dVerse Poets Prosery

Hello dVerse Poets! Today we’re writing prose instead of poetry. This is a dVerse prompt called Prosery. To participate, you take a line of poetry that I give you and insert it into your prose. I would prefer using a poetic line as inspiration, but that is not the prompt! So, do make certain you give attribution for the line and the poet.

For Prosery, your prose—fiction or nonfiction—may be up to 144 words, not including the title. Some people like to make it exactly 144 words, but that is not required. You must not alter the words, change the word order, or insert words into the line. However, you may change the punctuation.

Got it?
OK. So, here’s the line:

“The granites and schists
Of my dark and stubborn country.”

–Nan Shepherd, “The Hill Burns”
from In the Cairngorms (Edinburgh: The Moray Press, 1934)
https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/hill-burns/

***

Our history stands as a reminder of our weaknesses, promises gone awry, and dedication slipped into the granites and schists of my dark and stubborn country. Individual freedoms that were our lightness, our “rightness” are dwindling daily. Men with evil thoughts and deeds darken us every day. Their oily layers in these rocks seep out and stain our tenets of grace. We need to find the best of our original basic truths.

***

Prosery: Dark and Stubborn Country