One for Sorrow

Image above: One for Sorrow (installation by detail) by Stuart Bastik and Maddi Nicholson

One for sorrow

Two for joy

Three for a girl

Four for a boy

Five for silver 

Six for gold

Seven for a secret never to be told

One for Sorrow (installation by detail) by Stuart Bastik and Maddi Nicholson

A trip to North Walney in Furness has inspired this writing prompt. There is a wonderful art project there, 'One for Sorrow', which is is a 'non-civic war memorial that reflects on the fragility of people and nature sited within what was once a massive military training camp and is now a National Nature Reserve  managed by Natural England.' You can find out more here. It is especially poignant for me as my dad trained here with the RAF during the WW2. 

The rhyme above will be familiar to many of you. The art project went from 1 to 7, but my memory of it from childhood takes it further:

Eight for a wish

Nine for a kiss

Ten for an evening ending in bliss

Writing prompt: 

Either take one line of the rhyme and write down whatever comes into your mind - perhaps a memory, something that is happening right now, an image - without stopping for seven minutes.

Or take several, or every line of the rhyme and write.

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