Monday, February 15, 2021

THE SANCTUM

It's  Prosery we're challenged at dVerse today, our writing to include the lines from Yeats " I went out to the hazel wood because a fire was in my head."  My story is fiction, thank heaven.  Submitted to dVerse, February 15, 2021.

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THE SANCTUM

Safe in my sanctum in the woods was my hazelwood tree.  It’s where I hid when my father came home in one of his alcohol-fueled moods.  Too many times I’d felt the cut of his belt for some imagined infraction, too many times I was slapped senseless for trying to defend my mother, too many times I went to the hazelwood because a fire was in my head and I was only a small boy with no where to turn, and only the hazelwood knew the depth of my despair. They’re gone now… he first, thankfully, and she put to rest today.  I return to my sanctum in the hazel wood, free at last of the fire in my head, and renew my resolve to give my own son a home filled with love and assurance, a safe place to be.    

12 comments:

  1. Lovely, the renewed energy already put into action by resolution

    Happy Monday

    Much💗love

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  2. A tale too often told, with only the names and faces changed. Sad piece Bev, moving.

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  3. I appreciate the peaceful ending, Bev.

    Yours,
    David

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  4. Everyone needs a sanctum, Bev, especially when our parents can’t always provide one and, as children, trees are wonderful places to keep us safe, whilst also being mysterious and having a hint of a different kind of danger. Perhaps one kind of danger holds off the one we know too well. I love that you wrote from the perspective of man who was once a very scared small boy – and pulled it off so well!

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  5. Such a powerful presentation as the hazel wood as a place of sanctuary. Sadly this is the reality for many children. At least some of them manage to grow up and not repeat the mistakes of history.

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  6. I found this overwhelming, chills and a ton of emotion flowing through me, Bev.

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  7. When the world is so harsh, it's good to have a "sanctum". Now he's offering the very sanctum his parents failed to give. A wonderful story and I do love happy endings.

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  8. A story that has played out too many times. You've incorporated Yeats' words seamlessly. The trees are a refuge for many in times of trouble.

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  9. I am so glad he is resolved to doing that for his son...

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  10. This is so moving, Bev! I believe everyone needs a sanctum in order to keep their sanity, their soul preserved.

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  11. So sad--but at least he did have a place to go when things got too bad. I'm glad he's resolved to break the cycle of abuse.

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  12. Such a wonderful turn of events from beginning to end. I love your story and the ending is so hopeful!

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