dโVerse prosery
“Mom!”
“Hey, Kiddo! I missed you!”
The wiry middle-aged woman tousled the stocky boy’s hair, gave him a tight hug, and unstrapped her pack, swinging it off her shoulders. “Look, Luke, I got you something!”
Barbara unzipped a side pocket and reached inside, rummaging through various personal effects until her fingers grazed the creased packing paper. “Ah, found it! Guess what this is.”
The boy looked skeptical. “What is it, Mom? A Milky Way snow globe?”
Grinning, Barbara teased him, “Nope! This is something from outer space – it is a moon wrapped in brown paper! I had to bribe the NASA pilot to make a detour, just so I could grab this baby for you.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Momโฆ seriously!”
“Fineโฆ open it, then!”
Tearing off the paper, the boy gasped. In the round display case sat a Babe Ruth original autographed baseball.
The prompt
dโVerse prosery is flash fiction with a beginning, a middle and an end, in any genre of the authorโs choice, no longer than 144 words. This very short piece of prose must include an assigned line from a poem, within the 144 word limit. Writers may change the punctuation of the assigned line, but they may not insert words within the quotation.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
-from Carol Ann Duffy’s poem ‘Valentine’
The Skeptic's Kaddish ๐ฎ๐ฑ 
So beautiful ๐๐
๐๐ค Kaushal ๐ค๐
i might not get baseball, but i do get the love of a parent for their children. great poem.
Roger โค
TBH, I don't "get" baseball either – I just wanted to select something that was round for the purposes of the story ๐
-David
A playful piece! Love it ๐
๐โค๏ธ Julia โค๏ธ๐
A surprise ending. Sweet too! Creative interpretation of the prompt. Mom of the year! โพ
๐๐ Michele ๐๐
A wonderful dialogue between mom and her son. The perfect gift.
๐๐ Lauren ๐๐
Nice surprise. For him and myself the reader. You had fun with this one ๐
much love
๐๐ Gillena ๐๐
A gift to delight any baseball fan. That Mom knows her stuff. (K)
๐๐งก Kerfe ๐งก๐
What an excellent surprise! For the boy and the reader. Cool.
๐ค๐ฅฐ D. ๐ฅฐ๐ค
A lovely story David!
๐๐ Carol ๐๐
Wonderful story David โ better than the moon! ๐
โฅ๏ธ๐ Rob ๐โฅ๏ธ
This is absolutely delightful! ๐
๐๐ Sanaa ๐๐
Oh, I love what you did with this, David! A wonderful twist at the end. Love Babe Ruth!
๐โพ Dwight โพ๐