How a Sestina Comes to Life

Okay, what have I got to work with? A chicken,
a frog, a bucket, an accent and bird feed?
Then I need to stitch this all into a folk tale
like a seamless tailor, no doubt.
If those are the prompts, let the story start
So, let's see...once upon a time

Oh, now, isn't that kitschy, once upon a time?
Let's be original. In ancient Estoria, all chickens
are modified hens except Mr. Rooster who starts
up the day with the most bathetic call for feed
that you've ever encountered. In fact, I doubt
you could top it: If-you-don't-feed-me-I'll-lose-my-tail

Here's the sad part, this rooster has a perpetual tail
stuck on its...tush. No matter how many times
you pluck it, the feathers grow back. I doubt
anyone's actually tried. You see, this bird--this chicken--
also has teeth. And when it is hungry, it's gonna feed
on anything that wiggles. The other day, I had a start.

It was pre-dawn. The eastern sky had just started
to...hey, wait a minute. There's suppose to be a folk tale
going on here. I forgot to include that. Someone feed
me some ideas. I'm in Estoria in another time
dimension with a feather and a hungry chicken.
Nothing is coming to mind. This, reader, is where a writer's doubt

sets in on her ability to create an impecable, beyond doubt
taradiddle of a tale. As my mind simmers, I feel a story start
to weave itself into this: There once was a hungry chicken
(If you ask me, at this point in the saga, this tale
could use some spice, as my mother said all the time,
When in doubt, cher, use cayenne pepper!) who was pecking feed

from the barnyard when a frog fell on her feeding-
head. She looked upward, "Oh, no. I very much doubt
that the sky is falling. It's the end-times,
I'm sure. Just look at that frog! Prophecy starts
with just one amphibian until God's entire tale
comes true. Rapture is for the brave, not chickens!"

It's possible that the end times is a lie they feed
to gullible, namby-pamby chickens, but I doubt it.
I think the end times is the start to a never-ending tale.

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Prompts for February 16, 2011

Take a nursery rhyme or folk tale and accessorize it with the following:

• a hungry chicken or frog
• a bucket of lollipops or needles
• a foreign accent or other peculiar way of speaking
• tag with gwwe
• publish by February 22nd for inclusion in next week's column