Whirl I never!

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After several years of taking part in The Sunday Whirl, I dropped out on August 6th, 2017. I thought I’d pop back and see what’s going on!

I’ve used all but one of today’s words in my prose, art, but I’ve knocked up a piece of art at the bottom so it didn’t go to waste!

And by the way, if you were expecting my customary audio, forget it, there was no way I was going to attempt reading this out loud!

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I had a strange dream the other night, I often do after a few drinks! I imagined the world caught fire. I even thought I might have been to blame, after all I am quite accident prone!.

At first I found it shocking but it wasn’t as drastic as I imagined. It was not a catastrophe, certainly not a disaster, quite the opposite infact.

For out of the ashes, a raw unblemished world appeared. A world the way ours would have been, should have been, were it not for the failings of mankind. 

The good folks of the world rose too; the bad, left behind to perish. Soon social discourse would bring us together, soon we would be singing in perfect harmony.

*

I see a girl sitting alone on the grass, in her hand, a flickering candle. ‘All you need is love’ she whispers. One by one the villagers join her. ‘All you need is love’ they sing.

Somewhere in Russia, a devushka wanders into a square clutching a candle. Minutes later the square is filled with people singing. ‘Vvse, chto tebe nuzhno – eto lyubov’. 

Across the Latin world, joyful crowds gather. ‘Todo lo que necesitas es amor’ they sing as golden flames dance to the tune. 

Athwart Africa, Asia and the Middle East people join in, all you need is love

In war-torn countries, those once forced to fight lay down their arms and pick up candles,  they sing together, ‘kl ma tahtaj ‘iilayh hu alhabu’. 

The world is illuminated by candles, brightened by song. To the east, south, north, and the farthest west they sing. Suddenly the world is a happy place. We sing as one, ‘all you need is love’.

Then all is peaceful.

*

A girl sits alone on the grass. ‘Love is all you need’ she whispers.

‘Love, love love’, I say as I wake.

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33 thoughts on “Whirl I never!

  1. Violet Lentz's avatar Violet Lentz September 28, 2025 / 15:23

    I would like to join you in that dream…..

  2. paeansunplugged's avatar paeansunplugged September 28, 2025 / 15:30

    What a wonderful dream! If only it could be reality…

  3. Suzette Benjamin's avatar Suzette Benjamin September 28, 2025 / 15:33

    I love your message of hope at the end of your dream Keith. A great way to step back into the prompt. Love your artwork…superb!

    • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings September 29, 2025 / 12:42

      That’s really nice of you, Suzette.

      I fear this will be a one-off step back as the link I left yesterday at The Whirl seems to have been totally ignored – it’s still ‘awaiting moderation’!

      • Suzette Benjamin's avatar Suzette Benjamin September 29, 2025 / 13:47

        Well Kudos to Keith, you put a lot of effort and light into this your content. That is what matters, I feel.

  4. beth's avatar beth September 28, 2025 / 16:00

    oh, I love the ending of this!

  5. Dale's avatar Dale September 28, 2025 / 16:32


    That is a beautiful dream. Would that we could make it a reality!

    • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings September 29, 2025 / 13:02

      For now, dreams are all we have. Thanks, Dale.

      • Dale's avatar Dale September 29, 2025 / 16:31

        We could each make a little effort…

  6. Sadje's avatar Sadje September 28, 2025 / 16:58

    This is a beautiful dream Keith.

    • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings September 29, 2025 / 13:04

      If only it was more than just a dream. Thank you, Sadje.

      • Sadje's avatar Sadje September 29, 2025 / 13:11

        I hope so too. We need to wake up NOW!

  7. Prior...'s avatar Prior... September 28, 2025 / 18:40

    dude, you are such a phenomenal writer – and I liked the flow and content here – what a dream to wake up from – pretty cool
    and why did you stop doing the sunday whirl?

    • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings September 29, 2025 / 08:52

      Thanks so much for your generous words.

      I gave my reason for leaving as – my prose was drowning in a sea of poetry! I moved over to Friday Fictioneers where that week, there were no less than 98 contributors – how things have changed!

      • Prior...'s avatar Prior... September 29, 2025 / 17:05

        Hi – I love that phrase about prose getting drowned in poetry (had to think about it for a minute) – and I remember when FF had close to 100 – things sure have changed with many challenges.
        And I know many of the FF authors now run their own challenges – but lots of changes – like I still miss the WordPress main photo challenge – which used to have 600 or more folks joining in.

      • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings September 30, 2025 / 11:18

        Those were the days my friend….!

  8. Rene Heartsong's avatar Rene Heartsong September 28, 2025 / 23:28

    Oh…Keith…this is 5-Star and “weep-worthy”. You’re certainly much more than a Funny Man…(not that I actually thought you had no other aspects, just sayin…) Have a blessed week!

    • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings September 29, 2025 / 13:30

      That’s so nice of you Rene, thank you so much.

      Did you hear the one about … never mind!

      • Rene Heartsong's avatar Rene Heartsong September 29, 2025 / 20:33

        Now, see? I started cackling, and there wasn’t even a joke!!! You’re the BEST!!💖

  9. lifelessons's avatar lifelessons September 29, 2025 / 15:26


    What a lovely story. Oh, if only….

    • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings September 29, 2025 / 15:31

      That’s so kind of you. Thanks so much for dropping by!

  10. thisobscurelife's avatar thisobscurelife October 1, 2025 / 09:22

    One need not stop dreaming upon awakening. It seems so simple “all you need is love,” and yet somehow is so hard to achieve.

    • Keith's Ramblings's avatar Keith's Ramblings October 1, 2025 / 16:35

      It is, but it aught not to be. Thanks so much for dropping by.

  11. purplepeninportland's avatar purplepeninportland October 5, 2025 / 00:10

    If only your dream became our reality. Wonderful writing!

  12. Stine Writing and Miniatures's avatar Stine Writing and Miniatures November 24, 2025 / 02:17


    You really haven’t done The Sunday Whirl since 2017? It seems like you were into just fine!

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