FFF55: Omens

Dan had heard all the superstitions from his old grandma but he ignored them.  Shoes on the table, horseshoes upside down, red and white flowers in the same vase. All supposedly portended death – but he couldn’t see it. He didn’t see the bus coming as he stepped under a ladder to cross the road either.

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Over on my other blog I've been having some recent discussions about old beliefs and what some would call superstitions. (In my family they're considered a way of life.) I guess it's brought some ideas to the front of my mind.

This microfiction is for the G-Man.

May in, coffin out.

May blossom sheds its off-white petals
casting down its smell of tombs.
Flowers the colour of a shroud
must not be brought indoors.
Mother fears its power
and forbids it in the house.
To bring it in invites Death.
Disease, decay, defeat.
Do not pick the blooms.
Their beauty is a trap
you can't escape.



My mother believed that bringing the flowers of hawthorn into the house would bring about a death in the family. I'm not sure I believe it - but I don't risk it.