a poem in my pocket

didn’t mean to be
eavesdropping, sitting
in auction ring gallery
waiting for our cattle to sell
when two buyers in front of us
start shooting the bull about
their new houses:
“7000 square feet”
“WHY?!”
“because I can!”

yet farmers can’t get square price…

Join dVerse poets serving up quadrilles today…

kindness is…
the willing brother who pumps
up the flat tire on his sister’s bike

kindness is…
the lonely spouse who leaves the
last piece of dessert for their partner

kindness is…
the late truck driver who allows
an impatient car to merge ahead

kindness is…
the old woman who pours a bowl
of warm milk for a scrawny stray cat

kindness is…
the tired professor who stays after
class to re-teach a struggling student

kindness is…
the friendly librarian who welcomes
timid immigrants into a new community

kindness is…
the off-duty police officer who helps
clean up his neighborhood after riots

Linking to dVerse poets’ open link night…

Linking to dVerse poets pub where Linda hosts tonight and Lisa got us thinking about clowns this week….

why worry over troubles?
blow rainbow soap bubbles

if can’t keep your cool?
splash feet in kiddie pool

misplace happy smile?
time to wrestle dog pile

living under dark cloud?
read picture book aloud

is brain turning fuzzle?
fix jigsaw floor puzzle

has life lost its zing?
take ride in a swing

no exercise you like?
push child on a bike

who needs circus clowns
when grandkids come
around?

Linking to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai for tan renga challenge…given classical haiku, add two lines.

such a hot day
my shadow needs to cool down
under the willow

© Kyoshi Takahama

no breeze rustles sweating leaves
even the birds are quiet

© lynn

let’s amble down dirt path
thru bramble in the woods
we’ll ramble like a poem

hear rumble of the thunder
don’t bumble over tree roots
or stumble where you roam

step nimble-ly while hiking
hold thimble compass steady
star symbol guides us home

Linking with Linda Lee Lyberg at dVerse poets to write quadrille (44-words) on “among the brambles” theme.  Enjoy the berries but beware of snakes!

when i was little,

we would chew

penny gum balls,

colorful as turmeric,

and imagine spiced

potpourri dreams in

passing clouds; do you

see a lazy lizard? yes, it

wears old leather boots

and rides a sea serpent!

Linking to Linda’s paint chip poetry on “when i was little” theme!

The italicized lines are from the poem,“This Has Been a Summer of Moths,” by Anne M. Doe Overstreet featured at Tweetspeak Poetry.

Poem inspired by young calligrapher, singer & songwriter, Samara Ribbens.

seed must crack for sprout to grow

bulb buried deep sends roots below

sepals stretch for blossom to show

rain must fall so green life can flow

hope for harvest gain, in pain we sow

such tearful truth we shall die to know!

linden tree

where is the church

when racial injustice

perpetuates oppression?

if we are the body

we kneel in humility

to confess our own sins

where is the church

when families breakdown

because fathers are absent?

if we are the body

we live out God’s truth

and serve with his love

where is the church

when devastated mothers

regret aborting their children?

if we are the body

we share the powerful

hope of the Holy Spirit

where is the church

when mentally ill people

live on the streets?

if we are the body,

we will follow Jesus in

redeeming the world !