_____________________
“spuddle” (17th century): To work ineffectively; to be extremely busy
whilst achieving absolutely nothing.
confessions of a spuddler
16 May 2024 1 Comment
in limerick Tags: busy, spuddle, words
canary yellow(ed)
15 May 2024 4 Comments
in american sentence, ekphrastic Tags: canary, wait, yellow
it’s seems at least half my life (sigh),
i’ve spent waiting…for you, my dear (smile).
walking wounded
15 May 2024 12 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: bitterness, offender, snake, son, venom, wounded
bitten by the snake,
poison circulates system.
venom on the tongue,
with desire to bite back.
why live on blade of bitterness?
if offender will not be offended;
yet stabbed more hearts than one
when chose another over dear son.
_______________________
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written,
“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19, ESV)
relational intuition
13 May 2024 17 Comments
it’s helpful to know one’s place
in any family-style community
to know how and where you belong
to be loved into responsible joy of returning love
why rebel against the obvious good fit?
unrealistic expectations turn gentle contentment
into unnatural tantrums against healthy constraints
before the greening
06 May 2024 4 Comments
in tanka Tags: geese, island, nest, spring, wind
canada geese back
welcome migrants from the north
spring comes with the wind
soon build nest on their island
papa goose protects new brood
selfie reverie
01 May 2024 20 Comments
in free verse Tags: bakery, chai tea, selfie, solitude
can you have a date with yourself?
why, i try that very thing today and
entire affair proves quite enjoyable!
i drive a friend to her appointment
then hold rendezvous with myself
at boutique bakery called Habitue’
barista smiles as i order my lunch:
chicken salad on flaky croissant
(dried cranberries, crisp celery)
i treat myself to a hot chai tea
stirred with sweet almond milk
sprinkled with cinnamon, ginger
we take ourself outside to
gated stone patio, metal table;
sit quietly alone in sunny solitude
clearing the mind after heavy storm.
____________________
Sharing “selfie” poetry with Punam and dVerse poets…
kitty litter
23 Apr 2024 23 Comments
in ekphrastic, limerick Tags: cat, crows, feathers, feline, hunt
there once roamed a fine feline pack
who desired royal avian snack:
“let’s pounce on low crows,
tasty drumsticks dispose
but the feathers we’ll gladly give back!”
Poetry prompt with Melissa at dVerse to write on Wain’s cat cartoons without using word, “cat”.
caretaker
22 Apr 2024 20 Comments
in haibun Tags: caretakers, Earth Day, environment, plastic, recycle, sustainability, trash
My friend Marie is a force of and for nature. She’s come by her fierce soul honestly, through the trauma of living with, not one but two, abusive husbands consecutively; and losing an adult son to hit and run. She’s seen her share of suffering and grief. Yet, she cares about others and about the earth, our home. It hurts her to see people trash it.
She encourages everyone who will listen to recycle. When I lived on the farm (where we burned our own garbage) Marie accepted all my empty milk jugs and other plastics to put in recyclables bin in town. Now I live close to town and bring in our recyclables myself, including cardboard and glass. That makes Marie proud.
Marie picks up trash while on our walks and checks garbage cans for plastic bottles within reach. Sometimes her little car is full of bags of materials to be recycled. It’s almost a part-time job for her, now in her seventies. She may be small but she has a big heart and faith. She believes we must take better care of God’s beautiful world.
earth’s creatures fragile
plastic rings can suffocate
choking on our trash
Written for Earth Day 2024, “Planet vs. Plastics” theme and linked to dVerse poets where Frank hosts haibuns.
for the love of cows
16 Apr 2024 24 Comments
in quatrain Tags: beef, cows, dairy, farmers, herd
i’d like to write a book so that people
would understand good farmers truly care
about the animals they raise and feed
and breed, deliver young, nourish the herd.
it’s more than just business and bottom line
but for the love of cows that farmers will
work hard to keep them growing and alive
thru snowstorms, heat, disease, and parasites.
explain how methane cycle benefits;
how cow manure enhances health of soil.
why farmers plant their fields with corn and hay
to keep cattle content chewing their cud.
cows give us dairy products and real beef
both protein sources good for humankind
we treat our cattle with humane kindness
and they in turn help us to feed the world.
______________
Sanaa hosts poetics at dVerse today featuring poems of Maggie Smith. I’ve written in monologue style with no end rhyme but rhythmic pattern of iambic pentameter.
american devolution
12 Apr 2024 6 Comments
women want to be men, men pretend to be women, kids are confused.
illegals will vote between narcissist or puppet for president.
C.R.T. and D.E.I.* work to antagonize and divide us.
citizens fear christian nationalism as country goes to hell.
__________
*CRT is critical race theory, DEI is diversity, equity & inclusion.
heirloom lost
10 Apr 2024 13 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: antique, box, childhood, dreams, jewelry, memories
my box was antique blue
with a heart-shaped lock,
tiny key and gold filigree-
patterned lid, lifted fragilely
on two hinges to reveal tray
of velvety divided squares
my box held real jewelry,
leftovers from my mother
and grandmother which i
imagined in woke-dreams
they’d worn to royal teas
and exotic travels overseas
my box was old, well-used;
velvet rubbed bare in spots
till hinges broke irreparably
and i left childhood dreams
behind, discarded with box
but kept jeweled memories
______________
Patterned after Gillian Clarke’s poem, “My Box” and shared with Kim at dVerse poets OLN.
that’s entertainment?
08 Apr 2024 34 Comments
in prosery Tags: art, diva, entertainment, music, stars
Angling Agent: I can help you get your big break if you’re ready to deal.
Undiscovered Diva: Ok, yeah. I could use a break so just tell me what I need to do.
Agent: Your songs are too happy…you gotta write something darker, create an edgier voice, if you know what I mean.
Diva: But I think music should lift people up…that’s what it does for me.
Agent: That’s too predictable. You need to push the envelope with revealing costumes too.
Diva: I want to sell my music, not my body and soul!
Agent: Look, if you impress the right people, they’ll give you a million dollar record contract!
Diva: Do they even produce records any more? I just want to make my music.
Agent: What does it matter, that? The stars we see are already dead…and dead stars still burn.
____________
Prosery prompt with Dora at dVerse. Write 144 words and include this line from poet Amy Woolard: “What does it matter that the stars we see are already dead.“
a poem in my pocket 
You must be logged in to post a comment.