Oh my! Today’s prompt is really stretching my brain cells. (By the time this publishes, it will be yesterday’s prompt.)

Day Seven comes to us from Gloria Gonsalves, who challenges us all to write a tritina. The tritina is a shorter cousin to the sestina, involving three, three-line stanzas, and a final concluding line. Three “end words” are used to conclude the lines of each stanza, in a set pattern of ABC, CAB, BCA, and all three end words appear together in the final line.

I planned to write about a new friend today and link to the article I wrote for the McHenry Chronicle.  For some reason the article is not on-line, so I may just show you photo of Ellie.

Knowing Ellie

Fresh life connects my soul to new friend.

Hardly new, 90 years makes her  old.

Teen years gnawed by Siberian prison.

 

She struggled for home to find another prison.

A stranded refugee story seems too old.

Reaching out to comfort, she recalls her friend.

 

Grit, and grace is new and old.

Yet joy springs from my friend.

Her life abundant, free from past’s prison.

Old keys unlock prison of a friend.

If you want to read more about Ellie and her adventures in the Siberian labor camp and her subsequent life as a refuge go to http://chronicleillinois.com/category/news/mchenry-county-news/ and search for my name.  If you come up empty, write the editor a sweet not asking about Ellie. She’s pretty darned amazing.