Plank-slip

I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
— T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

Our Plank Ship has Sailed

Plank-slip

I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.
— T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

The titled responsion is best left quiet, reread it, and maybe your identity and what it means to you will change. Or not.

The slippage is sudden, and without warning, you look at a stranger one day; the mirror doesn't lie, but that's not you. So be it; I guess that ship has sailed.

Without any warning, there comes a sudden slippage in one's life. One day, they might look at a stranger in the mirror, realizing that it's no longer them. It's a moment of acceptance, understanding that some ships have sailed beyond their control.

The sudden realization that the person staring back at them from the mirror is no longer recognizable can be a jarring experience. It's as if a stranger has taken the place of the familiar face that they once knew so well. But time marches on, and with it comes inevitable change. The person in the mirror may not look the same, but the essence of who they are remains intact. There's a sense of acceptance in letting go of the past and embracing the present, even if it means saying goodbye to a former self. It's a reminder to cherish the moments of youth and beauty, but also to find beauty in the wisdom and experience that comes with age.

The feeling of disconnection persisted, a nagging sense of being adrift in unfamiliar waters. She tried to shake it off and tell herself that it was just a passing phase, but the sense of unease grew stronger. Looking in the mirror, she barely recognized the person staring back at her. Where had the years gone? How had she become this stranger to herself?

It was as if a switch had been flipped, and everything that had once felt familiar and secure was now uncertain and unfamiliar. She felt she had been set adrift in a sea of unknowns, and she wasn't sure how to find her way back to solid ground.

She tried to ignore the feeling, to carry on with her daily routine as though nothing had changed. But the nagging sense of disconnection persisted, a constant reminder that something was amiss.

And then, one day, it all came crashing down. The realization that she had been living a life that wasn't true to herself, that she had been pretending for far too long. The person in the mirror was a stranger no longer but the reflection of someone she was finally ready to embrace. It was a scary and uncertain path, but it felt authentic.

Visual Antithesis & a Lead Balloon

The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.
— Douglas Adams (1952-2011)

The titled responsion is "Visual Antithesis & a Lead Balloon". What follows is subject to revision, do you have any suggestions?

The opening line of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams is a masterful example of using absurdity to catch the reader's attention. It immediately sets a surreal tone for the story and highlights the humour that is a hallmark of Adams' writing. The sentence is also an example of a negation, where something is described by what it is not. The reader is left to ponder the meaning behind this unusual comparison and what it might reveal about the world where the story takes place.

The ships suspended high above the Earth, defying gravity with ease, were a sight to behold. They were unlike anything anyone had ever seen, with sleek lines and flashing lights illuminating the night sky. And yet, they hung there as if anchored in space while the world below gazed up in wonder and amazement.

Some people tried to explain it away as a trick of the light or a collective hallucination, but the ships were unmistakably real. They hung there, taunting humanity with their otherworldly presence, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But as time passed and the ships remained, a sense of unease began to creep into people's hearts everywhere. What did the ships want? Why were they here? And most importantly, what did their presence mean for the future of humanity?

Despite the questions and fears, the ships remained a constant reminder that there was still so much about the universe that humanity didn't understand. And as the years turned into decades and the decades into centuries, the ships continued to hang in the sky, an enigma that had yet to be solved.

Will you walk the plank? Don't slip!

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