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stags wander forest
storks build nest atop chimney
breathe blue mountain air
french documentary
14 Nov 2024 Leave a comment
in haiku, Uncategorized Tags: forest, mountains, stag, storks
note to self
05 Nov 2024 16 Comments
in free verse Tags: joy, life, love, present, today, yes
say “yes” to TODAY, here
with its possibilities and also
its impossibilities; accept our limits
and yet look beyond ourselves…yes!
say “yes” to LOVE, not only
being loved but being the lover
look around to see who needs you
stretch familiarly toward people…yes!
say “yes” to LIFE, the gift
to dwell in this present moment
we will pass through here but once
to engage with exuberance…oh, yes!
say “yes” to JOY, in your heart
have something to shine and share
spy beauty everywhere, all around
count blessings in little things…YES!
Linking to dVerse poetics where Merril encourages us to choose JOY (even on election day)!
decadence
04 Nov 2024 2 Comments
in haiku Tags: autumn, fire, leaves, maple, rain
rain soaks cold branches
red maple stripped bare of leaves
autumn’s fire quenched
perils of paradelle
31 Oct 2024 17 Comments
in paradelle Tags: dead, halloween, head, monster, pumpkin, saints, skeleton
her ex’s birthday fell on halloween
her ex’s birthday fell on halloween
the road is scary place to fall in love
the road is scary place to fall in love
her halloween on road in scary fall
is place to fell the ex’s love birthday
to celebrate, they set up skeleton
to celebrate, they set up skeleton
upon front lawn with missing pumpkin head
upon front lawn with missing pumpkin head
they celebrate with pumpkin set upon
front skeleton missing lawn up to head
if truly dead, a monster will decay
if truly dead, a monster will decay
but souls may resurrect on all saints day
but souls may resurrect on all saints day
if dead souls but decay on monster day
truly a saint’s will resurrect all may
monster birthday upon ex’s dead lawn
may truly resurrect her soul’s skeleton
if missing head will celebrate all day
they set a place to saints on halloween
with in, all pumpkin love fell to decay
but fall is up front scary on the road!
NOTE: The paradelle is one of the more demanding French fixed forms, first appearing in the langue d’oc love poetry of the eleventh century. It is a poem of four six-line stanzas in which the first and second lines, as well as the third and fourth lines of the first three stanzas, must be identical. The fifth and sixth lines, which traditionally resolve these stanzas, must use all the words from the preceding lines and only those words. Similarly, the final stanza must use every word from all the preceding stanzas and only those words.
This was a spoof poetry form invented by Billy Collins and re-published on dVerse Poets by Grace.
standing on the promises
29 Oct 2024 13 Comments
in quadrille Tags: faithful, gossip, hymn, lies, promises, trust, vows
promises made to be broken?
passion’s romantic love turns cold
marriage vows end in divorce
friendships sometimes betrayed
how good is your word?
gossip gives slight exaggeration
everyone tells little white lies
who can be trusted?
God’s promises have always
proven faithful and true.
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What a blessing to hear my grand daughter, Anna, spontaneously sing the classic hymn, “Standing on the Promises” while playing at my house…of course, I joined in!
Linked to dVerse poets’ quadrilles prompt hosted by Lillian.
Can’t account for the unusual format…thanks to WordPress 🙂
God speaks in…
27 Oct 2024 7 Comments
in list poem Tags: fire, laughter, lightning, son, spirit, thunder, waters, whisper, wind, Word
his world and word
his son and spirit
preaching and prophecy
truth and beauty
love and justice
surprise coincidences
faithful providences
miraculous signs
music of planets
rhythm of seasons
acts of service
suffering of martyrs
laughter of children
rustle of wind
rumble of thunder
lightning strike
roaring fire
quiet waters
gentle whispers
still small voice
…are you listening?
all fall down
21 Oct 2024 12 Comments
in haibun Tags: cottonwood, deer, fall, grove, oak, park, prairie, river, woodland
Every fall, our family visits Oak Grove, a nearby park on the Sioux River. It covers five hundred plus acres of combined state and county conservation land with hiking trails, picnic areas, cabins and campsites. We park on top of the ridge and find a trail through the scrub oak trees to slowly make our way down to the river bottom.
The river flooded this past summer, changing the landscape. Sand and debris washed into the woodland, excavator tracks show where dirt has been redistributed and re-leveled. Ancient outcroppings of rose-tinted Sioux quartzite remain solidly undisturbed along the upper trail.
Reaching up, young cottonwoods glow golden in late afternoon. Scarlet sumac stunningly line the prairie grassland. The predominant oaks simply turn brown and drop large lobed leaves on the trail below their gnarly trunks. A few spruce and juniper stand green and ever verdant.
leaves blanket steep trail
hiker’s step crunches, slides on
dry patterns fallen
fatal question
14 Oct 2024 Leave a comment
in magnetic Tags: dew, eden, fall, grass, intuition, soul, tree
Play online here: https://play.magneticpoetry.com/poem/Nature/kit/
meathead limerick trio
05 Oct 2024 14 Comments
in limerick Tags: bed, beef, cat, head, meat, protein
Hanging here at dVerse Poets Pub where Laura Bloomsbury suggests we count to three!
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i. meat
healthy protein in beef
may cause vegetarian grief
so by all means
do eat your beans
but for brain food, “carne” is chief!
ii. head
board at the top of your bed
or “mr. chairwoman,” it is said;
location of brain,
an ache or migraine,
if missing, you’re probably dead!
iii. meathead
favorite furry farm cat
slowly grows older and fat;
friendly neighbor,
as a big favor,
now nicknames feline that!
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equinox musings
24 Sep 2024 8 Comments
in haibun Tags: equinox, harvest, leisure, retirement, seeds, work
We retired from full-time farming two years ago. My days are a bit slower now but my husband has been equally as busy as before with home remodel and landscaping. I help him as needed, babysit grandchildren when asked, and volunteer…finding a balance of work and leisure time.
The fall equinox in our hemisphere means equal hours of day and night. We enjoy equal parts cold and heat as sun shines brightly during the day but not as strongly. On my walk, I notice the prairie seems equally dead and alive…some plants bloom wildly in a last hurrah and others have dried brown, boasting seeds.
We reap what we sow and sow what we reap. The past holds seed for a future harvest. Darkness and light, cold and heat, planting and harvest, rest and work, life and death all have their seasons. The clock ticks, the calendar page turns, and another equinox passes.
milkweed pods burst silk
tiny seeds carried away
future monarch’s food
watering new grass…
23 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in haiku Tags: grass, robins, shower, sprinkler, worms
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curious robins
sit…wet, under sprinkler
free shower, fresh worms
falling for fall
21 Sep 2024 7 Comments
in villonnet Tags: autumn, bees, butterflies, cats, corn, cows, fall, leaves, pumpkins, wind
A Villonnet is a hybrid of the Villanelle and the Sonnet. It has the Iambic Pentameter of both, but holds the four-stanza/line structure of the sonnet, while utilizing the two-line rhyme nature of the villanelle. The final stanza replaces the sonnet couplet with a typical villanelle tercet. Linking this villonnet to Grace’s prompt at dVerse Poets pub. I was NOT going to write about fall, but here it is…
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i sit on deck to soak in warm sunshine
this end of summer’s glow suits my skin fine
fat cats watch scene from shade and lounge around
piped wind chimes’ gentle song is only sound
forgotten apple falls from top of tree
while butterflies migrate, bees cap honey
red leaves whirl past as if in joyful dance
a celebration of autumn’s last chance
ripe orange pumpkins lie hidden in field
as drying crops will soon their harvest yield
pheasants and deer will feast upon the corn
bred cows will glean before blizzards are born
today, september stays my favorite month
until the wind turns cold out of the north
then i will dream with birds of drifting south
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NOTE: Line 1 is to be repeated as lines 8 and 13, and line 4 is repeated as lines 12 and 15. I neglected to repeat any lines, not a true villonnet…may have to rework sometime!
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