Written for Saturday Scribes.
Weβre given an image and asked
to write our response in exactly
100 words. Hereβs my take.
Tag: Destruction
Start Again
Our gracious host, Rochelle, encourages us
to be creative by writing a story in 100 words
or less using the photo prompt below. This is
Friday Fictioneers. Hereβs where the photo took me.
Prophecy
Today at RDP, our host Martha Kennedy would
like us to share a story, poem, photo, painting, essay,
etc., centered on the word βhowlβ. The image is from
Mike Jackson at Only Murders In My Mind. Hereβs my take.
Black Day In July
This week at Glyn Wiltonβs Mixed Music Bag,
heβs asking us to write about a song in which
the title or a line mentions the current month.
Hereβs my featured July artist and his song.
Fallen Soldier
Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
encouraged to be creative in 250 words or less
using the photo prompt below. Originally written in 2022
as a 750-word story, this is my revamped submission.

I stood at the bedroom window staring at the devastation caused by the previous nightβs storm. My wife Dianna is going to be crushed when she sees what happened during the night β Mother Nature at her fiercest. I heard Dianna stirring in bed.
βMike, itβs so early. Whatβs wrong?β she asked sleepily.
βWe had a pretty bad storm last night. Itβs not good, hon. We lost some treesβ I replied.
She threw off the covers and sat on the edge of the bed, feet skimming the floor searching for discarded slippers. βNot Red. Please donβt say we lost Red!β
Dianna gasped loudly at the sight before her, then the tears came. She cried for a long time. I held her and let her cry; this was not something carelessly brushed aside or easily forgotten.
Finally her sobs lessened and with a broken heart and a weakened voice she sighed,Β βPoor Red! How I loved that beautiful old tree. Look at him now, a fallen soldier.β
We sat on the bed side by side; I spoke tenderly. βThereβs no shame in mourning the loss of a tree. Itβs not silly. It is, after all, a living thing. Does it feel pain when a leaf is plucked or a branch broken? Does it thirstily lap the rain after a dry spell? Does it feel your heartbeat as you rest a weary back against its old, sturdy trunk? How can we presume such things are not possible? No, it’s not silly at all.“
NARΒ©2024
250 Words

This is “Falling (Death Of A Tree)” by Over The Rhine
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantβs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NARΒ©2017-present.
April Showers: A Haibun
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #359 (tempest, 29 words)
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt (gilt-edged) and
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge (pointless)

Itβs springtime! I love to see my flowers growing but sudden storms wreak havoc on defenseless, gilt-edged blossoms.
roses madly thrashed
springβs wild tempest rains attack
my pointless garden
NARΒ©2024
29 Words
This is “Dead Flowers” by the Rolling Stones – Totally Stripped
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantβs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NARΒ©2017-present.