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 #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

Sweet Wonderment of Nature

I'm blessed to live right next to a local park with a creek meandering through it. Those who know me on Facebook have seen my various photos and videos from my meanderings there. Here is a poem I wrote a couple of days ago after one such meander.

The light of day
The dark of night
The rich brown loaminess of the soil
The verdant green of the grass
The rich textured shades of browns and greens of the trees
The amber waves of grain
The vibrant reds, blues, purples, yellows and oranges
The rainbow of the flowers and fruits of Nature!

The ebb and flow, fast and slow of the water
Down the channel, crashing over the rocks

The rut of the deer
The cry of the hawks
The skitter of the slithery things in the brush
The red-winged blackbird perched on a tule rush

Ah, the sweet wonderment of Nature!

Earth Day - 22 Apr 11

Yes, I missed yesterday altogether - I will write two poems one day this weekend to make up though. My goal is 30 poems in 30 days and I will make that by month's end.

Today is Earth Day, first celebrated in 1970, and as I look around I think Man has created more destruction and poisoning of the planet that hold our lives in Her hands then moving back to connection with the natural world in the years since.

With that in mind, here is today's offering


An Ethical Life

Sitting outside on this April day reading The Sun
on Earth Day, an interview with a man named Singer
on how to live an ethical life leads

And leaves me cold, thoughts chilled by the
potential effects of his utilitarian pragmatism

I agree we are stewards of the Earth and all the
denizens that dwell there on and therein and that
stewardship has many facets and phases

However, I do believe every being, every item
inert or alive, animal, mineral or vegetable
has a purpose and a reason for being

I also believe that plants and animals alike
were put here for our use,
our responsible use

Rules of such use are laid out in many
ancient texts, and if you look at the rules
you can see the reasoning behind them
despite the age of the information

We humans are one part of a much larger ecosystem
one we are destroying with our technological way of life

We create more poisons than we can mitigate
with our machinery and our diet of choice

Our planet is tipping out of balance due to our behavior
and soon She will make the decision to move back
into balance by force if necessary, if She still can

And as I close, I shake my head at my neighbor who
shows just how disconnected from the natural world
we have become just since the first Earth Day
was celebrated before he was born

He could not tell by the feel of the air around him
that rain was not threatening today, for all there
are clouds flowing overhead on their way
to the mountains

He probably flipped open his iPad to check
the weather app, since he is too disconnected from
Mother Earth rely on his own human instincts

Sapphic Verse

Today I tackle Sapphic verse - 11/11/11/5 - syllable count. Another traditional form of poetry. This one was inspired by the events of the day. I rescued a lizard who the cats had brought in - I believe for the third time - sans tail, and put him in the front flower bed this morning. This afternoon, I was out reading a book in the sun, enjoying the warmth, looked over to our planter which is sadly now without a tree rose due to the powerful winds a month or so ago, and said lizard was peeking around the corner. He scuttled out a bit, got scared and went back under the planter. I watched him do this two or three times while I was outside today.

Little Lizard

I rescue a lizard from the house today
The cats brought him in, they thought with him to play
Not today I say as I put him outside
In the front rose bed

I come out to sit, read, and enjoy the sun
The lizard peeks around the planter at me
Now he scuttles forward a bit, still looking
Then creeps out some more

Come to me, little lizard, I will not bite
Unlike the cats who took your tail and caught you
Ah, frightened by the edger, you hide again
Come out tomorrow?

5 Apr 11 - Spring is Here

Many of us are blessed (cursed) with seasonal allergies - hayfever - which is starting to rise now that Spring has sprung and things are a'blooming! That is the inspiration for today's haiku-style one stanza poem.

Sneezing symphony
joins coughing cacophony
Ah yes, Spring is Here!

Savoring the Stillness

Today I move as through water,

slowly,

enjoying the stillness of the day

No neighborhood hustle or bustle

No parents herding children here or there

No lawnmowers or leaf blowers

No hammers or saws

Just birds twittering,

chirping,

singing in the trees

The breeze making music

through the neighborhood windchimes

gently moving leaves,

flowers,

and twigs on the trees,

Making the smaller plants sway to Nature’s music

Sunday Poem Basis

Today is a day to enjoy the stillness. Not a lazy day, and not necessarily a slow day. Just one to stop and listen to Nature and enjoy her music. No pondering of much or mindless repetition - just stop, listen, and enjoy the stillness!

Red-Winged Blackbird

Red-winged blackbird trills

Wind tousles tree leaves, grass blades

Mourning dove does coo

Juncos come and gone

Finches and sparrows have too

Red-winged blackbird stays

Doves here all year round

Red-winged blackbird comes in spring

Flys home in the fall

Sitting in the reeds

Lighting on the tree, the fence

Red-winged blackbird trills

About the next poem

I love red-winged blackbirds, especially listening to them sing in the spring. The population took a serious nose-dive somewhere between the early 1970s - when I used to see them as we were traveling around in our motorhome - and the early 1980s - when I was old enough to drive and see things for myself. Now I live near an ephemeral stream that has reeds in it that the birds like to gather in. They light in our neighbor's tree and on the fence, and start their songs in the spring.

So, inspired by hearing their songs not only where I live, but also while I was out on a bike ride in another county (the bike ride is called Party Pardee, and goes around Pardee Lake) today, I created the poem for today.

It's a set of four haiku-like stanzas, since I love that form, especially for nature-related themes.

Enjoy!