The Japs, my mysterious kin,
Had just bombed Pearl Harbor.
Each night thereafter, Each home
Was allowed one blackened light.
So, windows were tarred
And cracks under doors were
Stuffed with rags, chastizing
The light that dared to wander.
The block wardens would then
Come to check out the lights.
Violators were startled by the
Bang on the door and if you were
Jap, you had to be extra careful —
They could send you to internment
Camp, somewhere in Colorado.
One night a woman labored in
The heat of the cuckolded light.
Into this darkness, a child was born.
It was I. A black-out baby —
Nosing in the darkness
With heavy eyes, crying from
A yellow-belly, filled with
A livid cry!
“Black-Out Baby,” by Juliet S. Kono, Bamboo Ridge: The Hawaii Writers’ Quarterly, No. 7, June – August 1980, Full Moon
Use this, or any of the three previous prompts for October, to inspire a piece of writing, any length, any style, and then post it below. Or let any of them inspire another writing prompt of your choosing. Good luck, and let’s write.
Rules
- We reserve the right to remove content that promotes hate or gratuitous violence. Be respectful and courteous to others.
- All contest challenge entries must be submitted by the designated
- Enter as many times as you like using a trigger/prompt (this page).
- Contest Challenge entries can be prose (including short stories, nonfiction essays, or whatever you write), poetry, or plays -- or any type of hybrid writing you dream up.
- Every entry must have a title -- unless you choose to enter a haiku, in which case you can simply enter the word haiku in the title section.
- All content/entries should be original work. You retain ownership of your entries; however, we may ask to use them elsewhere on the site or on social media to help promote Bamboo Ridge and/or the Bamboo Shoots online writing community.
- Winners will be announced with all possible speed after the end of each month. Winners receive 10 Bamboo Bucks credit to spend in the BRP online bookstore. Bamboo Bucks have no monetary value outside of the online store.
- Entries may also be selected for publication in the regular Bamboo Ridge Journal. If your piece is chosen, the editors will contact you via the email address on file.
- Please note that you need not enter the contest challenge in order to post on Bamboo Shoots. You may post other writing if you choose. We welcome that here: Click this link to go to Shoot da Breeze.
This prompt is closed for submissions.