Author: Frank Hubeny

I enjoy walking, poetry and short prose as well as taking pictures with my phone.

Six Sentence Story: Up To Something

We were curious enough to ask Gregory what he was up to, but he was smart enough to run his mouth without giving us any real information. Every time we got in the mood to pester him with questions he’d send us on a wild goose chase.

As the years went by he became very good at whatever it was he was doing. We kept chasing geese.

Eventually Gregory moved away not needing our help, I guess, which was fine with me. Like, I mean, who needs him anyway, but I do miss trying to catch those tasty geese.

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Denise offers the prompt word “help” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

April 2026 Limericks

All of these limericks were originally posted to Esther Chilton’s Laughing Along With A Limerick during the month of April 2026.

Cape

With a cape, funny clothes, I will fly
doing good as the bad guys go by.
Some will change. Some will not.
Some get burned. Some have got
nary one good excuse not to cry.

Prompt word: “cape” April 6, 2026

The soft clouds are bright orange in the sky as the sun gives a nod of good-bye.

Trying To Scream In A Dream

Though I thought it might help if I’d scream,
but caught as I was in a dream
a scream couldn’t come out,
no, not even a shout,
and right now I’ve forgotten that dream.

Prompt word: “scream” April 13, 2026

Look how red they are now. See the sound of a wow.

Help!

Like some rocks in a black and blue box
I discovered the truth of hard knocks.
Being knocked all about
I had no breath to shout
except, Help! Get me out of this box!

Prompt word: “box” April 20, 2026 (modified)

See how peacefully fades the red sky.

Floor, Door, More

As I stand on the solid wood floor,
as I walk to the open wood door,
there is more there to see,
but I don’t being me.
Let me change. Ah! Just did! I see more!

Prompt word “floor”: April 27, 2026

Cosmic Photo Challenge: North, South, East and West

Dale offers the prompt “North, South, East and West” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

The photos “don’t all have to be taken from the same spot, or even on the same day”.

Here are some over many years and different places.

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NORTH: Vltava River in Prague from the Charles Bridge
SOUTH: Vltava River in Prague on the Charles Bridge
EAST: St Augustine, Florida, at the old fort facing a harbor leading to the Atlantic Ocean
WEST: Sunset seen from Miami Beach, Florida

Six Sentence Story: The Cookie

People at work said there was something odd about the cafe on the ground floor of the building where our heroine rented her apartment. However, as far as she could tell, nothing seemed at all “odd” about it and the food was delicious.

Today as she entered the cafe the breakup with her boyfriend made her forget what others said about this mom-and-pop Chinese noodle shop. She ordered the same spicy noodles she always did when her mind flagged her with doubts.

After the meal she paid the bill, hesitated before opening the homemade fortune cookie, but then read its message.

The love of God for YOU is the greatest story ever told.

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Denise offers the prompt word “flag” to be used in this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Cosmic Photo Challenge: How Does My Garden Grow

Dale offers the prompt “how does my garden grow” for this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge.

I don’t have a garden, but my neighbors do. Here are some photos from theirs over the years.

White and orange blooming
Blueberries ripening
A lot of yellow and a little blue trying to get through

Proverbial Fairy Tales: Wolf! Wolf! – The End

Once upon a time there was a wolf who loved to eat and a lad who loved crying “Wolf! Wolf!” even when there was no wolf. When people realized after a month or so that the lad was nowhere to be seen they figured the wolf must have eaten him. So, they erected a statue in the lad’s honor even though they couldn’t remember his name and barbecued the wolf.

Pigeons loved the statue. So did the tourists who couldn’t believe that anyone in his right mind would have erected it.

After all of that everyone realized that there were no good reasons, no matter how many times they shuffled them, for anyone not to live happily ever after – which meant there were no good reasons for me not to either – and so we all did.

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Denise offers the prompt word “shuffle” for this week’s Six Sentence Stories.

Cosmic Photo Challenge: Focal Point

Dale offers this week’s Cosmic Photo Challenge to present photos “that lead the eye to a specific place or object”.

To get this effect I think one needs one or more starting points and then an ending point (which might be the starting point through various intermediate points).

I found four photos that I think do this.

This is a wall with missing plaster. Start anywhere along the broken plaster. The final focus is the top of the broken plaster, at least, as I see the picture.
The initial focus is on the dark open doorway with the sun’s light on the walls of the building. The lines of the railing and buildings finally focus my eyes on the trees to the right in the distance which as living objects contrast with the buildings occupying most of the photo.
The curve of the white lights and the curve of the waves made by the boat keep my eyes moving in a curved fashion across this photo. The final focus is the horizon to the right.
The focus here is circular starting with the sun then the silhouette of the people then the white wall to the left and then back through the buildings at the horizon to the sun again. My focus finally rests on the people. Since these three people are together various stories start coming to my mind about them.