Before I can help it my fingers are flying across the keys, and I’m helpless to stop it. The thoughts are racing by, each one trying to overcome the others. Many succeed in flying straight ahead to the finish line, but some are left far enough behind to get trampled and lost in the mess on the track of my mind. My fingers are helpless in the competition. They just keep tapping and pressing and moving to the instructions they’re given, like announcers trying to keep the rest of the audience informed. The racing thoughts that get lost come out in bits of shattered fragments on the rapidly filling once blank page. A random horseshoe in the middle of a sentence that otherwise would have made perfect sense. A lost stirrup, ripped from the saddle lying by itself at the end of a paragraph, or a scrap of paper with the headline ripped from the top to be hidden somewhere else in the dirt of the track.
It takes a moment, after the burst, before I realize the race has ended. The winners are clear on the page. I need a deep breath because it’s over, and even though I haven’t even left my seat I am exhausted. I’m not part of the competition anymore, I’m a bystander, a visitor looking on from the stands. As I go through the sentences it is just like watching a recap on a screen. By the time I reach the last word, my mind and fingers in tandem have had to edit and cut. Getting rid of the things that don’t make sense, disregarding the racers that came in last, and painting the victorious in the appropriate light for the prize winning picture.
But this is just the derby, wait till the stakes get higher.
©2021 Jai Lynn
This post Vignette #30 “The Racetrack” appeared first on Jai Lynn.
Jai Lynn 
You’ve earned yourself a follow for this one 🙂
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Aww thanks so much ❤ ❤ ❤
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You mind sharing where you are from? I’m curious because of the influences on your writing. Who are your favorite authors?
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‘Course, no worries. I’m from the United States! And as for my favorite authors I have so many, haha! Primarily though I love Maggie Stiefvater, Erin Morgenstern and Diana Wynne Jones 😀
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Haha.. I was hoping you would tell me which state! .And yes, Stiefvater, Morgernstern and Jones are all great writers. Personally I most enjoy fairy-tails, I read them to my kids as well 🙂
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Oooo gotcha sorry! New Jersey, haha! I can’t live without fairytales either 😀 In simple ways they teach such important lessons
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Thanks for taking the time to respond I love your blog! Wishing you a wonderful Sunday, Be Safe 😉
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Of course! And thank you so much for your kind words, that means a lot!! Stay safe as well and sending good vibes your way ❤
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👍 👍
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Love the way you used the picture, the Depth and relatability you gave it
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Thank you so much! 😀 I really enjoyed writing this piece!
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You have descriptive and detailed content that you can really picture what is happening. Thank you for sharing this piece.
Lauren.
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Thank you for the kind comment Lauren! 😀 ❤
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