The Fog’s Secrets

Posted bywordsandcoffee1Posted inPoetry, W3 Prompts, WritingTags:, , , , , , , , , , , 
The lake keeps secrets
just like the rest of us, 
holding them close
under the watchful eyes.

It sits there a while,
a bleak tableau,
painted in damp mist:
a living wilderness.

Once you're inside, 
the fog envelopes you,
entrapping you forever,
but never revealing your presence.

I missed the deadline on the Wea’ve Written Weekly prompt, but I really enjoyed the idea behind this one, so I still wanted to give it a try. The W3 prompt #169 was provided by Lesley last week, who asked us to do the following:

This week, you are the inhabitant of a realm set apart.

Option 1: The Desert Island 

You’re alone on a desert island. It may be literal—or metaphorical.

Why are you here? What led you to this dilemma? How do you feel, truly? How are you surviving—physically, emotionally, spiritually? What are your hopes? How might you escape? And crucially: do you even want to?

Let solitude shape the rhythm.

Option 2: The Fantasy Castle 

You inhabit a castle—not just any, but one infused with fantasy.

Who are you? Are you a monarch weighed by secrets, a dragon curled beneath the stone, a gargoyle watching centuries unfold, a princess awaiting—or resisting—destiny… or something else entirely?

Your protagonist can be you, he, she, they, or it. Let mystery guide the voice.

Choose Your Realm

Write a narrative poem in any form. Anchor your words in who you are, where you are, and what keeps you there.

I picked option #1. My current WIP is a speculative thriller set on a deserted island, so I let that project inspire and set my tone. I’ve tried out so many genres in my writing adventures over the years, and I’ve been playing around with speculative thriller for about a year now (writing two WIPs with similar themes and both set on isolated northern islands!), while wrapping up and debating the next steps for my many finished projects.

I wrote the poem from the perspective of my narrator, Kaia, who lives in a near-future reality where AI has basically infiltrated most aspects of society. She enters into a reality show competition of sorts that ends up being much more than she bargained for.

14 thoughts on “The Fog’s Secrets”

  1. I really like the mood you’ve conjured with “the lake keeps secrets // just like the rest of us”—it sets the tone so quietly and ominously, Sarah! The final stanza felt especially chilling to me, like the fog itself has agency and memory.

    ~David

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