Poetry, Word Challenge, Word Prompt, Writing Challenge, Writing Prompts

Bug Off!

Written for Sue & Gerry’s Weekly Prompts
Weekend Challenge
word ‘anxiety’.


Image by Me & Copilot

Anxiety came a-calling today,
uninvited, it wanted to stay ….
it checked the locks (not once but twice),
perused my texts and gave advice
then sat down in my favorite chair,
whispering, “What if…?” everywhere.

I offered tea. It offered dread.
We stayed up half the night in bed,
dissecting what I said ten years before.
Bug off, anxiety! There’s the door.

NAR©2026

This is “High Anxiety” from the movie of the same name by Mel Brooks channeling Frank Sinatra.

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thank you for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.


32 thoughts on “Bug Off!”

  1. Oh, Nancy, this is me after getting up for the loo in the middle of the night. Suddenly, my brain remembers something said and done 10 years and even 60 years ago! Why do I worry about it now?

    I love your post and thank you for taking part in the challenge. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s crazy how that happens; I can definitely empathize! I’m so pleased you enjoyed my post, Sue; the feeling is mutual and it’s always a great pleasure for me to participate in your challenges. Thanks so much for your very kind comments. Enjoy the weekend; I’m praying for some UK rain! 🥰

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Nancy, I see you tried to link up to dVerse with a haibun but it’s not showing up at Mr. Linky. Also in the comments I get, I approved the post and clicked on the link but it said post didn’t exist. Will you please check your link?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa, I forgot to change the publication date for tomorrow and when I saw it was publishing today, I scrambled to change the date. That’s why you got the message. You can ignore it; my haibun will now publish tomorrow and will also be on Mr. Linky. Sorry for the confusion.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, I used to suffer badly from it years ago but I’m good now. 🥰 I’m not sure about this Grace Cummings chick! 😂

      BTW we’re watching an Australian Broadcasting Co series called Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries about a 1920s female sleuth in Melbourne. It’s campy and marvelous entertainment. Absolutely stunning wardrobe and cars from that period.

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