Written for RDP, where Martha asks us
to get creative with the word โevanescentโ.
Thanks, Martha! Hereโs my take.
Tag: Time
RDP Wednesday: dwindle
Written for RDP, where sgeoil asks us
to get creative with the word โdwindleโ.
Thanks Heather! Hereโs my take.
Shopper’s Lament
Written for MLMM Monday Wordle #452.
Our prompt words are: forget, reminder,
busy, time, passing, late, missed, find, out,
store, revolve, and schedule. Thanks, Di!
Here’s where the prompt words took me.
Time Won’t Let Me
Written for Thursday Inspiration #302 โ
โRight Place, Wrong Timeโ.
Hereโs my inspirational response.
Just Wasting My Time
Today at RDP, we are asked to share a
story, poem, photo, painting, essay, etc.,
centered on the words โstand inโ. Hereโs my take.
Life Lessons
Written for RDP Friday: PIANO!
This is my story.
September Song
This week at Glyn Wiltonโs Mixed Music Bag,
heโs asking us to write about a song in which
the title or a line mentions the current month.
Hereโs my September artist and his song.
Once A Child
Happy 14th Poet Pub Anniversary!
Written for dVerse Poets Quadrille
Monday – #227 where our inspiration
word is โturnโ. Here is my quadrille.
You Have All There Is
Written for Only Murders In My Mind
Weekly Writing Prompt #66. This weekโs
inspiration is the photo seen below.
This is where the image took me.
Into The Future
Written for Shwetaโs Saturday Six Word
Story Prompt #139 – โwishโ. This is my flash.
Time Unfolds
Written for Sadjeโs What Do You See #291
and Sue & Gerryโs Weekly Prompts โ ย
The One Day Prompt (13) This is my response.
Identical Grief Revisited: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poets โ Fancy
Meeting You At The Pub Today and
Saturday. We are asked to share any
poem of our choosing. I am sharing
a haibun I wrote almost one year ago.
Since then, our feelings remain unchanged,
except now laughter comes a bit more easily.
With Love From Us: A Haibun
Written for dVerse Poetics where the theme is
โDespite and Stillโ. My inspiration is the poem seen below
written by John N. Morris. Here is my haibun.
Another Day: An Ovi Poem
Written for Ovi Poetry Challenge #75.
Our inspiration word is โpersevereโ and this is my ovi.
Memories of Me
Written for dVerse Quadrille Monday #206.
Our prompt word is โbend; here is my poem.

I long to be myself again,
before the pain began.
Now wistfully staring at
old photos
of a younger me,
lithe with slender arms
and shapely legs
which once did bend
with graceful ease.
Dancing dreams fill my nights;
I want to sleep forever.
NARยฉ2024
This is โPretty Ballerinaโ by The Left Banke
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantโs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NARยฉ2017-present.
Tick Tock Ticking: An Ovi
Ronovan Writes has offered up Ovi Poetry Challenge #52
where we are asked to write an ovi using the word
โtomorrowโ as inspiration. Here is my ovi.

Songs say time keeps on slipping
Like brooks oโer shiny stones tripping
And kids their jumps ropes skipping
It just keeps moving on
Itโs safe to say time flies
Like an eagle into the skies
So smoothly, he barely tries
Iโd like to touch the clouds
No time to do that now
Worry lines crease the brow
Donโt fret about when and how
Nothing good will come from that
No sticking your head in the sand
Itโs time to march with the band
And accept a helping hand
It will all get done
Why put it off till tomorrow
When time you cannot borrow
It flies faster than an arrow
Like quicksilver in your fingers
Donโt say there is no time
To make another rhyme
Or an old oak tree to climb
You have all the time there is
NARยฉ2024
This is โFly Like An Eagleโ by Steve Miller Band
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantโs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NARยฉ2017-present.
Driving Lessons

โDanielle wants to learn how to drive, Bobโ
โDonโt look at me, Helen. Last year’s lessons with Vanessa nearly put me over the edge.โ
โWell, I canโt do it! Ever since Marcia Morelli snatched that promotion for Real Estate Agent of the Year away from me, Iโm spending all my time at work playing catch up.โ
โThatโs not my problem, Helen. Anyway, I signed on to coach Brandonโs baseball team this season, remember?โ
โOh, cry me a river, Bob! Youโre the one who took an early retirement; your schedule is much more flexible than mine.โ
โThatโs right, I retired so I could do things I enjoy like playing golf and going fishing. Itโs important to stay mobile after retirement so we donโt become dust in the wind.โ
โWell, if you canโt do it and I canโt do it, why donโt we get Vanessa to teach Danielle how to drive?โ
โAre you out of your mind, woman! Vanessaโs been driving less than a year. She canโt take Danielle out driving! Can you imagine the mayhem when those two hit the streets?โ
โAt least Iโm making suggestions, Bob. All youโre doing is justifying why you canโt do it.โ
โOh, Helen, save your breath and donโt look at me with such contempt. Iโm right and you know it. I wonโt idly sit by and watch both our daughters driving without an adult in the car. Itโs out of the question.โ
โYou wonโt? Oh, thatโs wonderful, Bob! I knew youโd come around!โ
โNow hold on there, Helen. I didnโt agree to anything.โ
โWhy, sure you did, Bob. You said you wouldnโt sit idly by while the girls are driving around without an adult in the car.โ
โBut I didnโt meanโฆ..โ
โLook at it this way, Bob. Danielle is used to being driven everywhere she goes. If you donโt teach her how to drive, youโll just have to drive here wherever she wants to go. Iโd say this is a win/win situation.โ
โAnd how do you figure that, Helen?โ
โSimple! By giving Danielle driving lessons, youโll be doing your part to keep our insurance rates down, youโll be able to coach Brandon’s baseball team and still have time to do the things you enjoy and you wonโt turn into dust in the wind. And all it takes is just one daily one-hour driving lesson! Youโre a genius, Bob!โ
โI am? Yeah, I guess I am. Hey! Wait just a gosh darn minute, Helen!โ
NARยฉ2024
This is Kansas with โDust In The Windโ
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephantโs Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR ยฉ 2017-present.
LESSONS LEARNED

It was painfully obvious that I hadnโt practiced my piano lessons during the week.
When questioned why, I offered the same old tired excuse: โI didnโt have timeโ.
My teacher looked at me and said something I will never forget: โYou have all there isโ.
Think about it.
NAR ยฉ 2023
Word Requirement: 48
ON BROKEN WINGS

Thereโs a feeling you get when a relationship is about to end. It sort of sneaks up on you like ivy climbing up a tree trunk. You see it starting but itโs nothing terribly worrisome; then it slowly starts working its way up the trunk until it overtakes the tree. Itโs got a strangle-hold on that poor tree, suffocating it. It doesnโt matter if itโs a mighty oak or a frail mimosa; the ivy will win out every time.
Thatโs the feeling I now had for Jeremy and I donโt know why. I just knew it was time to break things off. That was clear; what wasnโt clear was how I was going to tell him.
Itโs not as though we started off like a couple of teenagers on a hormone rush. Ours was a gradual connection much like our disconnection. We had chemistry. We could make each other laugh. We liked the same music, the same food, the same movies. We could talk at length or enjoy a quiet, lazy Sunday afternoon. We had incredible sex and a lot of it.
Jeremy gave me a braided love knot bracelet; I accepted it because it was pretty and didnโt feel as permanent as a ring.
We talked about moving in together but it never happened. Now Iโm glad we didnโt; that would have made things so much harder. It was good to come and go as we pleased; now I found we were doing that less and less. I donโt believe it was deliberate; we just started drifting apart. Everything gradually slowed down and cooled off. I realized at some point I had finally exhaled and I was no longer suffocating.
We spent a cool Spring afternoon sitting on a bench at the beach. Watching the waves rolling in and falling back, I knew the time had come. Quietly I told Jeremy what I was feeling and he slowly nodded in agreement. I think he was glad the pressure was off him. I started to remove my bracelet but Jeremy refused to take it back.
I slowly walked away and took the long route home through the park. It had begun to drizzle. I stared down at the pavement as I walked. Just then I came upon a dead bird at my feet. I stood there staring at the poor little finch; he must have fallen out of his nest. I took a few tissues from my pocket, wrapped them around the bird and carefully picked him up; he was still warm, his tiny body limp.
I carried the lifeless bird home and retrieved a small spade from my gardening tools on the back porch. It began raining a little heavier as I dug a deep hole beneath the tidy row of boxwoods; there I buried the bird. Before filling his grave with dirt, I took off Jeremyโs bracelet and placed it across the broken wings.
My face was wet; I couldnโt tell if it was the rain or my tears.
NAR ยฉ 2022