alaska or bust!

As my husband and i embark on a roadtrip, “The Great Alaskan Get-Away” (as our fourth son called it), i hope to record our trip with haiku and also share some photos here…

. . . . .

little white chapel

welcomes interstate travelers

prayers for safety

Chapel on I-90 sponsored by churches of Corsica SD


scent of pine on breeze

soft-bristled ponderosa

cover hills in black

. . . . .

rock cut-away glints

precious metals vein granite

black hills central tracks

old “eighteen-eighty” railroad

steam engine pulls train up grade


whee! we ride e-bikes

along george michelson trail

bump over wood bridge

. . . . .

i feed him almonds

toss halves to striped ground squirrel

he eats on haunches

. . . . .

presidents in stone

home of the free and the brave

history’s heroes

Happy birthday, America! Remember your heroes and hold to your ideals…


visit montana

big sky hospitality

panning for gold and garnets

old friends, old west towns, old bones

glacial mountain views

. . . . .

mountain majesties

stand on leftover snow patch

breathe in alpine air


home sweet camper home

nestled in stand of tall pines

relax with husband

. . . . .

four wheel drive pickup

narrow one lane gravel road

explore old ghost town

miners found gold and silver

Garnet booms…then abandoned


walk trail through tall trees

red cedar and black hemlock

ferns grace forest floor

. . . . .

apparition

awake restless night

light illuminates camper

half-crazy full moon

portent


while visiting town cemetery

i walk among the dead

dark crow caws loud atop pine tree

sound fills my mind with dread

anon, i heard another bird

sing sweet upon headstone

“his eye is on the sparrow”

means i will not die alone.


Civil War headstone photo by lynn__

merry month of may

photos by lynn

tulip time, holland michigan
definitely a dutch treat with
window to the waterfront
and view of windmill island

people bird-watch along
macatawa river wetlands
or people-watch at parks;
photograph bronze statues

admire blooms in beds and
pots on cobbled sidewalks;
sing spring’s delightful song
along with street musicians

downtown bustles with
ethnic bakeries, breweries
bookstores and gift shops
sell everything blueberry

dutch dancers prance in
klompen; stomp rompin’
fun as arm in arm, toe to
wooden-shoed toe they go

following noisy festivities,
relax in adirondack chair on
lawn of pillared church where
locals sit in quiet contentment

or take ride to nearby state park,
walk pier past red lighthouse to
watch working dredger move sand
stroll beach, cool feet in great lake

japanese garden

Guest post: haiku written by my son…

______________

mornings grow brighter

grasses and trees green and bloom

time for hikes and bikes

photo credit: Ladd Wielenga

miss curiosity

curiosity is a wild child

wide-eyed, open-eared,
she turns every direction
sometimes hard to focus
speaks only in questions

she asks “why” and “how”

always tries to learn more
about everything, everyone;
which is endearing trait for
good student or best friend

her interest intensely genuine

but curiosity has a cruel side
she gets good little monkeys
into all manner of mischief and
has inadvertently killed cats.

______________

Mish at dVerse invites us to “personify the abstract” 🙂

POTUS operandi

forsooth,
his shocking words may burn thine ears
remember, jester’s only “king” four years
alack, peasants too easy swoon from news
despaired panic uncouth response to choose
such brash hyperbole be lord’s weapon
with cheeky speech his enemies undone
(truth: northern neighbor ne’er a state t’will be
nor gaza trump’s “golden resort” e’er see!)
yet let us not defend old status quo:
dragon of debt and spending still our foe
real border shalt define our nation state
(who doth not want thy country to be great?!)
sleepy joe’s reign we could no longer fake
at least, my friends, this president’s awake!

______________________

Sometimes we take politics and politicians too seriously…they are neither source nor solution of every problem. As a people, Americans must find common ground (or divided we fall).

Remember this cautionary quote: “America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” – Alexis de Tocqueville

your heart on my sleeve

Inspiration (with a twist) from poem by e.e. cummings, [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] and linked to dVerse poets pub where Sanaa hosts poetics today…


i carry your heart on my sleeve (son of
my heart) you are always (my pride) a part of me
i will never want to be without (with you
in my heart) and your heart on my sleeve

i believe
you have become best part of me (and i
remain still part of you) even though we are apart
separate now yet not now (or ever really if
you believe) in maternal love carried in

my heart
heartbeat of life (also heard by your four
brothers) like sleeve on your arm (genetically
wrapped band of brothers) bonded by blood, rooted
in our family tree, nourished by me (you see

free image from pixabay

i carry) your hearts on my sleeve

my sons

in doctor’s office

Written while waiting in clinic and admiring photo canvas of Tetons on wall…


majestic mountain

peaks point up to their Maker

tectonic praises

whatever diagnosis

i will reflect your greatness

spring’s song

familiar coo… coos

fluttering past my window

turtledoves are back

amazon explorers

dense tropical jungle hangs heavy
above our dugout canoe as we glide
stealthily on midnight blue waters
mottled with red glow of fluorescent
fish feeding along the muddy banks

our guide shines white flashlight
on canopy of trees that reflect neon
green and yellow back at wide eyes
straining to see into velvet black night

we hear coos, chirps, howls, screams
alongside and above us; both in far
distance beyond coffeed trunks, now
too close…beware a jaguar’s pounce!

Forest Path by Emil Nolde, 1909

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Melissa hosts at dVerse poets today. This poem was my first impression of Emil Nolde’s painting. After reading this article about the German expressionist artist also being a Nazi supporter, I wonder if he painted a river/path of blood? This was painted before his joining the “socialist” party but perhaps the violence is within us, waiting to come out…we cannot separate our art from who we truly are.

consider…

one final question

did we love each other well?

dearly departed

give flowers to the living

forgive before forgotten

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