urgent gathering
collect last autumn pollen
sweetest honey crop
dark motives
03 Nov 2026 25 Comments
in ekphrastic Tags: city, darkness, moon, night, shadows, shame
Melissa invites dVerse poets to write ekphrastic poetry inspired by some uncharacteristic art work by O’Keefe.
night descends sharply
on sin city’s (angled) streets
church spire forgotten
as daylight fades and
shadows deepen in
red-light district.
windowless buildings loom
above pandora’s box
of evil’s guilty pleasures,
hidden under cover
of darkness (and doom).
no one to blame
(or shame) if
no one sees…except
for glaring white
street light on corner
and scandalized moon
blinking from blue,
beyond innocence.
wild wind
03 Nov 2026 19 Comments
in quadrille Tags: clouds, leaves, rain, trees, wind
fall trees dance, tall trees sway
Wind whistles shrill ‘tween twigs
on blustery day.
red leaves swirl, dead leaves brown
Wind howls loud through treetops
to twirl leaves down.
old nests tremble, cold clouds strain
Wind sings gustily at window
and flings soaking rain.
De encourages us to sing a quadrille at dVerse Poets pub…
hot cocoa(ing)
29 Oct 2026 23 Comments
in free verse Tags: campfire, flame, married, marshmallow, wood
two (not too) old
long-married people
went camping to light a fire.
came prepared: dry wood,
newspapered conversation,
(only need one good match)
he sparked (then flamed!)
she marshmallowed slowly
over love’s warmed embers…
. . . . .
Bjorn invites us to “verb our verse” (using nouns as verbs) at dVerse MTB prompt.
gatherers hunt
26 Oct 2026 22 Comments
in haibun Tags: pumpkins, autumn, hunter, leaves, harvest, pheasant, gun, full moon
Most farmers in northwest Iowa have finished harvesting. Corn and soybean crops are combined and stored in elevators or bins, waiting for favorable prices. The garden produce has been eaten or preserved for winter. Plentiful pumpkins gathered up to sell at local stands and markets. Some orange orbs are carved into fierce or friendly faces, holding lit candles to flicker from porches.
The sun sets earlier now, as Harvest Moon is followed by Hunter Moon. Perhaps the native Lakota would have called it Falling Leaves Moon. They are still falling…red sumac, flaming maples, golden cottonwood blanket lawns, deep green underneath from generous autumn rains. Children rake leaves repeatedly into great piles, then run and jump, scattering crunchy debris with delight.
Pheasant season opens; eager hunters gather in the chill air, some accompanied by dogs in training. They patiently walk waterways and groves to flush out the birds, grown plump on corn. Whir of wings and sharp pop of gun, dog fetches dead bird, still warm. Someone will dress and cook their prize tonight. Pheasants raised for hunting keep population flush.
eyes glow in the dark
wandering possum or coon?
roadkill by morning
Frank Tassone hosts haibun Monday at dVerse where we’re howling at the Hunter Moon 🙂
harvest time
25 Oct 2026 2 Comments
in septolet Tags: cornfields, fall, harvest, prairie, trees
Colors of fall
Russet, gold trees
Orange pumpkins
Prairie
Cornfields
Combines whir
God’s abundance!
______________
A septolet is a 7-line poem consisting of exactly 14 words split into two connected parts or stanzas that share a single image or thought. Inspired by Dawn Minott’s post here.
baa, baa, baaaad sheep
20 Oct 2026 16 Comments
in ekphrastic Tags: blood, dark, rain, sheep, tears, victim
victim feels disturbingly sheepish when
pale eyes of death stare down their neck;
a black stone heart with unblinking eyes
watching, watching in dark for opportunity.
does devil wear faux alpaca coat or is she
genuine, nightmarish animist with long face
and sharp chin to be used as artist’s weapon
to elicit salty streams of patron’s fearful tears?
her thin head appears vaguely disconnected
from soul-less body, which is reason why
she seeks to possess another’s…after, oh,
so slowly drowning them in acid downpour.
calling on unnatural spirit will, in the end,
bring only howling, painful torture such as
cruel wringing of blood from besotted ears
all while hearing hideous inhuman laughter.
_____________________
Painted by Ukrainian artist Svetlana Telets, Rain Woman (1996) illustrates a pale woman with elongated features, a long neck, and wearing a large black hat, standing in the rain. The artist claimed that for months leading up to her painting, she felt an invisible presence watching her constantly. Telets’ painting was displayed in a local art gallery in Ukraine, where it was purchased and returned multiple times by buyers who reported the painting caused them to experience insomnia, nightmares, and an eery sensation of being watched.
(As you’ve probably deduced from reading, I did not see the Rain Woman as wearing a hat, but long ears.)
_____________________
Melissa offers some creepy artwork to write about “a haunting”. Come join dVerse poets and have a good scare!
warning signs
19 Oct 2026 23 Comments
Another loud protest
(cannot say “violent riot”)
somewhere about something,
draped with Palestinian flag
(seems to draw anti-semitic
sympathy). Recall October
seven or the holocaust? (If
history hasn’t already been
erased and rewritten.) Label
this poem “Islamaphobic”,
but immigration might be
smokescreen for takeover.
At dVerse poets this week, Lisa invites us to write a 44-word quadrille using a form of the word “screen”. A smoke screen is a cloud of smoke used to hide military movements, or metaphorically, any action, statement, or distraction designed to obscure the truth or divert attention from a real issue. (Wikipedia)
in this moment
15 Oct 2026 14 Comments
in imagism Tags: beach, peacock, rainbows, seasons, toads
1.
feathery iridescence of blue, green, gold
swirling eyes layered upon eyes, fibonacci-style
mated pair of peacocks scream from roof
2.
leave library book on faded blanket
gingerly hop across hot sand to waterline
wash toes in surf, rehydrate sun-baked skin
3.
rains drench thirst of harvest-ravaged fields
generous showers puddle on pavement
oiled rainbows warn of hydroplaning
4.
turtles, toads, and snakes slumber
underground, beneath deep snow-dunes
ants feel vibrations of slowed heartbeats
5.
daughter-in-love paints family tree
portraits on wall change like seasons
wish we could hang together forever
The cadralor is a hybridized name from the 2 inventors, Lori Howe and Christopher Cadra. This poetry style features:
– 5 numbered stanzas
– keep same stanza length throughout (3-10 lines)
– each stanza stands alone as an imagist poem (obliquest of connections)
– 5th stanza pulls the 4 unrelated stanzas together into a poem of love, of yearning
– rhymes and syllabic meter are NOT wanted
“Meeting the bar” night at dVerse Poets Pub where Laura hosts imagism in 5…
monstrous
13 Oct 2026 1 Comment
in nonet, Uncategorized Tags: dark side, hate, monster, pride, rescue
confess reality of dark side
fight to keep it under control
to contain fear, addiction,
selfish pride, hateful lies.
it hides inside us
fallen nature
we all need
rescue…
help!
my blog has a name
05 Oct 2026 29 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: birds, bumblebees, moon, poem, rain, waves, wind
search for caves with waves that rhyme
remember rhythms of road travel time
hum with bumblebees buzzin’ in brain
roost with word birds in pelting rain
marvel at mysteries of moonlit night
yes, please, any of these might…
put a poem in my pocket!
De hosts quadrilles at dVerse poets pub…come with empty pockets and fill them with poems!
combustion
01 Oct 2026 18 Comments
in couplet Tags: beauty, blooms, flames, love, orange, poppies, seeds
Georgia O’Keeffe’s Oriental Poppies, 1929
fasciation – notice them!
double poppies growing upon single stem
beauty ignites in blood orange passion
bright flames rise from ashes
smoke ruffles edges of petalled glory;
will love burn out its story?
fair summer love goes to seed in autumn
seeds spread if wind caught them
Grace suggests we break up the couplet at dVerse today! I wrote an ekphrastic poem and tried “split couplets” with lines of uneven feet. I also learned new word 🙂
Fasciation is a rare condition where the growing tip of a plant becomes flattened or distorted, causing it to produce fused, doubled, or twin structures like multiple flower heads sharing a single stalk.
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