🐘 Nancy is a storyteller, music blogger, humorist, poet, curveballer, noir dreamer 🐘
Written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt #364
where we are asked to be creative with the word
“squander” in exactly 11 words. Here is my creation.
Squander not your thoughts
on the predestined;
it is useless worry.
NAR©2024
11 Words
This is “Why Worry” by Dire Straits.
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for Weekly Writing Prompt #363
where we are asked to write something in exactly
42 words, incorporating the word “cabinet”.
This is my story in 42 words.
When the landlord came calling for the rent, she pleaded for more time.
He refused and viciously slapped her across the face.
She fell against the cabinet and a rage grew in her like never before.
Grabbing the hidden gun, she turned.
NAR©2024
42 Words
This is “The Landlord” [UNCENSORED]
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt #361;
we are asked to get creative in exactly 57 words and
include the word “classic”. This is my response.
“Oh, baby, you gotta see her! She’s a real beauty!
What curves, what style!
And the color is perfect …. it’s called Marina Blue and the paint job is amazing!
Brand new dash, broad grille, quad headlights and a tail sporting a fan-shaped alcove on both side panels.
I’m telling you, honey …. this one’s a classic!”
NAR©2024
57 Words
Author’s Note: That’s what my husband sounded like when he called to tell me about his ‘new’ vintage car …. a 1958 Chevy Bel Air. That was back in 1969 and he was still my boyfriend at the time. He was crazy about that car and took such good care of it. After about 8 months, someone stole it right off his driveway; that was one of a handful of times I’ve seen my husband cry.
This is “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)” by Billy Joel
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #361;
93 words exactly using the prompt word ‘pilgrimage’
It was the early 1970s and the four of us scored tickets to see Uriah Heep in Allentown, PA. It was the dog days of August … the kind of sun that blisters your skin in minutes … and the concert was outdoors. The drive was 3 hours each way in scorching temperatures but we were going to that concert come hell or high water. Allentown became our Mecca and the road trip our personal hard rock pilgrimage. The details of that day are a little sketchy but the concert was freakin’ awesome.
NAR©2024
93 Words
This is “Easy Living” by Uriah Heep
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for
Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Saturday Mix Story Starter,
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge ‘flow’
and
Weekend Writing Prompt #360 ‘expire’.
There was no way he was doing it. And that was that.
He was a creature of habit, never deviating from the norm.
Let the cat out at 7:00 every morning.
Thermostat set at a constant 68º.
Teeth cleaned every four months without fail.
Just as rivers flow downhill, his course was ever steady.
No goddamn way was he going to let his parking meter expire.
NAR©2024
66 Words
#StoryStarter
This is The Outsiders with “Time Won’t Let Me:
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #359 (tempest, 29 words)
Moonwashed Weekly Prompt (gilt-edged) and
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge (pointless)
It’s springtime! I love to see my flowers growing but sudden storms wreak havoc on defenseless, gilt-edged blossoms.
roses madly thrashed
spring’s wild tempest rains attack
my pointless garden
NAR©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 Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #358 ~ Superscript
Just like something out of the evening news.
Did the attractive young woman, a former nurse and mother of one toddler, actually feed her little boy bleach or was it just a dreadful accident?
How could any jury not believe the clean-faced white woman in the proper skirt and blouse as she tearfully recounted the events of that horrific morning?
But they did believe her and only the most perceptible viewer in the courtroom or the living room caught the slightest cold-blooded superscript curl of her top left lip.
NAR©2024
89 Words
This is Emily Smith with “The Cruel Mother”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #357
using the word “temperature” in exactly 37 words.
Oven temperature set for 425ºF.
Brush turkey liberally with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and drape bird with bacon strips. Place in oven and go watch the Macy’s Parade.
Return to heavenly, scrumptious golden-brown deliciousness.
Happy Easter!
NAR©2024
37 Words
This is “Easter Parade” by Frank Sinatra
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Written for Story Starter – Saturday Mix and
Weekend Writing Prompt #356 –
prompt word ‘froward’ – 46 words exactly
In a fit of rage, she smashed her champagne glass on the marble floor and stared defiantly at him.
“I dare you!” she challenged, her breasts heaving.
How he adored this obstinate, froward redhead he’d married. He pulled her to him, hungrily kissing her swollen lips.
NAR©2024
46 Words
This is “Fire Dance” by Rainbow
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt is challenging us to
get creative with the word “adventure” in exactly 76 words.
This is my response to that word challenge.
You ever have that feeling you get when you meet someone for the first time …. and you know?
That’s what happened to me when I first met Bill …. almost 56 years ago to the day. It was our first date, the dreaded blind date, but we had chemistry and we still do.
Sure, we’ve had our misunderstandings …. who hasn’t? …. but what an adventure our life has been.
He’s the fisherman but I caught a keeper!
NAR©2024
76 Words
These are The Marvelettes and this is “Don’t Mess With Bill”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
A Dectina Refrain and a short poem
for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt.
Word requirement is 65, prompt word is “tap”.
Tap
tapping
on my door.
Who can it be?
It’s too dark to see
but the noise just won’t stop.
I get up from the sofa
and tippy toe to the front door;
peek through the window but no one’s there.
Tap tapping on my door. Who can it be?
Noise from outside.
It’s too dark to see.
No place to hide.
Stop watching me!
NAR©2024
This is Billy Squier with “In The Dark”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Not
a peep
did she make
in her white dress
receiving the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
NAR©2024
15 Words
This is Dalai Lama meditation, “Purification”
All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt
has challenged us to write something clever
in exactly 91 words, using the word “intent”.
This is my response in exactly 91 words.
Angie eased into the bathtub.
Her once lithe and graceful body had been rebelling for a while; now it had declared mutiny.
She didn’t expect to have free time today so this moment of solitude was bliss.
Angie barely had time to relax when she heard the persistent nudging on the door; a black paw soon found its way into the narrow opening.
Sidney, the cat.
He was intent on getting into the bathroom to see what Angie was up to without him.
“Sid!” Angie scolded playfully. “A little privacy, please!”
NAR©2024
91 Words
This is Rufus Wainwright with “Alone Time”
All text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt is asking us to
write something original in exactly 38 words,
using the word “gregarious”. This is my response.
Look at that old skinflint!
He’s always been the cheapest, nastiest SOB in town.
Now he’s all chipper, greeting people with friendly smiles.
I’ve been wondering where this sudden gregarious attitude is coming from.
Two words: employee discount!
NAR©2024
38 Words
This is Chris Cagle singing about that “Wal-Mart Parking Lot”
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt has challenged us to write
creatively in exactly 60 words, incorporating the word ‘vapid’.
Using a few other prompt words, here is my 60-word response
in the form of a Dectina Refrain and a Haiku Duet.
Old
man with
vapid thoughts
and empty eyes
lives in denial;
puppeteers pulling strings
feeding hypnotic untruths
into flaccid, desolate brain
on the outskirts of insanity.
Old man with vapid thoughts and empty eyes
Gray, grayer smoke
above the clouds in the sky
no light shining brightly
Brown dying trees
dried leaves lay at the roots
no buds tacitly emerging
NAR©2024
60 words
This is “Fool On The Hill” by the Beatles
Dectina Refrain:
This refrain is written as follows:
1st line – 1 syllable, 2nd line – 2 syllables
3rd line – 3 syllables, and so on for 9 lines;
the 10th line is comprised of the first four lines
as one stand-alone line.
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt has challenged us to write
a poem or prose of exactly 97 words, including the word ‘anfractuous’.
I’ve added a few other prompts I had laying around, namely from
FOWC with Fandango, Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge and
Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge. This is my 97-word story.
They lived in lush green perfection of ripe fruit and pristine water. When their misadventures and disobedience angered the Maker, they and their sons were cast out.
One son, a farmer, made an offering of paltry wheat; the Maker was displeased.
The other, a shepherd, offered his firstborn lamb, which pleased the Maker.
In a panic, the jealous farmer killed his brother.
Enraged and saddened, the Maker banished the murderer, condemning him to a life of endless wandering.
Anfractuous paths covered the land. The farmer roamed for years, until blindly falling from a cliff to his death.
NAR©2024
97 Words
This is Hozier with “From Eden”
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
Two prompts today:
Weekend Writing Prompt and
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge ~
to include the words ‘bridge’ & ‘turmoil’,
all in 53 words. Here is my story.
There are certain lines that exist in society, even among the closest of friends, lines not meant to be crossed.
She not only crossed the line …. she hurtled the bridge and jumped the shark.
And why? She’s only human and carelessly, regrettably didn’t think things through; now her brain is in turmoil.
This is Billy Joel with “You’re Only Human”
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt
is challenging us with the word “note”;
in exactly 72 words, this is my response.
My mother was a terrific cook; her specialty was, of course, homemade Italian food – manicotti, arancini, etc.
She left me her ‘recipe book, which was really nothing more than scribbled notes. Her ‘detailed‘ cooking instructions read: “some cheese” and a “glass” of water.
I can remember the glass she used to add water to whatever she was cooking; it was an old Flintstones jelly jar.
How I wish I had that jar!
NAR©2024
72 Words
This is “Come On-A My House” by Louis Prima
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt
is challenging us with the word “note”;
in exactly 72 words, this is my response.
🍸
After thirty minutes and two martinis I began feeling paranoid. It was painfully obvious, at least to me, that everyone who saw me sitting by the bar thought I was either an elegant call girl just past her prime or a lonesome, tedious housewife who had been stood up.
I became aware of someone approaching. I looked up expectantly, smiling; it was just the concierge. Whispering discreetly, he handed me a note.
NAR©2024
72 Words
This is “The Queen of the Blues”, Dinah Washington, with “Drinking Again”
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
Sammi at Weekend Writing Prompt
has challenged us to write a piece
of exactly 87 words, making sure to
include the prompt “appointment”.
This is my response to that challenge.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“An appointment? I didn’t even know I was coming!”
“Haha! You should have seen your face! You looked like you were gonna die!”
“Funny! You’re a regular Jerry Seinfeld!”
“Listen, toots! You barely made it up here so don’t push it. HE remembers everything!”
“Up here? So I made it? Oh, thank God!”
“You’ll get your chance.”
“Gatekeeper, can I put in a good word for a friend?”
“No saving seats.”
“Can I tell you her name?”
“No need. HE already knows.”
NAR©2024
87 Words
From the soundtrack of The Aviator this is Rufus Wainwright with “I’ll Build A Stairway To Paradise”
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
This is my 45-word response to
Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt
incorporating the word “guide”.
Our guide,
he truly tried
to hide
from the cannibal tribe
but they circled wide
and would not be denied
eating our group fried
at the feast for chief’s bride.
We offered a bribe.
With whisky plied
they let it slide.
Bright side:
nobody died!
NAR©2024
45 Words
This is Mark Knopfler with “Cannibals”
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
It’s a hat trick!
Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge,
Fandango’s One Word Challenge and
Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt.
🎄 👓 😉
In my tree
winking at me.
Can you see?
No?
You need glasses!
NAR © 2024
13 Words
This is “Dizzy Miss Lizzy” by the incredible Colt Clark and the Quarantine Kids. Of course it is!!
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
As I sit here in my recliner looking out my bedroom window, wondering where Christmas has gone, I ask myself if I should venture out for my walk.
“It’s a bleak-looking day and awfully chilly. Stay inside where it’s warm and comfy.”
But then I remember that my wonky knee could use the exercise and time is fleeting. In just 83 days the beautiful blushing bride of nature will arrive and winter will be nothing but a distant memory.
NAR © 2023
79 Words
This is Felix Mendelssohn’s “Spring Song, Op. 62 No. 6″
This portfolio (including text, graphics and videos) is copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and not for use by anyone without permission. NAR © 2017-present.
This weekend our challenge was
to write a poem or a piece of prose
in exactly 21 words using the word “ocean”.
Here’s mine.
Life is strange.
I’ve lived years on
one continent
only to find a friend
across the ocean
who became
my sister.
NAR © 2023
21 Words
This is Lucy and Ethel singing “Friendship”
And from the 1954 movie “White Christmas”, this is Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen singing “Sisters” (co-stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye).
Their eyes met across the darkened, smoke-filled room. The attraction was too strong for either one to look away.
They slowly circled the perimeter of the dance floor, never breaking the chain that kept them spellbound.
Everyone and everything in the room seemed to vanish except for the music.
They fell into an embrace and began to dance a tango, moving to the rhythm of their hearts.
NAR © 2023
67 Words
This is Lorena Tarantino and Gianpiero Galdi dancing to “La Cumparsita”.
“Watcha staring at, Norman?”
“Ain’t staring, Agnes. I’m observing.”
“That so? Watcha observing then, Norman?”
“Nuthin that concerns you, Agnes.”
“It’s Mrs. Claus with the biggy bumps, ain’t it?”
“She’s got a nice wobble, is all.”
“You idiot!”
**THWACK!!**
“Ow! I gots a biggy bump on me head now, Agnes!”
“Ain’t no bump, Norman! Just a wee wobble.”
NAR © 2023
58 Words
This is Sue Thompson singing “Norman”.
Our summer neighbors were two women from Manhattan; “playwrights”, they said.
There was endless “lesbian” speculation.
The writers called their weekend cottage “Intermission” – tres cool!
Idiots foolishly obsessed over the whole gay thing.
“Who gives a fuck?” I argued. “They’re authors!”
“Says the storyteller!” the idiots jibed.
NAR © 2023
47 Words
This is Elvis Costello & The Attractions with “Everyday I Write The Book”
Today I’m hosting
Name That Tune.
Hit the link; try your luck!
https://rhythmsection.blog/
Come to bed, pretty.
Can you hear the wolf beckoning you?
Let the Sandman cradle you in his arms, protect you from the macabre terrors of the night.
You trust me, sweet child, don’t you?
Foolish.
NAR © 2023
36 Words
This is Metallica and “Enter Sandman”
Please join me today
as I host another round of
Name That Tune.
It’s an oldie but a goodie!
https://rhythmsection.blog/
General Agricola was restless; for three nights he did not sleep. The Caledonians were plotting, of this he was certain. They were a pompous lot, thinking they could defeat his legions.
There was fire in his belly and he was determined to prove himself irreplaceable to the emperor, Vespasian.
Agricola summoned his first officer, Acilius. “I require the services of the scribe, Tertius. Depart immediately and bring him to me.”
Acilius did as commanded. The wizened scribe, Tertius, sat at the foot of Agricola, his calamus at the ready. He began the most crucial message of his life.
NAR © 2023
98 Words
This is Civil War doing “Rome Is Falling”
I search high, I look low.
Where did my damn glasses go?
They aren’t here or over there.
I can’t find them anywhere.
Not on the couch or near the stove.
I’ve been home, did not rove!
Not by the sink, under the bed.
Well look at that! They’re on my head!
NAR © 2023
52 WORDS
For M
This is “Keep Searchin'” by Del Shannon
