Written in response to a cool image I saw
on Bushboy’s World. Thanks to Brian for
letting me use it and for filling in the gaps.
Tag: Family
Lessons In Bronze: A Troiku
Written for Haiku Fridays with J-Dub
where Jill challenges us to write our
haiku using this image as inspiration.
Reflections
Written for Great Minds Think –
“What Next: Friday Challenge”.
Our hosts, Sarah & Rohini, ask
us to write a poem or story using
any or all of these five clues:
Tenants
Written for dVerse Prosery: Something
Shuffling Overhead. Our host, Kim, invites
us to write a piece of prose in 144 words or
less, incorporating a line from the poem
“Body” by Alice Oswald seen here:
“the dead were settling in under their mudroom
and something was shuffling overhead”
It’s My Life
Written for Reena’s Xploration Challenge.
Reena asks us to describe ourself, our life,
or both in 6-10 sentences and, using AI,
create an image inspired by what we wrote.
Many Unhappy Returns: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Written for Great Minds Think – “The Five
Clues Challenge”. Our hosts, Sarah & Rohini,
challenge us to write a poem or story
incorporating these five clues:
a red umbrella, a missing tooth, 1984,
a woman who hates birthdays, a bird that cannot fly
Almost Home: A Widow’s Song ~ SS Sultana
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
“SS Sultana: A Fire That Changed Laws”.
This poem/ballad was written in the voice of
Sarah Campbell, widow of Pvt. William T.
Campbell, 7th Tennessee Cavalry. Everything
I have written about Pvt. Campbell, Cahaba,
Andersonville, and Sultana is true and based on fact.
What Goes Up…..
Written for Great Minds Think – “Oops”.
Our hosts, Sarah & Rohini, ask us to write
a poem or story about a situation where the
best of intentions ended in the worst results.
Also for Gerry & Sue’s Weekly Prompts –
The One Day Prompt.
Bulbs: Haibun
Written for dVerse Poets Haibun Monday –
‘Vision’. Our host, Frank, invites us to
write a haibun that alludes to vision.
A Toast To Treachery: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle.
Here are Brenda’s prompt words:
swallow, tag, find, music, swelling, bell,
delirium, spell, pales, knowing, just, senses
RDP Sunday: fig
Written for RDP where drkottaway asks
us to get creative with the word “fig”.
Bye Bye: Song Lyric Sunday
Written for Song Lyric Sunday –
“Withdrawing, Moving Away,
or Separating”
Eco de la Sangre (Echo of the Blood): A Seguidilla
Written for Tanka Tuesday. Our host, Yvette,
asks us to write a poem celebrating ancestry.
I have chosen a Seguidilla in honor of
Hispanic Heritage Month
Unbreakable
Our gracious host, Rochelle, is asking us to get
creative in 100 words or less using the photo
seen below. This is Friday Fictioneers.
Speechless
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt
where our host Sammi asks us to use
“trade” in exactly 90 words. Also
for Sue & Gerry’s Weekly Prompts
Colour Challenge – “lilac”.
The Cousin
Written for Muse On Monday.
David challenges us to write a
story involving a distant relative.
Greyhound, 1938: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Haibun Monday:
Wedding Bliss. Our host, Mish, ask us
to write a haibun based on a wedding.
Dedicated to my godparents.
RDP Sunday: fishing
Written for RDP where drkottaway asks us
to get creative with the word “fishing”.
In Tuscany
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt
where our host Sammi asks us to use
“alfresco” in exactly 50 words. Also
for Sue & Gerry’s Weekly Prompts –
The One Day Prompt.
Between Two Shores: Vito’s Story
Inspired by Max’s blog, ‘Old Steam Ships’ –
SS Andrea Doria: The Last Great Ocean
Liner Disaster. This one is personal;
this is the story of my father,
what he felt in his heart and
what he would have said.
RDP Monday: groggy
Written for RDP where segoil asks us
to get creative with the word “groggy”.
Thanks, Heather!
RDP Thursday: cone
Written for RDP where Brian asks us
to get creative with the word “cone”.
Ashes
Written for dVerse Prosery – Luminous
Accountings. Our host, Dora, invites us
to write a piece of prose in no more than
144 words incorporating the following
line from “King of the River” by Stanley
Kunitz: “…and the iridescent image
swims through a mirror that flows.”
First Day Rush
Written for MLMM Monday Wordle;
the prompt words are shown below.
dashing ~ morning ~ bed ~ forecast ~ always
sighed ~ give ~ neck ~ head ~ warmth ~ laid ~ part
Mom dashing in at morning light,
Clothes laid out from last night.
“Five more minutes,” one sleepyhead sighed,
Warmth still calling from the bedside.
Check the forecast, grab a snack,
And please don’t forget your backpack!
Always rushing …. the bus won’t wait
The trickiest part is not to be late.
Neck craning back,
give one final wave bye ….
they’re off to high school
And Mom wants to cry.
NAR©2026
#MLMM
#Wordle
This is “School Days” by Chuck Berry
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated, and may not be used without permission. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
The Wedding Toast
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt
where our host Sammi asks us to use
“felicity” in exactly 78 words. Also
for Sue & Gerry’s Weekly Prompts
Weekend Challenge – “confused”.
In Plain Sight: A Minnie Ming Mystery
Borrowed Words, New Worlds Challenge –
our hosts Sarah & Rohini invite us to write a
piece of our choosing incorporating the
following quote by Arthur Conan Doyle:
“The world is full of obvious things which
nobody by any chance ever observes.”
What’s Left Behind
Written for Sadje’s weekly question:
What Do You See?
The Chase
Written for Reena’s Xploration Challenge,
which is to write a poem or story as
inspired by parataxis and hypotaxis.
What My Mother Taught Me
Written for dVerse Poets – ‘Quadrilling
without a care in the world.’ Our host,
Sanaa, asks us to write a poem in 44
words using a form of the word “care”.
Wild Roses
Written for MLMM Monday Wordle;
the prompt words are shown below.
change ~ known ~ fault ~ seen ~ money ~ silence
flowers ~ excited ~ irritated ~ hand ~ table ~ kept
