Word Association: Metaphorically Speaking

I am taking a weekend workshop on metaphors.  How to use them, when to use them.  Thought I would share a few exercises just for the sake of having something to write.  I have included a description of the exercise and then what I came up with in the short span of time allotted to write.

1. Close your eyes and envision death.  What is the first image that comes to mind?  Think about it, see it, then write what you see...5 minutes.  Don't overthink...just free write.

Death
The reaper stands over his body, scythe in hand, waiting for the precise moment to swing, severing the last life strings of his being.  Strings so badly frayed that they hang by a single thread.  One more abuse of the already fragile body will snap the breath from him and the reaper will have captured his pray.

But he is patient.  In his dark robes, head cloaked, he lurks in the shadows.

2. Same as above but this time envision happiness.

Happiness
Is a child squealing in delight at the kitten that scurries past,or the squirrels skittering up the rugged tree trunk.  A child, who for no one else, is herself.  Able to relish the beauty in a tainted world.  The beauty that most take for granted.  She is the freedom that we all desire.  That we all felt once, but soon became shackled by the chains of life.

3. Again the same as above but this time, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of self?

Self
In the breeze outside my window, tiny leaves dance on the currents.  A joyful song that no one else can hear.  It skitters and floats, just beyond your grasp, constantly eluded by a graceful swing and a twist.  You reach again, wanting so desperately to touch even the rough nubbed end of the stem but you miss and fall to your knees.


Give it try.  Share if you like.