large brown egg…still warm
from grass-fed, free-range chicken
work of happy hen!
carefree food
29 May 2026 Leave a comment
in haiku, Uncategorized Tags: chicken, egg, free range, hen
ruminations
20 May 2026 7 Comments
in ekphrastic Tags: church, envy, greed, repentance, stewardship, sustainability
______________
Circle of life in world of death
as fruit of tree links food chain.
Survival served by stewardship,
sustainability, not envy or greed.
But blood be shed in streets if
village values turn upside-down.
Milked by politics, compromised,
church not shocked to repentance.
_______________
Melissa hosts dVerse poetics with ekphrastic poetry inspired by art of Marc Chagall. My poem based on his oil painting, “I and the Village”, 1911.
quadrillary
18 May 2026 6 Comments
in quadrille, rhyming verse Tags: chef, crawdad, doggerel, feast, poet
proper poet can understand rhyme
personal chef pan-handle thyme
thus, poet with pen sits by yon pond
whilst chef, he pulls wet waders on
hip boots for catching crawdad feast
silly verse to tame clawed beast
poet writes fresh doggerel
quick chef dodges froggerel
______________
It’s quadrille Monday at dVerse where De invites us to write 44-word poems including a form of the word “dog”.
come & gogh
15 May 2026 19 Comments
in list poem Tags: art, artist, crows, cypresses, haystacks, paintings, starry night, van gogh, wheatfields
he comes from dutch reformed
family, disappoints (emotionally
distant, bereaved) parents;
as both a preacher and painter,
vincent ministers to peasants,
potato eaters, and sowers;
people of humble cottages.
follow him to france en plein aire;
walk along avenue of poplars,
past red vineyard and white orchard
(smell the blossoming almonds)
into wheatfields with haystacks,
under dark shadows of cypresses,
to the banks (and boats) of the seine.
admire the light of bedroom in
yellow house or the cafe terrace,
cobalt skies of starry nights, and
dying beauty of golden sunflowers:
feel angst of stark self-portraits
(especially with bandaged ear);
hear gunshot…black crows cawing.
______________
At dVerse MTB prompt, Bjorn Rudberg encourages us to make a list and write a poem. I made a list of some of Vincent Van Gogh’s (almost 900!) paintings and wrote a poem about the artist’s life.
spring fling
13 May 2026 Leave a comment
in limerick Tags: fly, grandchildren, grandma, sky, spring, swings, wings
_______
I once pushed two grand kids on swings
when the big sister started to sing:
“We do like to fly
so high in the sky”
Grandma thinks it’d be fun to have wings!
________
the space between
12 May 2026 15 Comments
in ekphrastic Tags: mother, daughter, abortion, miscarriage, womb, remember
______________
remembering the
daughter she never knew;
today is another anniversary of
the day she was removed…
from her womb, from her life,
but never from her mother’s heart.
asking questions like what color
are her eyes? does she look like me?
wishing she could hug her girl
and ask for forgiveness;
who knew? a mother died too.
______________
Linking to dVerse poets where Punam invites us to write ekphrastic poetry inspired by Indian artwork.
a fishy tale
05 May 2026 23 Comments
in rhyming verse Tags: Golden Gate, mermaid, song, summer, tide, wine
Sitting on the bay shore,
the Golden Gate in view,
enjoy an afternoon delight
with bottle of bordeaux.
In nearby pool of ebb tide
where sea foam kisses shore
I hear a mermaid singing
summer song of salty lore.
Her name is Desdemona,
the wind rush plays her hair;
then sudden as quicksilver,
siren’s no longer there.
A swish of tail, a splash of scale,
she dives back under brine…
But when I tell my friends of Des,
they say, “Lay off the wine!”
______________
Linking to dVerse, where Merril challenges us to use at least 5 names of roses in our poem. I used the following names of rose varieties: Afternoon Delight , Bordeaux , Desdemona , Ebb Tide , Golden Gate, Mermaid , Quicksilver , Sea Foam , Summer Song, Windrush
naturally grown
04 May 2026 34 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: bloom, child, fruit, growth, leaves, ripe, seed, sprout, weed
plant tiny seed
in garden womb
grow like a weed
till out of room
when time is ripe
birth little sprout
stem stretches tall
leaves wave about
water with LOVE
nurture strong roots
let sun chase gloom
wait for the fruits
watch child bloom!
_______
Quadrilles are blooming at dVerse Poets pub where Lillian hosts today. We have a new grandson…see previous post for photo 🙂
complementary
04 May 2026 10 Comments
woman takes what man gives,
nurtures and grows it: a child,
a home, a life…together!
_______
Introducing our 18th grandchild, Noah Silas, born on May Day!
carpe diem
30 Apr 2026 17 Comments
in golden shovel Tags: fail, fear, procrastination, time, worry
Procrastination… is what
happens when there is
too Much time before IT
Must be done or … you
simply fail to make a Plan;
Perhaps FEAR contributes to
putting off what needs DO–
ing as you wrestle with…
DISappointing your
own expectations. One
Remedy is to take wild
worries… captive and
tame THIS very precious
moment…why miss life?
______________
This is a “golden shovel” poem. The final words of each line form a phrase from another poet; in this case, the final thought from Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Summer Day.” Linking to dVerse poets where Grace invites us to try this form.
shades of glory
29 Apr 2026 Leave a comment
in list poem Tags: afternoon, colors, dawn, dusl, evening, glory, morning, night, paint, sky, wash
He paints pale pewter twilight
with splash of blood-orange dawn;
a wash of lemon yellow morning,
with buttermilk clouds layered
on cornflower background,
blends to tangerine afternoon;
then, sweet lavender dusk which
transforms eggplant evening
into deep indigo night.
______________
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1
a poem in my pocket 
You must be logged in to post a comment.