Haibun, Poetry, Shadorma, Theme Prompt, Writing Challenge, Writing Prompts

A Jelly Jar of Stars

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for David’s Wea’ve Written Weekly.
Our PoW this week is Reena, who has chosen
the theme “East Meets West”. Our challenge.
is to combine one Western poetic form with one
Japanese poetic form. This is my Haibun/Shadorma.

Image by Me & Copilot

They grew in the shadowed place beneath the fence, modest as a whispered secret …. lily of the valley, their white bells hanging as if listening for something only they could hear. I picked them without asking. I simply knew, the way children know certain things, that these flowers were meant to be carried inside with both hands …. tenderly, carefully.

Mom took down a jelly jar …. not a vase, just glass that had once held strawberry jam …. filled it with water, and set my small bouquet on a crocheted doily in the center of the table. Then she stepped back and looked at it the way people look at things they mean to remember forever.

Two dozen long-stem red roses in a Baccarat crystal vase would never be as wonderful in her eyes.

small white bells…
asking for nothing,
give so much…
gentle stars
floating on a sea of green
now take center stage

NAR©2026
#W3

This is “Lily of the Valley” by Queen

W3 Prompt #213: Wea’ve Written Weekly

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, except where otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

43 thoughts on “A Jelly Jar of Stars”

  5. Nancy, this touched me. I can remember picking lily of the valley at our first house. They grew in such a dense perfusion along the side of the house that their perfume would fill the house every time we opened the door or the kitchen window! I put them in the bedroom to have that scent all evening!

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    1. Val, your description is so personal and real, I can actually smell lily of the valley as I sit here reading. That was such a memorable and beautiful time in my young life; I still have such a vivid memories of picking the flowers and delivering them to my mother. I haven’t seen lily of the valley growing here in our garden and I miss that. I’ve become nostalgic for that sweet plant and I need to do some research to see how I can get them to grow in our garden. Thank you for reading my story and for enjoying it so much. I appreciate it. ☺️

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      1. Nancy, you can buy some Lily of the Valley at most nurseries. They spread fast and are very hearty! They are very like the wild violets – just leave them alone and they will spread in all the shady spots!!

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  6. Nancy, I feel like the old jelly jar “that had once held strawberry jam” makes this memory feel so full of love, and it turns those tiny flowers into something more special than any fancy bouquet 🌿

    ~David

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  10. Utterly beautifully written. I knew I’d love the whole piece when I read this line “modest as a whispered secret …”
    Lily of the Valley were my mother’s favourite flowers. There’s something magical and precious about them. 🥰

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    1. You know, Lesley, I believe anything that comes from the heart is beautiful …. whether it’s a song, a painting or a handful of wildflowers. Thank you for such a beautiful comment; you’re not the first to tell me Lily of the valley was mom’s favorite flower. 🥰

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