Becoming Winter Sky

Autumn was already underway. Every morning was misty; sometimes fog smothered the landscape, russet and brown leaves underfoot the only splashes of colour until almost midday. With hardly any sun, everything was rinsed out and drooped like yesterday’s laundry on the washing line.

Night fell far too early; end of school blended into bedtime, with very little in between. There was still plenty to look forward to: Halloween, Bonfire Night and Christmas would bring some colour and light, but something was lacking.

The mother felt her children’s frustration. She ushered them outdoors like ducklings and told them to look up. One by one, stars twinkled in the sky, a swathe of them shimmering like diamonds.

“That’s the Milky Way,” she told them. “But there’s more to come – the Starpainters are taking over now, decorating the sky with constellations. Winter will soon be here.”

Kim M. Russell, 14th September 2026

Image by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

It’s Monday and time for Prosery at the dVerse Poets Pub, where Mish has written a tribute to Gordon Downie, a Canadian rock musician, poet, songwriter, storyteller and activist.

I admit, I have never heard of the band The Tragically Hip or their front man Gordon Downie, so it was interesting to read about them today. I was intrigued as to what would be the line of poetry for our Prosery, the short piece of prose (flash fiction, nonfiction or creative nonfiction)  of a maximum of 144 words that incorporates a given line of poetry.

For today’s Prosery challenge, Mish chose a line from Downie’s poem, ‘Starpainters’: “The Starpainters are taking over now”.

20 thoughts on “Becoming Winter Sky”

  2. So many beautiful images and I especially love this visual…. “With hardly any sun, everything was rinsed out and drooped like yesterday’s laundry on the washing line.” I like that the line landed in place of nature and wonder.

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  6. I love what you did with the prompt. Yes, decorate away. I sat by a fire this past weekend and waited for the first stars to appear. I ate a smore or two and it was delicious I haven’t had one in a long time.

    Starpainters are taking over now, decorating the sky with constellations.

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  10. One by one, stars twinkled in the sky, a swathe of them shimmering like diamonds.

    Love the line above. It resonates with me, Kim! It’s not often we get the chance to wonder on such a beautiful night!

    Hank

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