Their hold on me had long since loosened.
Questing fingers found only decay as life withered. Bypassing my rotting frame, eager tendrils now seek sustenance elsewhere.
Glossy green leaves taunt me with their vigour.
Sinking with torpid grace to loamy floor, my final thoughts are of renewal, eager, next spring.
© 2020, northie
Your comments and constructive criticism are welcome on this, YeahWrite’s final grid.
Image by Henning Westerkamp from Pixabay
A Pencil Is Best 
I really love anthropomorphism, and writing from the perspective of a tree (I assume it’s a tree) that’s choked by a vine (ivy?) was right in my wheelhouse. You did such a nice job of conveying the sadness, without panic, and while still maintaining a glimmer of hope for the future.
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Thanks, Asha. I like using anthropomorphism, though it’s the first time I used plants.
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I loved how the first line after the prompt hints with “decay” and the next places your story firmly in place, without being explicit. Then, everything Asha said. 😁
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Little ended up being explicit. 🤨😃 Written in a hurry.
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At least you wrote one! Last micro and I didn’t make it.
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This year has made everything difficult… 😒
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The lushness of your prose mimics the lushness of the plants. It’s a very graceful ending, and a surprisingly optimistic one.
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Thanks, Christine. A ‘graceful ending’? Yes, that’s what I was aiming for.
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You have some great word choices and some lovely natural imagery here: questing… eager tendrils… vigour, torpid… loamy. (I like loamy a lot for some reason.) It did feel a bit like the hold of the word count had not loosened on the story: some of the imagery felt a bit removed because there weren’t possessive pronouns indicating whose fingers found only decay or whose life withered or which eager tendrils seek elsewhere etc. I totally get that that’s the wordcount at play! One place where you could maybe tighten the wordcount would be to change “my final thoughts are of” to “I think [eagerly of spring or whatever]”. Overall, I really like how the tone of the piece has a grace and gradeur to it, even in such short a space. (Because of all those strong word choices!)
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Thanks, Katie. ‘Loamy’ took some digging (🙄) in my personal lexicon. As I say to Margaret, this was written in a real hurry.
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I really like the emotional progression of this piece, moving from a negative state (decay, withered, rotting) to a sense of optimism as you look toward spring. Well done!
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I’m glad you enjoyed this, Arden. 🙂
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This is what happens when everyone else has commented- I’m not sure I really have anything to add to the earlier comments other than to say I love the POV of this piece.
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I feel your pain, Michelle. It’s a position I’ve often found myself in.
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This was so creative–you capture the voice of the plants just beautifully!
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Thanks, Natalie. I enjoy anthropomorphism – I’m glad it came through.
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I loved how this really did the full circle of death through life cycle and despite the negative at the start, ended with a hopefulness that we have for our current world.
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Yes, life comes after death – the ‘Recycling’ of the title.
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I have nothing else to add, because everyone above has said it all. This is quite a little piece you have here ❤️
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Thanks, Danielle. 🙂
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