• Home
    • The North American Buffalo (Bison) Calf
    • Antelope
    • The Rose
    • Riders of the Purple Sage
    • Wonderlust
    • April Spirit Guide
  • Main
    • “Why I Write”
  • Blog
    • The Writer’s Circle
      • Letting go
    • Short Stories
      • Ricochet
      • Spicy
      • Brain Freeze
      • Nostalgia
      • The Pumkin Patch
      • The Cricket’s Song
      • Hydrotherapy
      • No Words
      • Little Red Hens
      • Moody Blue
      • Guilty
      • January Blizzard
      • Blue
      • Wild and Free
      • Many Gifts
      • Buffalo Beans
      • Prairie Smoke!
      • In A World Of Pain
      • Man Eater
        • Man Eater – Chapter 2
          • Man Eater – Chapter 3
      • Vultures
        • Vultures – Chapter 2
          • Vultures – Chapter 3
            • Vultures – Chapter 4
              • Vultures – Chapter 5
                • Vultures – Chapter 6
                • Vultures – Chapter 7
                • Vultures – Chapter 8
    • Compositions
      • Parables
      • Turkey
      • Wordless Wednesday
      • Moose Medicine
      • The Devil’s Eye
      • Prairie Elk
      • Power of People
      • Push-Me-Pull-You Effect
      • Mandate Freedom
      • Eighteen Wheels of Freedom
      • Guilty
      • Christmas Cheer
      • Seasonal Changes
      • Forlorn
      • Stone Soup
      • Little Britches
      • Watcher’s
      • Nectar
      • Guest Post: Nadine Gordon On Canada
      • Literally Torn
      • Bill C-10
      • Earth Day
      • Yonder
      • “The Weaver”
      • Where’s the Thing?
      • The Leaning Tree
        • Breath of Heaven and Earth
        • International Women’s Day
        • International Woman’s Day
          • Winter North Westerly
            • Sticks & Stones
          • The Quickening
    • Winged Messages
      • Fly
      • True and Kind
      • Changes
      • Changes
      • Sunshine
        • The Meadowlark’s Song
      • Welcome Spring
      • The World’s Fog
      • Words of the Week
      • The Sun
      • Power
      • Follow
      • Judgement
      • Alight
      • Impeccable
    • Lessons of the Drum
      • The Puzzle
      • Many Gifts
      • Brain-Break
      • Sundogs
      • Compassion
      • Silver
      • I Confess…
      • The Candle
      • Race for Freedom
      • “Self-Esteem”
      • “Soul Keeper”
      • “The Journey”
      • “Feathers”
      • “Hands”
      • “Fear Conqueror”
      • The Flying “V”
      • If You Don’t Have Wings
        • Nirvana – Conscience
          • Darkness
  • Media Room
    • Out With the Old
    • Patience
    • Do Not Disturb
  • Books and Articles
  • About

The Trefoil Muse

Words are art on paper, and for me they are the seeds of my soul.

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« If You Don’t Have Wings
Vultures »

In A World Of Pain

October 10, 2020 by Nadine Gordon

Earlier, he’d pursed his lips, tossed the newspaper aside and decided that even though the state of the world was depressed, he could still improve his grammar.   The word of the day was weltscherz; a noun meaning sentimental pessimism, sorrow that one feels and accepts as one’s necessary portion in life.

The man was well aware of the evils of the world and their ability to bring about sadness, melancholy and feelings of anxiety even in the most courageous or disciplined of people.  He himself bore its burden, felt and depicted the full weight of such world-pain but preferred to feign outward ignorance toward such weaknesses of character.  No one really knows the crimes or evils others will stoop to in order to control the world’s destiny – that was a cold hard fact he was certain of.

Now, he stood alone at the Auction mart while others scurried to and fro hunting for treasures.  It was as if he had drawn a large impenetrable circle around himself which on one dared to cross.  The mass of people respected his space, even small restless, unruly children who were crying for dinner.  His self-imposed barrier kept him free from intimacy.

The man was still in his work attire.  It made him different.  Differences make people uneasy, so his Federal uniform not only separated him from the crowd; it kept him separate.  He wore the Correctional uniform as if it were an armor of protection against the people he had sworn to protect rather than an instrument of protection for them.  The man’s uniform however, couldn’t shield him from the incessant mendacity spewing forth from the auctioneer’s van speakers.  He heard something unsettling, slouched slightly and nervously shifted from one foot to another then regained his composure so quickly that his demeanor went unnoticed by all but one.  Stone-faced, he turned and paced away as if he were still inside the Penitentiary making rounds.

She too was alone.  It was the Officer’s eyes on his turnaround that really uncovered the truth behind the hardened exterior.  They told her a cloudy blue story of a once vibrant, trusting man presently immersed in weltscherz.  Now that she’d noticed him, her interest was piqued.  The problem was he’d been so self-absorbed that he hadn’t noticed her.

 

Share this:

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Posted in Short Stories | Tagged art, blog, blogging, creative, fiction, journaling, prose, Short Stories, word-of-the-day, writing |

  • Follow The Trefoil Muse on WordPress.com
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 426 other subscribers
  • You are at The Trefoil Muse Thanks for Following!

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • The Trefoil Muse
    • Join 353 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Trefoil Muse
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: