thrive


New lives begin. Life endures, marking the planet as its own


Epochs pass, seen by man as entire tomes, but mere paragraphs to the universe


Climates change, rising and falling like the ocean tides


Photosynthesis devours Carbon Dioxide and exudes Oxygen


Oort Cloud, Sol System. Planet: Earth


Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy within the Virgo Supercluster


YOU ARE HERE


Innumerable galaxies, each with their own precious planetary systems


Arranged together, the stars shine within their galaxies, forming the teeth in broken smiles


Stars blaze, sending rays outward, illuminating the vacuum


Molecules form, linked by unbreakable bonds


Atoms vibrate in time to the rhythm of the universe


A dazzling flash


Eons pass. They are mere moments to the cosmos


Complete, all-encompassing blackness


Utter silence


Endless nothingness







THIS...is the BEGINNING...of the UNIVERSE

April 14, 2021 19:09

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51 comments

Claire Lindsey
21:28 Apr 16, 2021

I saw the title and told myself surely he didn’t actually write a 1000+ word palindrome, that’s crazy. And then sure enough, you did. I’m honestly speechless. This is fantastic, I don’t have any critiques.

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14:05 Apr 16, 2021

This is amazing! I really enjoy reading all your poetic entries, and this one is probably my favorite. It fits the prompt so well and is so moving, in a way. I love anything written about the universe/space, so this really resonated with me. All the little things and big things in this poem add up to form a true masterpiece. Wonderful job!

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Michael Boquet
14:21 Apr 16, 2021

Thank you. I've been wanting to write a story that can be read in either direction for awhile and the universe seemed like a good frame on which to build the story. My other idea for a framework is Sysiphus pushing the boulder. One of these days maybe I'll write that one too. Appreciate your kind comments

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14:50 Apr 23, 2021

I actually also just tried my hand at story poetry :/ It's pretty bad. Actually, it's very bad. How're you doing lately? Any thoughts about these new prompts? I'm not feeling them

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Michael Boquet
15:35 Apr 23, 2021

I'm doing good. How are you? Yeah, the new prompts aren't immediately inspiring any ideas for me either. But I took this week off to recharge and didn't submit anything. So, I'm going to try to come up with something for this week.

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Charli Britton
15:03 Apr 26, 2021

You write until your hand cramps Read until your eyes blur Sing until your voice falters Run until you are breathless I love that. I love this whole thing. Amazing job!

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Michael Boquet
20:21 Apr 26, 2021

Thank you

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Shea West
05:55 Apr 26, 2021

This was incredibly unique and I couldn't stop pushing through it. The moments where your writing started to circle back gave me AHA! Vibes. I won't lie, when I went to read it again, I slowed down my inner dialogue voice and imagined it as a beautiful script to a space documentary.... It could totally be that!

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Michael Boquet
12:15 Apr 26, 2021

Thanks so much. For the comments and for taking the time to read it.

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21:52 Apr 25, 2021

Super creative, I never would have attempted this! That being said, since I knew it was a palindrome, after the middle my mind basically scanned over the rest, since I'd already read it. Probably more of a failure on my part than yours. Some phrases I thought were very creative. I especially loved the stars as broken teeth. Other lines I felt were a little cliche. And the lack of periods was off-putting, in my opinion. I probably wouldn't have even noticed it as much except for when a phrase had a few sentences with periods within it, and ...

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Michael Boquet
12:55 Apr 27, 2021

Appreciate your astute comments! Thanks :)

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Amarah Friedman
18:42 Apr 25, 2021

Cool story! I like how you start at the VERY end/beginning and work around cyclically. I was especially intrigued by the jump into second person, as if I, the reader, were present for the eternal beginning and end. If you were going for a metaphysical commentary on the soul, well done. It's nicely supported by the cyclical nature of the piece and its hints at reincarnation. If not... consider a different POV. Very nice!

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T.H. Sherlock
09:38 Apr 24, 2021

I love this take on the prompt and the idea of life being circular. One idea I had would be to tweak the first and last sentence a little so that there might be a hint of rebirth as opposed to endless nothingness. That’s very likely just me struggling to come to terms with the end of the universe though and wanting there to be some glimmer of hope in the eternal void. I’m not even sure about this idea myself as I think each of the sentences are already perfectly formed as they are and that it makes this point overall anyway. However, I don...

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Michael Boquet
13:28 Apr 24, 2021

Thanks so much. I actually had the exact same thoughts. Originally, I had "singularity" as the first and last words, but decided to remove them. And Included those tags simply to communicate that the reader was starting at the end of the palindrome, so it fit the prompt. However, if I were to submit this piece elsewhere, I would certainly remove them. Thanks for the critique!

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T.H. Sherlock
19:15 Apr 24, 2021

No need to thank me. I really enjoyed reading it!

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Darya Silman
23:18 Apr 22, 2021

I can only add my voice to the chore of praisers. Outstanding story!

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Cathryn V
00:13 Apr 22, 2021

Hi Michael, It’s such a clever story you’ve given us. I read it several times and liked it more each time. Really great!

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Michael Boquet
01:19 Apr 22, 2021

Thanks!

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Sam Ackman
01:51 Apr 19, 2021

This is wonderful! Very unique story and easy to read. Great job!

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Michael Boquet
02:27 Apr 19, 2021

Thank you

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Ash Jarvis
23:59 Apr 15, 2021

Wow—I am so impressed that you took this prompt and came up with a palindromic story. Amazing!

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21:02 Apr 15, 2021

Very poetic this week and, as always, very clever. :) great job!

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Gerald Daniels
19:39 Apr 15, 2021

Brave angle to take, loved it.

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Daniel R. Hayes
15:33 Apr 15, 2021

Hi Michael, another great story! Almost every line written feels like a different quote. I think you did a great job with the prompt and it was very creative. I tried this prompt but couldn't get it to work. I think overall you did a wonderful job!

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Michael Boquet
16:04 Apr 15, 2021

Thanks so much. I had several ideas for this prompt, but settled on this one. I've been wanting to write a story that can be read in either direction for awhile now.

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Daniel R. Hayes
16:22 Apr 15, 2021

You did a great job, my friend :)

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Ellie Yu
00:25 Apr 15, 2021

Every single line is gorgeous. The second-person tense was a really nice touch for me. It feels really all-encompassing, but tailored to the small moments as well.

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Michael Boquet
00:38 Apr 15, 2021

Thank you!

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Valerie June
22:36 Apr 14, 2021

Wow. I am astonished by your talent. This kept me on the edge of my seat and it read at a quick pace. The short sentences brought forth so much meaning and truth. I related to many lines in here. I liked how you formatted it, too and how the title expressed it. Just brilliant.

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Michael Boquet
23:34 Apr 14, 2021

Thanks so much

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Zelda C. Thorne
19:24 Apr 14, 2021

I love it. I found it very moving, inspired and inspiring.

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Michael Boquet
23:33 Apr 14, 2021

Thanks so much

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Beth Connor
22:05 Apr 29, 2021

Superb... Mind blown. Your creative ability knows no limits. Can you bottle it up and send it my way! I really enjoyed it.

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Niveeidha Palani
04:25 Apr 24, 2021

Damn. Creative, I have to say.

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*screams in writer admiration*

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