Written for Muse on Monday
where the image below is
our inspiration and the prompt is
about someone who has to stay seated.
Here’s my take.
Whether day or night, regardless of the season or the passage of time, Carl sits perched on the edge of a weathered chair, the wood faded and dull from years of anxious waiting. You see, his son, Dan, enlisted in the army decades ago, leaving behind a promise of return and a mother’s tearful farewell. Each day, Carl listens intently to the crackling radio, his only connection to a world bursting with news of war and peace.
As years slip by like shadows on the wall, Carl is haunted by memories and the echoes of laughter. The photographs on the mantle, yellowed with age, tell stories of a joyful boy who became a brave soldier.
Friends stopped visiting after Carl’s wife died. For too long now it’s just been Carl, his radio, his chair, and his lonely memories. As dusk falls, he whispers a prayer, hoping the end of the war will finally bring Dan home. Until then, he sits and waits.
NAR©2025
This is “Danny Boy” by GENTRI Covers
All text and graphics are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.
The Elephant's Trunk 
Great story and use of the prompt, Nancy. Thanks for taking part. Have a great week!
-David
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Thanks very much, David. You too!
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Decades? Methinks the old man has to stop waiting…
Beautifully written.
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Maybe I should have named the story Way Too Long Already! 😂
Danke!
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Hahahaha! Funny lady.
Bitte!
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The pipes are calling Danny boy to symbolize a farewell and a sense of longing for the one departing. Lovely post, Nancy.
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This is one of those songs that always leaves me with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Thanks very much, Jim.
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OK, so now that you have us all in tears, where are we going next?
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I was waiting for someone to point out the obvious! It’s definitely a lugubrious day, and let’s not forget the heat is oppressive. It was 80º at 9AM. How is it up by you?
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We’re at 85 and climbing; heat advisories, humidity. I ran out of to get the Sunday papers and decided I’m inside the rest of the day!
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Same here with no relief in sight. Oy!
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Stay cool, somehow!
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Oh dear! Found you in spam again!
Just need to get through one more day!
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Achingly sad story. It pains me to know we are going to add to the families missing their young gone off to war and never came back. Will we never learn.
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No, we won’t. As I just said to Penn, this shit’s been going on since Cain whacked Abel. That was the first war. We’ve had plenty of time.
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So moving and relatable Nancy, …but all the more so, knowing there are so many Carls out there, ..past and present,…It seems we’ll never, ever learn, …💫
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No, we never will. And it’s not like we haven’t been warned or had sufficient time. After all, the first war started when Cain decided to pick up a rock and bash in Abel’s head. Thanks very much, Penn.
Alexa …. play Where Have All the Flowers Gone by Peter, Paul & Mary
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You’re breaking my heart, Nancy.
But it’s a beautiful write.
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The Stones sang about Heartbreaker, but there’s no song like this one that gets the job done, and then some. Thanks, Liz.
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Phil is right …you have a way with words 💜💜
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Thanks very much, Willow. ♡
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A very poignant story my friend.
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So glad you think so, cara Sadje. Thank you.
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🩷🩷🩷
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Sadly, there will be end to the ‘wars’, and in the shadows of time, the ‘Don’s’ of Once Upon a Time will not be coming back … 💜😪
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We woke up this morning to the news that we bombed Iran and now I’m listening to Tim Buckley and looking at the sweet faces of these soldiers. What a world. Thank you, dear Ivor.
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Oh dear, I don’t understand… the world has gone crazy, or more crazier … the men in ivory towers play their war games, while the innocent people are being slaughtered … 😊🌏🤨
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Nancy, you do have a gift. Please give us more: I like the way you think, and write.
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Thank you for a sweet and gracious comment, Phil. I appreciate it and you very much.
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