Our writing prompt, The Bone Woman, came from a poetry anthology of that name with an interesting title poem. Our pieces completely reinterpreted the phrase, all in different ways. Here are some I particularly liked:
The Bone Woman, by Bron Trathen
Her skin was like parchment stretched tightly over her skull, her eyes sunken pools. Every so often you caught a reflection and realized her eyes were moving, watching everything. Her arms lay out across ice blue pillows like bones dug up from an archaeological site. The skin was so fine the bones appeared to be covered in dust.
Her mouth moved and I bent down to listen. A gurgling sound rose up from her chest. I felt as if I was in a place of God: I needed to be quiet and respectful.
With great effort she lifted her skull head up off the pillow, and in a rasping voice she spat the words,
‘Where did he hide my money?’
The Bone Woman, by Anne Kiddle
She collected bones; hundreds of them. Any kind: animal, human, bird or reptile found their way into her collection. They were always white and no longer than 30cm. She never cut or shaped them, just moved them around on a piece of cement sheeting until they formed an artistic picture; like a mosaic.
The latest masterpiece was a landscape, looking out to sea in the background. Tiny bones formed the crests of the waves and slithers of fine lacy ones depicted sheaves of cut wheat. Looking at it from a distance the reality was stunning, I studied it for hours. Suddenly I was inside the picture looking out; now it was almost a prison.
The Bone Woman, by Nan Doyle
She flexed her fingers and stretched her toes. Tall and lean and underfed she rummaged through the bins in the food hall. Leftover bones from KFC and a half eaten bun from McDonalds. The Bone Woman knew that she could survive like this for a very long time. How wasteful the people who frequent these places are. She shook the takeaway milkshake container. Jackpot! Someone wasn't very thirsty. How spoilt these children are. "I want, I want I want...." and then they leave it all behind. She knew that if she picked her shifts and kept an eye out, the staff wouldn't feel compelled to move her on. She wandered in and out the tables, eyes darting this way and that way, watching for the next half eaten meal to be discarded. The Bone Woman was in business.
