National Poetry Month - 2016

and as usual for the past year and writing challenges, I'm behind...

Here are my poems written and shared thus far...

6 Apr 16

Light - light bright - where light?
Bright light - your light - where light?Light your light - your bright light - for you are my light, love


6 Apr 16

So many of the
Voices from my youth now lost
2016 - ouch!

2 Apr 16

Bees are a'buzzing
And flowers are a'blooming
Pollen - oh, achoo!

1 Apr 16

Fools and their money are soon parted
So the saying goes
I day fools and their callings are soon parted
For the part that goes
You must live life according to these rules
And live in these boxes
But wait - there's more to these rules
Yeah, just try to outfox us
It can be done of course
By those who live by our own rules
Live only by the dark horse
And refuse to be ruled be those fools
And we part their money from them in the end...

Catching up with older poetry...

 Okay, here is some other poetry I wrote along the way…

29 Apr 14

Inspired by a vagabond seen on the drive home today...

Vagabond shoes
Pack on his back
Swinging his guitar
Playing the blues?

I think not

Up with the moon
Out with the sun
Back with the twilight
We play the blues

Not he who wears the vagabond shoes

The freedom of the open road
The prison of the cubicle

Hard knocks life
Paperwork strife

We sing the blues

Not he who wears the vagabond shoes

27 Apr 14

Choice

Control the beast
Tame the beast
Become the beast
Realize you are the beast
Accept the beast
Channel the beast

That is choice

15 Apr 14

Hero or monster
Depends on perception
Who benefits, who doesn't

Some say the heroes have gone the way of the dinosaurs

I say they have not

I say they are on their vision quests right here right now, gathering the light with which to illuminate the world again

I say each of us is a hero in our own way

We have traveled the road of travails and fears, moved through the trials and fears, came out on the other side unscathed yet changed with a gift for the world to share

If the world chooses not to see, the gold becomes dross, the wheat becomes chaff, the fire becomes ash

If one person, one person, chooses to see, what a marvelous transformation can be

Are we willing to take the journey, return unscathed yet changed, and turn the dross into gold for simply one person, even if that person is ourselves?

13 Apr 14

There is a stately large oak tree in the park we walk through often that we have yet to see any birds in.The other trees are full of life when the birds come through. That and reading "The Power of Myth" rendered this poem today:

The Dying Tree

Why do the birds not flock to this tree?

For it has lost its Deity

Its roots are in the ground yet not connected to the Earth
Its branches are in the sky yet not connected with the Sun nor the Moon
Its bark is the air yet not connected with the Wind or the Rain

The tree is in Nature yet not connected with Nature

For it has lost its Deity

The tree eats
The tree drinks
The tree sleeps

But it is not long for Here

Once its leaves no longer sway and sing with the breeze, it will truly be gone

For it has lost its Deity

13 Apr 14

My take on a statement poem...

Statement: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

If dreams had wings, I'd be riding dragons

Dreams do have wings, so why aren't you riding dragons?

Fear
Fear of heights
Fear of fire
Fear of falling
Fear of failing

So, tell me again why you're not riding dragons, really?

13 Apr 14

Let us
Dance to the music of the spheres
Find the yin to our yang
Rejoice in our own mortality
Sort perception from Reality
Hear the Truth with our own ears
Live in the Here and Now

This is the joy of Being

13 Apr 14

I wrote this when I was only six poems behind (rather than the 11 I'm now at...):

Six poems behind
Barely have time for a rhyme
Working full time
May seem sublime
But at times leaves creativity dead

1 Apr 14

Starting off with a senyru with Italian flair - just having a bit of fun!

April 1st, Fools Day

Ah, giorno di capriccio!

Divertente, si?

It's Been A While…National Poetry Month 2015

Apparently I didn't post on this blog at all last year…and I don't remember how well I did in writing poetry in April 2014 anyway - can find out on the National Poetry Month page on Facebook easy enough (I think).

I have written poetry every day this month though - thus far…

Here are my offerings for those first 12 days of April 2015:

1 Apr 15

Wanting rain not sun

Loving sun, needing water

How dry we are now

2 Apr 15

Wanting rain, not wind

Wind drying, water better

Drier we are now

3 Apr 15

Mother moon, new moon

Black moon, super moon, bleak days

Full moon, red moon, why?

Omens portend scary nights

What man breaks, nature makes right

4 Apr 15

Being female, I have

an internal inferno

that comes on at night

sleep disturbances are rife

Change of Life not so much fun

5 Apr 15

Rain? Naught but rumors of rain


Yet not a drop against my windowpane


Weathercaster's April Fool's joke

But wait, what's that sound?


The patter of drops on my windowpane!


Rumors of rain made real

6 Apr 15

Through the tear-stained pane

Flowers, yellow and purple

Comfort my sorrow

Knowing you're gone forever

Your garden is memory

7Apr 15

Thunder and lightning 


Not so very frightening 


Hail and funnel clouds


Furious rain against panes


Thank you, blest Mother Nature!

8 Apr 15

Snow on mountain peaks

Gold at the end of rainbow

Water's sweet relief

9 Apr 15

Writer's block have I

Poem, poem, where are you?

Made eight days - now nine!

 10 Apr 15

Friday eve, full week

Fingers not yet bony

Rather, brain tired

Two for 12 Apr 15 (oops…)

Healthy, wealthy, wise

how have definitions changed

from Ben Franklin's time?

and here's poem #12 for the month…

values, principles

all boil down to our own

personal ethics

Balance

Yes, it has been a while since I wrote and posted a poem. This came from the prompts from a Yahoo writer's group I belong to (CHPercolators). Enjoy!

In the province of apathy the scarabs drive, heading to the scales of fate

Driving to see if the feather of truth balances each their weight

If the scales balance, the scarab becomes the feather - free to stay or fly as she chooses

If the scales tip, the scarab once again becomes the beetle coming forth from the dung to climb the seven rungs, at each level asking his heart not to stand witness against him

But first they must cross the sands of apathy, where they may yet drown and never again be found

For such are the vagaries of Fate

Haiku for Mars

So, NPR posted about MAVEN sending haiku to Mars - and of course, I took up the challenge. The first stanza is all that was submitted (only one entry per person for this one)...

Haiku/Senyru to the Red Planet

Red planet, sister
what lessons can you teach us
before it's too late?

Red planet, brother
what wars decimated you
long 'ere I was born?

Red planet, mother
did your people flee here
for a better life?

Red planet, father
protector or destroyer
sent us sons of strife

Red planet, beacon
lesson for us all on Earth
to reconnect with her

Red planet, ghost of
things yet to come, future can
be changed; can we choose?

Day 16 - Focus

Focus
Brings into being
That which is focused upon

Focus
Draws out the light
Draws in the darkness

Draw out the light
Draw out the laughter
Draw out the twinkle
That lives on ever after

Draw in the darkness
Draw in the night
Draw in the sorrow
Lose sight of the light

Focus on the light
Drown out the darkness
Draw out the twinkle
That lives on ever after

Day 15 - #3 - Industrial Heritage

Inspired by a TEDTalk on Industrial Heritage by Timothy Scarlett:

Writing the biography of

a building

a machine

a kiln

a workplace

a residence

Dissecting and examining the remains

of all of the above

Tying the threads of

human history

the concrete jungle

the wild heritage roses

the industrial revolution

the aesthetics of industrial decline

What are we leaving for 

the archeologists

the paleontologists

the curiosity seekers

of the future

to find

to dissect

to analyze

and to theorize

about?

Day 15 - #2 - For

Also inspired by the TEDTalk by Tim Gallaway:

Silence for serenity

Windsong for peace

Birdsong for love

Rapids for cleansing

Flats for clarity

Ah, the sounds of nature!

Day 15 - #1 - Nature vs Concrete

A haiku/senyru inspired by a TEDTalk video by Tim Gallaway:

Spiritual moments
Awakening in nature
how, Concrete Jungle?

Day 8, #2 - Windy Haiku

Wind, blustery, gust
Bird feeder falls, windchimes sing
April more like March

Day #14 - Animal Nations

The chollima paws the ground
nostrils flaring, teeth baring
angry neighs pass its lips

the dragon slowly turns its head
to glare at the small winged steed
wings twitch a warning with their tips

The eagle bats a baleful eye
across the sea, across the sky
wonders if and when the apple will fly

The people wait with bated breath
fearful of a fiery death
wish the dragon would lend a hand,
put dragon's claw over horse's neck

Day 13, #2 - Butterfly Tanka

I see butterflies
On the wing, in the meadow
Fluttering, landing
On the flowers, loving sun
Beautiful butterflies, smile!

Day #13 - If I Were Not Afraid

The impetus for this was a line out of Sheryl Sandberg's book - Lean In - what would you do if you were not afraid?

What would I do if I were not afraid -

I would have run away as a teenager and made my own way

I would have gone to visit my dying daddy anyway

I would have joined the man who loved me since I was fourteen in Germany

I would tell myself that what I want DOES matter

I would follow my gut and my heart no matter what

I would not worry about the cost

I would simply not let anything be lost

But wait, life is not over

Life is not done

I can follow my gut

I can follow my heart

I can follow my dreams

And I am no longer afraid!

Day #8 - Farewell to Buttercup

This was inspired by the photo below, taken in the park behind my apartment complex on a slightly less beaten path near the creek:

Here lies Buttercup

Taking her final rest

In the place she loved best

Sleeping with the deer, turkeys, hawks, and squirrels

Lulled by the sound of the wind in the trees and the flow of the creek


Sleep well, our beloved

Until we meet again

Day #7 - Where I Feel You

This was inspired by a country song about a young man who felt his dad in the pick up truck. (Lee Brice - I Drive Your Truck)

Where We Connect

I feel you beside me when I'm walking in the park
by the creek
watching the squirrels
listening to the birds, the creek, and the crickets

I remember following you on our property
when I was little
while you were driving poles to put
barbed wire fencing on

I think of you every time I hear
a country song
You watched Hee Haw
and then Muppet Show with me
on Sundays when I came over
after Mom divorced you

I see you in my children
and my grandchildren

I love you, Daddy

Day 5 - homes

A rather unkempt car
Or a place on the local church steps
At least the car is a mobile home

When you live on the steps
You schlep your home around with you
From step to step
Church to church
Living exposed
Prey to the elements
Or worse
Fellow humans

At least the car provides cover from both

Unless of course the humans
Force their way into your abode

Day #4 - Random Bits

So, I was sitting at the Fox and Goose on 10th and R and this is what I jotted down:

Sitting in the local pub
- a British one
sans the soccer game

How can you be a
British pub
without a soccer game
- futball -
on the telly?

Looking up, I see
a mannequin dressed
as a cricket player

At the bar,
a man pays for
three ladies' first round

One says "dogs are work"
to which I rejoinder
"that's why I prefer my cats"

To my left, young - relative -
biologists talk about
spotted owls and such

Looking around, I see
my goodness My Guinness
Trumans Beers
Tetley at Mason Arms
and the Golden Cock

The sign says
Courage is the word for beer
and we are apparently
in the City of Westminster
on Bulinga Street

I am imbibing a Hoegaarden
and learning that in the 1300s
tennis was played in the streets

It became a nobleman's game
after the bubonic plague
swept through the streets
killing the players

Ah, my date is here
time to close for now...

Day #3 - Spring Musings

As I wandered through the park
a couple walked their dog behind me
off leash of course
no one pays attention to the leash law here

The dog, a Weimaraner, wanted badly
to chase the golf disk (we call them Frisbees)
however was well behaved enough not to

As I wound down the path near the creek
I noticed the foxtails had gotten tall
and there were California poppies
crossing the path into the meadow
marching to the creek perhaps

There were other wildflowers too
blue ones and white ones and yellow ones
and purple ones - the kind that make me sneeze

There were ants on the trees and on the grinding rock
there were ladybugs along the path
there were bees dipping into the dandelions
there were song birds in the trees and the reeds

I wonder if the woman treading determinedly past me
with her iPod on
Could hear the trill of the redwinged blackbird
or the call of the magpies or the song of the crickets?

I wonder if the track team or the Little Leaguers
ever take the time to stop and smell and listen
and just be
just be one with Nature in all her glory?

I wonder if the little boy with the teddy bear
I passed on the way back home will be
allowed to just be
just be a kid playing along the creek
catching frogs and chasing dogs,
turning over logs looking for bugs
or snakes or such

It is nice to wander through the park
and just be
just be....me

Day #2 - Suitcase Dreams

Suitcase Dreams

The great roots of night grow
suitcase dreams of easy choices
hopping freight trains
riding off into the great unknown
to a better
or at least different
life.

There are no easy choices
however
and come morning
the suitcase is unpacked once again
and put back in the closet
as the lonely train whistle
blows in the distance

National Poetry Month 2013 - Poem #1

It's National Poetry Month again! 30 poems in 30 days - go!

April Fool

Life is not ended
The world is not gone
You walked through the fire
and you have won

Life is just beginning
The world is still spinning
You have faced the devil
and you have won

Life is worth living
The world is worth giving
You still respond with love
showing you have won

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