Video

Written by Elanor Rose

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What will the future bring? Image // Telegraph

And there, in the midst of it all,

in the palm of my hand,

in among the creases and folds,

(where once I had my fortune told)

was a video. And it flashed red, green.

And it showed me a world,

it showed me a place I had not yet seen

(both unfamiliar and exotic it seemed)

but before long it faded to black

and showed me myself.

 

But I seemed so still and pale.

I thought of turning and twisting,

of staying silent, burning all bridges,

until there were no known fords.

That was not my way.

 

I set the video down dead

and gazed closer at the

head – heart – life

and embraced the fears

once forged by fair hand

and traced them all round until

my index became still

and I had found an end.

 Elanor’s wonderful poem, Video, was written as a reflection on our society’s relationship with technology, with an intense obsession of the future and what we will find, develop and create. Oddly, her inspiration for this particular piece was sitting down to trace the lines of her hand – this was such a simple pleasure, we couldn’t help but choose it in our selection for this month. If you liked Elanor’s writing, make sure you check out her lovely poem, Sheffield Steel

Monthly Editorial: Simple Pleasures in April’s Content

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How adorable are these chicks? Simple pleasures. Image Courtesy of Will Merydith

Hey Inkblotters!

The chocolate egg-fuelled month has arrived once again and cries to our slim-ish waistlines we’ve worked so hard to keep up throughout the turn of a new year. There’s no escaping the chocolate bonanza as supermarkets shove vividly coloured foiled wrappers in our faces, enticing us into a dreamy, liquid pool, while slapping devilish prices on Easter Eggs that are just too tempting to refuse. But even if you won’t be chowing down on a bunch of eggs this Easter, you can take delight in our content for April.

In aid of the month ahead, the theme for our scheduled content reflects “Simple Pleasures” – whether it’s a film and a takeaway, watching the sunrise on your commute to work each morning, or maybe even looking through old photographs on a lazy Sunday, simple pleasures are always with us in our lives. Sometimes just looking at the moon and stars on a clear night gives me goosebumps – the good kind, of course. So for April’s light-hearted month, Eruantien’s short poem “An Address to the Coconut” is sure to get you chuckling on the 8th, while Dice’s fictional piece “Only a Smile”  coming up on the 12th looks at two strangers accounts on a train, delivering amusing results. On the 20th, Elanor Rose gives us a snippet of both past and future fusing together in her poem “Video” and, to round off the month, Ricardo’s “The Start Of Something Beautiful” is a fictional short with a simply gorgeous ending. And as always, there’s much more.

To tie in with Easter, our half hour challenge theme this month is: Chocolate. If you’ve yet to enter a submission for our monthly HHC you can find all the details in our submissions page. We’ve had some great responses to past challenges, so we’d love to hear from you.

Once again thanks to all our readers, followers and contributors – you’re all stars. Have a great April!

– Silver, Inkblots Editor