• Home
  • Poetry Prompts
  • For Writers
  • Daily Poem-Subscribe! ✨
  • Teaching Tools
  • Free Stuff + BOOKS
  • Patron Love

Fiction Friday (on Wednesday): Star Trek Encounter

By Sara Barkat 5 Comments

We publish poetry: at T.S. Poetry Press, Every Day Poems, and here at Tweetspeak.

Publishers have their focus. Ours? We look for a certain level of technical accomplishment (great language, great rhythm, no “glitches”). But mostly, to our taste, a poem must have 3 essential ingredients: a story (no matter how subtle), emotional impact, and a final line (or two) that makes you go “ah.”

Writing short fiction is a marvelous playground for the poet to develop these essential ingredients, so we encourage you to try it, and we make a point to feature it. Today’s short fiction is by Sara Barkat, a fifteen-year-old who writes sestinas, sonnets, and whatever else she can poetically get her hands on. Do you sense the poetry in her fiction? Can you put her fiction into your poetry?

______

An Encounter • set in the universe of Star Trek (The Original Series)

Looking back through the innumerable folders stored on my Padd, in an attempt to go through and organize them into some sort of coherency, I found many documents I had forgotten about. One such was connected to a particularly memorable story, an encounter with a most singular individual. I was on a long, tedious flight, and had exhausted all methods of amusement. Most of the passengers were dozing, it being night now according to the planet we’d left, but I was just passing through on a longer journey, and was depressingly alert.

I stood up to stretch my legs, wandering over to the back of the craft. To my surprise, someone was standing there already, looking out the small viewscreen. The surprising thing was not that he, like myself, had obviously had nothing to divert him; but that he was a Vulcan, quite young, dressed in a Starfleet uniform—medical or scientific I couldn’t tell—and that he was smiling, quietly, as if at some private amusement.

I had met Vulcans before—in general, I found them to be excellent conversationalists, if occasionally coming off as slightly superior.

He turned to look at me, as if only just pulled out of his reverie, though he must have heard me minutes before. “The view really is amazing, isn’t it, ” I remarked.

“Mmmm, ” he agreed. “I find the beauty and complexity of the universe to be fascinating. There are always new things to discover, in the smallest particles and the largest galaxies alike.”

“Exactly. And the fact that you can find patterns and similitude in the most unexpected places.”

We fell silent for a moment then, engaged in our own thoughts, before the Vulcan spoke again. “What brings you this way?”

“To Earth or the window?” I quipped.

“Earth; though I’m sure your reasons for coming to the window would make for a captivating discussion.”

I laughed. “Perhaps! Though I doubt it. I’m visiting family, in fact.”

“Ah.”

“My brother is getting married, and, of course, the whole family had to come—even if we haven’t spoken in years.” I shook my head in annoyance.

My companion was looking at me now, thoughtfully. “Perhaps it will be an occasion to patch up relationships, ” he suggested.

“That’s likely, ” I muttered.

The Vulcan hesitated. When he spoke next, he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “In my experience of humans, ” he ventured, “you spend much energy on regretting things that happened, or did not happen.”

“Yes, ” I admitted. “You’re right. Yet have you never regretted anything?” I sighed slowly. “Sometimes it takes more than wishing for a thing to be right to make it so.”

In the depths of space, stars—bigger than can be comprehended with the human mind, small enough to cover with a fingernail—slowly slipped past.

“I am familiar with that, ” he said.

Photo by kurtxio, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Short fiction by Sara Barkat.

______

Try It

Prompt Option 1. Write a short piece of fiction that involves a single event and a dialog between yourself and someone you admire or wish you could meet.

Prompt Option 2. Find the poetry in Sara’s fiction and put it in a poem of your own. Try to capture a sense of story, no matter how small.

______

Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99— Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In May we’re exploring the theme Swans, Swallows, Phoenix.

Every Day Poems Driftwood

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Sara Barkat
Sara Barkat
I like my tea black (with a special love for Indian chai) and my novels long (give me sci-fi, fantasy, or 19th century to make me especially happy!)—though I’m always exploring beyond my known universe and will drink greens, reds, and oolongs, and read almost any genre or style that crosses my table. Speaking of the universe, I have a passion for learning about anything from black holes to the mysteries of time. When I’m not sitting by the window, sharing the sun with our little lemon tree, I can be found making lemon cupcakes and other confections, creating art (pen and ink, intaglio, and Prismacolors, please) or moving through the world on the toes of ballet or jazz dance.
Sara Barkat
Latest posts by Sara Barkat (see all)
  • How to Do Literary Analysis: An Experimental Reflection Based on The Yellow Wall-Paper - July 21, 2020
  • The Yellow Wallpaper Film: Interview with Kevin Pontuti & Alexandra Loreth - May 7, 2020
  • Literary Analysis: The Yellow Wall-Paper Affects Us All - February 27, 2020

Related

❤️✨ Sharing is caring

Filed Under: Blog, Fiction, poetry teaching resources, Star Trek Fiction, Student Writing, writer's group resources, writing prompts

About Sara Barkat

I like my tea black (with a special love for Indian chai) and my novels long (give me sci-fi, fantasy, or 19th century to make me especially happy!)—though I’m always exploring beyond my known universe and will drink greens, reds, and oolongs, and read almost any genre or style that crosses my table. Speaking of the universe, I have a passion for learning about anything from black holes to the mysteries of time. When I’m not sitting by the window, sharing the sun with our little lemon tree, I can be found making lemon cupcakes and other confections, creating art (pen and ink, intaglio, and Prismacolors, please) or moving through the world on the toes of ballet or jazz dance.

Comments

  1. Will Willingham says

    May 15, 2013 at 8:27 am

    Sara! So happy for a glimpse into your work. Honestly, I don’t know where to start.

    The big/small characterization of space, the depth of your insight into regrets, the odd feeling I get when I consider a person how far into the future still doing the same as we do now — traveling for a family matter, not speaking in years…

    And the last line.

    Reply
  2. Maureen Doallas says

    May 15, 2013 at 10:17 am

    Sara, you have a marvelous way of capturing and sustaining voice in your writing. This one is full of persona. The details you use show such an understanding of characterization and how to create scene and atmosphere.

    My favorite line: “I had met Vulcans before….” It’s wonderful what you do with that.

    Reply
  3. L. L. Barkat says

    May 15, 2013 at 10:01 am

    I could say all the same things. So, consider them said.

    But I also noticed the pacing. You have a really good way of extending a moment by inserting action (in this case, meditative action in the context of setting) between dialog. Very powerful, Sara. Made me a little teary-eyed. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Megan Willome says

    May 16, 2013 at 1:37 pm

    Sara, I like that early in the story, you say that Vulcans are excellent conversationalists, and then you prove it by giving us an excellent conversation.

    I want more! Gimme, gimme, gimme!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. This Week's Top Ten Poetic Picks | Tweetspeak PoetryTweetspeak Poetry says:
    May 16, 2013 at 8:04 am

    […] fans in our midst, and released two pieces yesterday in honor of the new film: a fiction feature, Star Trek Encounter, along with three Star Trek poems. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

get the sample now

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café. You're a regular? Check out our January Menu.

Keep the World Poetic

❤️

Welcome a little patron love, when you help keep the world thoughtful and poetic.

5 FREE POETRY PROMPTS

Get 5 FREE inbox poetry prompts from the popular book How to Write a Poem

Join the Poetry Club

Join the poetry club, when you become a subscriber to Every Day Poems ✨

The classic—Now a Graphic Novel!

"Stunning, heartbreaking, and relevant illustrations"

Callie Feyen, teacher

read a summary of The Yellow Wallpaper

Recent Comments

  • Megan Willome on The Generativity of Wild Things: On Rethinking Our Relationship With Money
  • Rick Maxson on The Generativity of Wild Things: On Rethinking Our Relationship With Money
  • Bethany R. on Poets and Poems: Troy Cady and “Featherdusting the Moon”
  • Megan Willome on Children’s Book Club: ‘Katy and the Big Snow’

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

The New York Observer

Tumblr Book News

Join Tweetspeak Poetry

Categories

Explore Work From Black Poets

Learn to Write Form Poems

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

Free Printable Poet Bios

Browse all poet bios now

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

See all 154 Shakespeare sonnets in our Shakespeare Library!

About Us

  • • Our Story
  • • Meet Our Team
  • • Literary Citizenship
  • • Poet Laura
  • • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • • T. S. Poetry Press – All Books
  • • Contact Us

Write With Us

  • • 5 FREE Poetry Prompts-Inbox Delivery
  • • 30 Days to Richer Writing Workshop
  • • How to Write Form Poems-Infographics
  • • Poetry Club Tea Date
  • • Poetry Prompts
  • • Submissions

Read With Us

  • • All Our Books
  • • A Ritual to Read to Each Other
  • • Best Love Poetry
  • • Book Club
  • • Children’s Book Club
  • • Every Day Poems
  • • Literacy Extras
  • • Literary Analysis
  • • Poems to Listen By: Audio Series
  • • Poets and Poems
  • • VerseWrights Journal
  • • William Blake Poems Arts & Experience Library
  • • William Shakespeare Sonnet Library

Celebrate With Us

  • • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • • Poetic Earth Month
  • • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • • Poetry at Work Day
  • • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • • Take Your Poet to School Week
  • • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • • Give the Gift of Every Day Poems
  • • Our Shop
  • • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • • Donate
  • • Blog Buttons
  • • By Heart
  • • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2021 Tweetspeak Poetry · Site by The Willingham Enterprise · FAQ & Disclosure