Stine Writing and Miniatures

W3 Prompt #203: Wea’ve Written Weekly: I am a beacon

W3 Prompt #203: Wea’ve Written Weekly
https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/03/18/w3-prompt-203-weave-written-weekly/

I am a beacon

I stand atop a monstrous hill
guarding the people below
keeping the world calm and still
No place left for my life to go

I’ve shone all the light I can shine
I’ve cleared all the paths I can clear
This emptiness is solely mine
the darkness, the shadows, the fear

But leave here, I really cannot
For where else do I have to be
Now standing in my only spot
For the others, life is now free

©2026 CBialczak

Dennis’ prompt: Be the lighthouse

For this week’s prompt, you are the lighthouse.

Write a poem in which the speaker is a lighthouse guiding something away from danger, toward safety, or both.

You can approach this in several ways:

  • Literal lighthouse: A real coastal structure doing its job. Keep the poem grounded in the physical reality of the lighthouse itself—its structure, machinery, light, weather, and surroundings.
  • Metaphorical lighthouse: The lighthouse stands for a guiding force in life: a person, principle, warning voice, memory, or moral compass. The poem explores what it means to hold that position and what it costs to remain visible.
  • Illusory lighthouse: The speaker believes they are guiding others, but the situation may be uncertain. Perhaps no one is watching; perhaps the signal reaches no one.
  • Delusional lighthouse: The speaker is convinced they are performing a vital guiding role, though others may see something very different.
  • False lighthouse: A darker possibility: a beacon that misleads. Historically, false lights were sometimes used to lure ships onto rocks. Your lighthouse might deceive, misdirect, or shine in the wrong direction.

Whichever path you choose, stay close to your lighthouse idea. The poem should clearly show how the speaker functions as a beacon.

Guidelines

  • 20–25 lines maximum
  • Choose a form that suits the subject
  • Build the lighthouse through concrete images, actions, and sensory detail rather than abstract statements

As you write, ask yourself: What does your light reveal, warn against, or guide toward?

24 comments

  7. I love this Christine – your resignation- there’s a striking contrast between the ‘calm and still’ world you’ve created and the ‘darkness’ you’re experiencing internally. It feels lonely but incredibly steady 🙌

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. Christine, thanks for your patience. It’s been a difficult week (and, if I’m honest, a difficult month health-wise) alongside trying to complete a major poetic project.

    You’ve clearly taken on the role of the lighthouse here, and there’s a strong sense of duty and endurance running through the poem. It holds that position throughout, which isn’t easy to sustain. I was particularly keen to see how many poems could sustain the image all the way through — you nailed it.

    You could build on this further by showing what that “light” actually does. Perhaps a moment where something is guided or nearly lost? Then we’d see that role in action rather than being described.

    I appreciate you engaging so directly with the prompt.

    Dennis

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. You really ARE the lighthouse in this write. It gives me a cartoon image of lighthouses walking out to their assigned coastal points and settling down into the earth to do their life saving jobs.

    Nice one Christine 👏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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