Bedroom in Arles
Inspired by the Painting by Vincent Van Gogh
A red blanket covers the old man
Once it brought him comfort and warmth
But now he could collapse from the weight of it
The young woman sits beside him
Holds his withered hand
Strokes his wispy hair
His smile shakes
Her own falters
The young man sits beside the door
His head in his hands
He runs his fingers through his hair
Unable to sit any closer
The old man raises a feeble hand
To the woman’s face
She feels his light fade
Seconds before his hand falls
The young man has found the strength
To walk close
He takes the woman by the shoulders
His tears fall silently
Beside her sobs
He pulls her from the room
When they return
The room is empty
The woman tidies
The red blanket
The chairs remain
Where they've been
Sunlights streams through the window
Softly illuminating
The pictures
The coats
And the newly vacant
Bedroom in Arles
About the Creator
Sarah Scougall
A fiction writer and book babbler.
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INSA
In Berlin, an old man sits in a rocking chair. The warped wood floor creaks under the swaying rockers in the otherwise silent house. His wife of fifty years sleeps soundly in the next room. The man runs his hands through his thin, graying hair, reminiscing on the lives he will never know. All seven children, lost somewhere in the universe. Some were blind, a few deaf, and two were joined at the hip. No one else he knew had been so unlucky. Most couples had at least one that was good enough. He shakes his head, berating himself. What's done is done, and there’s no use wasting thought on it now. The old man pushes up with wobbly arms onto equally shaky legs, walks through the door to his bedroom, and climbs into bed. His wife’s face is still wet. She must not have been sleeping for very long. He kisses away her tears and closes his eyes for the day, no different than any night before.
By Sarah Scougall6 years ago in Futurism
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