Assignment 7, "Write this Piece!" Entries

Image provided by Morgue file.

I got several wonderful entries for this one, and I must say I’m so pleased with them all! Great job everyone who submitted an entry, I really enjoyed all of them. And I’m so glad all of you enjoyed the song I chose! Originally Polyushko Polie was spelled Polyushko Polye (Russian Cyrillic is Полюшкo Поле, and I would like to say in my proudness I wrote that in Cyrillic myself. B-) Part of the reason I had to explain the song so I could brag about that, hehe… guess who just learned the Russian alphabet? ;D) and actually it was originally a Communist song. Today, though, it is still sung and the words were changed from Red Army to Russian Army. It’s still a beautiful and very sad song. I thought you might all enjoy to know that the title translates from Russian as Field My Field or Meadowland. What surprised me is that without the translation of what the title meant, most of you wrote something with a field in it! I was amazed!

So here are the wonderful entries I received, ordered in how I thought they should be. In first place, we have…

Faith P, with her wonderful piece Unwanted Blessings. I put Faith’s entry first because it just really spoke to me and I felt like it best described the feelings of the song. Wonderful job, Faith! This was really, really well done. :)

Unwanted Blessings…

By Faith P.

The beautiful melody plays…

It seems like a never changing cycle. The same things, small and somewhat meaningless,

repeat themselves days after day. All is wonderful and simple, yet perpetual and consistent. But

it's good and you love it. You can't imagine life any other way.

The pulsation of the tune quickens…

Without warning the pretty, lush meadow you've been dwelling in all your days vanishes,

dropping, sharp and sudden, down into a dark and lonesome vale. Pain, hurt, fear, and bitter

heartache surround you. You're overwhelmed by your discontented longing for something

better, for a fuller life, for the normal, simple times you once knew. Deep inside you know that

those are gone forever.

But it's here, buried in the loneliness, tired and cold, that you'll find the true blessings of life. It’s

where you'll realize that good doesn't always have to be perfect; that a normal life isn't always

best.

When all you can see with your eyes is agony and distress, look with your heart. You'll find that

some of God’s greatest blessings are hidden right there. The blessings that you overlooked,

hidden among trials and uncertainty, are often the sweetest and most beautiful of them all…

In second we have Snowy Flight by Megs. Great job, Megs! I laughed when I read this because it’s almost exactly what Poluyhska Polye is about. A snowy field with a retreating horseman. Megs did an excellent job conveying the feelings of her entry. Wonderful job, Megs!

Snowy Flight

by Megs

We were galloping through the long field of snow. The icy winter wind was whipping by. I could feel both mine, and my steed’s rapidly pounding heart beats. Fighting back the awful feeling of exhaustion, we pressed on into the night. I suddenly became unmindful of the bitter cold; knowing that mine, and my family’s lives, depended on our swift arrival. One sentence ran through my head the entire time. You mustn’t fail. You mustn’t fail. You mustn’t fail...

In third we have the very intense scene done by Jesseca Dawn, Night Chase. I loved this one as well! Jesseca did a great job picking up on the intense feelings in the song and wrote it into her scene. She too, has a field and a horse chase, which I thought was really funny. Fantastic job, Jesseca!

Night Chase

by Jesseca Dawn

Erich cautiously nudged the horse forward. He held the reins in his left hand and in his right he held his pistol, finger on the trigger. Why oh why did I ever have the idea of bringing that girl to find us information? There were days he seriously regretted his decision. This was one of them. He couldn't count the times he had reminded her to never call him Lieutenant Erich, to never even think of them by that name. Apparently, she had disobeyed. All it took was one slip of his name. And then this. Oh, Joyanna. When I get my hands on you. . . His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps.Straining his eyes in the darkness, he saw one of the two men come around the corner of the small shack with Joyanna in tow.

Two horses were tied in front of the shack and Erich watched the man toss Joyanna up in front of the saddle before he swung up behind her. Erich’s finger massaged the trigger. If only I could be sure I wouldn’t hit Joyanna.

The man kicked the horse into a gallop and Erich started after them. The denseness of the trees, combined with the fact that Erich had no idea of the layout of the countryside, made it hard for him to follow, but he was determined. As the distance between them closed, the man glanced back. An angry expression filled his eyes when he saw Erich and quickly wheeled the horse around, firing a shot.

Erich ducked, hoping the bullet wouldn’t hit him or the horse, and returned the fire. He urged his horse forward and they gained a stride. At that moment the trees ended and the moonlight illuminated the two figures on the horse. Joyanna’s panicked eyes met his as he quickly pulled on the reins, slowing his horse, then drew his pistol and fired. His aim was true and the man fell.

The horse, startled by the shot, increased it’s speed and Joyanna gripped it’s mane, doing her best to stay on. Erich thrust the pistol into the holster and spurred his horse. As they drew even with the other, he reached an arm out and drew Joyana onto his own horse. He could feel her shaking in front of him, but at the moment he didn't care. It was her own fault. He slowed his horse into a canter and wheeled it around as they started back towards Arras.

And last but certainly not least, we have Kaitlyn’s Stormy Surprise. This is Kaitlyn’s first entry and she did a fabulous job! Wouldn’t you know, there is also a horse and a field in this piece she wrote! I was really amazed at how close you all wrote to the music. Great job, Kaitlyn, on your piece, in reality this isn’t a clip it’s a full round story she did. And it’s great. Fantastic job, Kaitlyn!

Stormy Surprise

by Kaitlyn

 “Rachel, I don’t think you should go riding today,” said Mark.  “There’s a big storm brewing to the west.”

       Rachel rolled her eyes at her brother.  “Come on, Mark, I’m not scared of a little rain.”

       Mark frowned.  “This is more than a little rain, Rachel.”

       Rachel sighed.  “Can I at least ride for a little while?”

       Mark thought for a moment, then nodded.  “I suppose, if you don’t go far.  And come back soon.”

       Rachel nodded.  Running out to the barn, she quickly saddled her horse, Leah, and mounted.  Glancing at the sky, she noticed that Mark was right; there was a big storm coming.

       “Oh well,” she said,  “We won’t be out that long.”  Climbing onto Leah’s back, she nudged the horse into a canter.  After an hour, Rachel looked at the clouds and realized that it would start raining any minute.

       She urged her horse into a gallop, racing against the rain; but it was too late.  The rain began to pour, and horse and rider were soaked in no time.  Suddenly a bolt of lightning cracked through the sky.

       Leah reared and Rachel, caught off guard, was thrown to the ground, watching forlornly as Leah galloped off into the blackness that had come upon them.

       After walking for what seemed like hours, Rachel ran into something.

       “Whoa there, Flash!”  a man yelled as a horse reared.  He quickly dismounted. “Rachel Pearson?” he inquired.  Rachel nodded.

       “My name’s Jeff Cauldwell,” the man explained.  “I was just at your ranch inquiring about work when your horse came riding in; your brother had everyone out looking-” he was interrupted by another loud crack of thunder.  Flash yanked the reins out of the man’s hands and bolted away.

       “No!” Jeff yelled.  He cursed and threw his hat on the ground.

       “What are you doing?”  Rachel demanded.

       Jeff glared at her.  “I suppose I might as well tell you.  I thought I could take you and hold you for ransom if I found you, since your family’s rich.  But now without a horse... well, I’ll take you anyway.  Let’s get going.”  Rachel, helpless to fight, had no choice but to follow him.

       After awhile, Jeff ran into something solid.  He cursed again.  “What was that?”

       Another bolt of lightning lit the scene momentarily.  Rachel’s heart leaped; they were back at the ranch!  Jeff had gone the wrong way.  She was safe!

Great job to all the entrees! You are all very talented writers and I enjoyed reading every one of your pieces! Sometime this week (most likely tomorrow) I decided I’m going to post the lyrics of the song for you as well as the full song so you can see how close you actually got to what the original music was all about. Believe me, you all got really close without even realizing what it was.

Thanks everyone for entering! I loved all the entries! :)