It’s time for our next Challenge, the first for this year!
2021 marks Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores 5th year in publication.
Five years ago a magazine was born
dedicated to brighten your morn.
Named Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores,
to help you explore fantasy, science fiction and other lores.
Staff and writers, editors and supporters, we all wish you a new dawn.
Win a hi-res version of this picture
To celebrate, we’re running the Openmic Challenge in a different way, presenting you with five topics or aspects to write on a chosen theme. This month, our theme is on EROS, sometimes known as Cupid, and god of all things Valentine; be they dark, light or mushy.
Eros
Cupid and Psyche
Cupid and Psyché
Your challenge is to write a poem of any kind, from sonnet to free verse, of 19 lines or less, or a flash fiction story of less than 300 words around:
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- Eros, the most beautiful of the Primordial Gods
- Golden-Winged Eros, Child of Primordial Night
- Son of Aphrodite and Ares, Archer of Love and Hate
- The Truth About St. Valentine
- A Valentine for Someone Real, Imaginary, or Status Unknown
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Whether scientific, fantasy, fairy tale or metaphysical, you’re free to share your glimpses of Eros’ arrows, Valentines muses, the Archer’s mischief, or the essence of the Primordial God in terrifying beauty or, maybe, pity…
I never thought I’d start this year without a limerick! There’s a first time for everything!
Join me in the comments with your poem or flash fic. Can’t wait to read them!
HOW IT WORKS
See the CRES Submissions Guidelines for what we like (hint, no horror) (https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/).
Enter your 19 line-or-less poem as a comment below this post. Limericks are always welcome!
Or enter your 300 word or less speculative flash fiction story as a comment below this post.
One entry per a person, please.
The Winner gets two Bs, a prize, and a pic: Bragging rights & a Badge, a gift subscription to Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores online magazine, and a .jpg of the challenge pic 😀 Also the chance to be a part of any anthology we do.
Vote by commenting MY VOTE or similar under your favorite entry. Other comments on entries are welcome!
If there’s a tie, we’ll get Fran, editor of CRES, to make the final judgement.
Please keep entries and responses friendly to all ages and as lighthearted as possible.
Challenge ends on 21 February 2021. Winner will be announced soon thereafter.
May the gods and algorithms of Love always look upon you with kindness and bring you joy 😀
UPDATE: 26 February 2021
And The Winner Is…
We enjoyed all the entries and were heartened to see Barb’s flash fiction entry and the limerick. But it was Tori’s entry that won us all over.
Congratulations, Tori! Your arrow hit the target 🙂 Please send me an email at: leennamythslegendsfairytales@cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com so I can send you your prizes!
And well done to all our other entrants. We hope to see your entries and good humor in our next challenge 😀
‘Til, then!
It takes two…
And here I am in the comments with a letter to Cupid 😀
Dearest Cupid, fuser of hearts,
who shoots future beloveds with Love’s darts.
May your sight be as clear as your aim,
and your judgement bright as love’s flame.
Match me with a kind one,
an easy to find one.
Match me with a beautiful soul,
an understanding and wise old soul.
Shoot us soon and make love bloom
even if our first date is to be on Zoom.
Yes! I think this is not only a fun poem, but on target, hits the bullseye one might say, for what are the good things to ask Cupid for.
LOL! Aww thanks, Absinthe! And for the pun, too 😀 Yes, I think it’s good to be careful what we ask of Cupid.
Very Apt for the current situation…I am using your poem for me when I talk to cupid. Thankyou
It’s a pleasure, Lakshmi. Thanks so much 🙂
Love this, sounds appropriate for a Valentine’s toast!
LOL! Thanks, Pamela 🙂
There was a young lady from Delhi
who fell in love with my belly.
An arrow of Cupid
had made her quite stupid
and she turned herself into lime jelly.
I just decided to make myself at home in the belly as I was making my way to your heart.
Make yourself at home
among the domestic comforts
of my digestion please.
And when I have worked out
how to swallow my head
I will join you down there
in my belly’s bed.
LOL! Thanks for the limerick, Rhys Hughes. It’s great to have one. Though I doubt it was Cupid’s intention to turn people in the curse of every trifle, but one never knows.
I know you hate talk but when you hold me close
It’s like a thousand words of the sweetest prose
Well, more like five and two thirds
So, you’re a man of few words
And I don’t like numbers I suppose!
Nice! I like your take on actions speaking a thousand words, Maithreyi. 😀
Cupid noticed two teens outside of a high school. The boy was talking to his friends, the girl had her back on him, ignoring him and talking to her best friend.
Smiling impishly, Cupid went for his quiver. Alas, he had run out of arrows! He should go back to Mount Olympus to get more!
Nah, he’ll make do with what he had. He looked around, unsure. There were so many things one could throw around him!
Then the boy grabbed a pebble and threw it at the girl with anger, but his aim was all wrong and he missed her.
Cupid had an idea, and quickly made a slingshot, then looked for the right pebbles. There were none available, so he carved some. Soon he had a neat little stash of heart-shaped pebbles, ready to be used instead of arrows.
Cupid set up his ambush, covered by a double invisibility veil.
Here was the boy! Aiming truly, Cupid shot. The boy scolded his friends who protested it wasn’t them.
Here was the girl! Cupid aimed again. She yelped, cursed the boy, then a pebble and threw it at the boy, hitting him because she had better aim.
He turned around, furious, and they finally started talking, no, screaming at each other.
It wasn’t working? Cupid was both surprised and disappointed.
Suddenly the two shut up and just stared at each other, no longer angry.
Much better. Cupid smiled. He put the heart-shaped pebbles in a small pouch and went back to Mount Olympus, happy with himself.
Except the pebbles didn’t actually work.
Cupid sighed. He used his arrows and then he got rid of his heart-shaped pebbles, since they were useless.
So remember, if you find a heart-shaped pebble, it’s one of Cupid’s and it could have hit you!
Thanks for the flash fiction, Barb. What a great observation of teenagers and Cupid’s experimentation. Now, I don’t know whether I’d feel sad finding a heart-shaped stone or not!
Post Valentine
I don’t have it like I used to,
or maybe it’s the reefer slowing
me down.
For me there will always be
an underground, or used to be,
before I survived.
What kept you sane all these years?
Come and visit and we’ll talk,
I should have said.
I do hope you get that talk, Al Simmons. Thanks for your entry!
Cupid’s arrow left his bow
More than 18 years ago,
How it happened, I cannot say;
Perhaps his arrow went astray?
For though we were miles apart,
We were connected, heart to heart.
So we’ve remained, through good times and bad,
Side by side, in happy times and sad,
Because the God of love’s grace
Ignores the laws of time and space
And the gift Cupid is giving
Cares not how far apart your living.
I love this! 🙂
I’m of the same mind as Barb on this, Tori 😀 Thanks!
Congratulations, Tori! You’re our Eros Challenge winner! Please send me an email at:
leennamythslegendsfairytales@cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com
so I can send you badge and other prizes.
YAY! Sorry I was slow to see this, but thanks so much! Just eMailed you… The sender will probably be listed as “Victoria Zigler”
Got it! Will be sending you your goodies shortly 😀 Congrats again. Looking forward to your entries for our future challenges 🙂