My response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Tale Weaver #64: May 5 2016: School Yard Games
She knew he was red-light dangerous,
The kind of guy her friends warned her about,
One to avoid when the lights went out.
But red is a colourful aphrodisiac,
A silken poppy on a summer’s day.
She couldn’t let her bad boy get away –
And then she was trapped
Like a fly in amber, held in her place:
No more make-up on her face:
No low-cut tops or nights out with her friends;
He told her straight it would have to end.
A yellow bruise here
And a smear of red there,
Clumps torn out of her auburn hair.
She said ‘red light’,
She shouted it out,
But the rules of the game had changed
As soon as she gave him the green light.
© Kim M. Russell, 2016
Image found on Pinterest
writing in north norfolk 
A very good poem Kim. You always have to hope that she gets away after he’s hit her once because it never stops there.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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Thank you, David 🙂 xxx
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I hope that game doesn’t get dangerous.
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Hi Jacqui! Unfortunately this is something I have been hearing about quite a lot recently and is more common than people think.
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Red light, red flag…danger!
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Thanks for sharing your response to the TW prompt Kim 🙂
You’ve taken this image of “red/yellow(amber)/green” and explored it very well – unfortunately a very dangerous and often too real outcome when people don’t recognize warning signs, or worse still, when they aren’t even clear in the beginning.
I like how you have used the flow of colors throughout the verse – they – color names, can imply and offer powerful images, and coupled with your thoughts, this is a wonderful response.
Great exploration of the prompt, and opening the discussion about abusive relationships.
Oh, just so you know, you have linked to MLMM, but not directly to the Tale Weaver prompt, and although you’ve linked to the official linky (thank you), some people never go that route, and might not know you’ve responded to the prompt. Just to let you know 🙂
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Thanks for letting me know. I’ll link up again!
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you’re welcome 🙂
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A sad and realistic story (unfortunately) told in such a beautiful poem…it read so smoothly; actually this would be a great poem for a website for a women’s shelter, truly beautiful.
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Thank you, Cheryl-Lynn. What a great idea! I will look up some women’s shelters in our area and see if they would like to use it.
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Great!
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This is very good Kim, so much that would be the basis for a most interesting discussion…..very well done..
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