When my writers’ group, which I still fondly refer to as Seven Chicks On A Sunday Afternoon, decided that we needed a name, the Write Now Salon was born. The WriNoS (wait till they hear that one) gather once a month and party free write to champagne prompts prepared by our group’s facilitator the beautiful and talented Laurie Lessen Reiche – painter, poet, photographer.

As anyone who has done a free write knows, some strange *$%&# gets put down on paper when you hand your muse a pen and set her loose for five minutes, especially when your favorite body part is the subject and the jump-off line is written in bold print:

In celebration of my bellybutton, I must tell you first about my toes.

Five little piggies* have sprouted from the ends of each foot, a total of ten, all in ascending, or descending order, depending on how you look at things like appendages. My love for my perfect piglets could have lasted decades more, but for the market swine and his attraction to his neighbor—the hermit who’d never left the house, not even for roast beef. Indeed, you’d think the porker in the middle would have shared his food with his unemployed neighbor. That glutton! No wonder the little guy on the end ran away when Bunion came to stay.

In celebration of my bellybutton, I must tell you that I am as surprised as you are that it has a voice all its own, one that tells tales of mischievous toes. Bellybutton—it sounds like something you’d push, like a doorbell. Surely, that would only be if it were an outie. An innie will swallow up your fingertip, leaving it with the scent of roquefort cheese once it was removed.

Thank you, bellybutton! I celebrate you! And your ability to weed out the aliens among us.

Okay, now – I think I’m ready for another prompt.

Won’t you join us?

*For my readers that are not familiar with This Little Piggy, a word and finger play nursery rhyme, piggies refers to toes. Here is the full text.

OR
Enjoy this fun animal version: