cemetery gravestones
hundred years
old.
stories unsettling
pioneers
told.
prairie grass rustling
wind whistling
cold.
_______
written after visit to local 1880’s Lincoln Township cemetery
tilus series: engraved
19 May 2014 Leave a comment
in Uncategorized Tags: cemetery, pioneers, prairie
a piece of land
16 May 2014 17 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: dirt, heartland, loam, soil
I.
Look across heartland’s dry
acres of
dirt.
II.
Precious prairie humus
treasured black
loam.
III.
Heavy downpour cuts land,
stealing rich
soil.
_________
Link to d’Verse with Kelvin’s original “Tilus” form of 3 lines: 6, 3, 1 syllable each.
“Tilus” (tee-loo-hz) means “piece of land” (Finnish) so that’s where I went, naturally.
color my world
14 May 2014 4 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: corn, daffodils, lemon, sunshine, yellow
Yellow is…
daffodils blooming early
bright umbrella on the beach
pair of goldfinches nesting
busy honeybees buzzing
wind chimes tinkling on porch
classy, brassy trumpet tunes
tartness of lemon merengue pie
buttery sweet corn-on-the-cob
birthday cupcakes with candles
warm sunshine on cheeks
hugs from grand children
rainboots splashing in puddles
Yellow can put a smile on your face!
photo by lynn, color poem prompt by jenniferdukeslee.com
what’s in a name?
14 May 2014 10 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: fountains, name, refreshing, water
-linked with Marina’s pesky questions prompt at d’Verse
if asked introspective questions
who are you? whom do you love?
i naturally respond with my name:
“lynn” (English) means “refreshing stream, waterfall”
i am like water in its various forms: vapor, liquid, solid–
cumulus cloud reflecting heaven’s
brightness or darkly brooding until
rain falls in myriad of droplets collecting
into rivulets of cascading laughter to flow
into clear mountain lake, mirror calm, until
stirred to frothy whitecaps by life’s winds;
as solid iceberg exposes only tip, in time
glacial ice will melt to join eternal sea
who i was, am, will be… changing and yet in essence, still me
let me live up to my name, to be poured out and refresh others
offering a drink of life-giving water from my well
yet i am also thirsty, needing refreshment myself…
perhaps best answer is NOT who i love but Who loves me?
i will joyfully sing, “all my fountains are in you!”
driftwood
09 May 2014 13 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: beach, island, love, rowboat, words
–dedicated to my brother, Dale, who is a safe harbor
“i am an island!” he declared,
staking his flag in the sand;
she shook her head laughing,
“how so?” but she already
understood his answers.
other shores beckoned her
yet he seemed content to
stay, digging in soft sands;
she paddled to a far harbor
uncertain when she’d return.
aren’t we all little islands?
“i mean, you’re there and i’m
here with an ocean of words
between us”…not to mention
thoughts, plans and dreams.
always creating ripples in
concentric circles, our ever-
widening waves roll outward
to crash in foamy surf upon
others’ glistening shores.
“why not leave your island?”
she urged but he insisted that
he liked his own beach view;
so we keep paddling rowboats
to reach each other’s worlds.
in space between, we send sea gulls and
glass bottles carrying messages of love.
______________
Thanks to Claudia at d’Verse for challenging us to use conversation…
tree is me
07 May 2014 11 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: blue, colorado, spruce, tree
Linked to: http://dversepoets.com/2014/05/06/tree-poetry/
firm,
rooted
in granite of
towering rockies,
standing tall as all
blue spruce kin
round mountain glen of
colorado columbine,
i stretch my limbs
to shake off loose needles
in cool alpine breeze.
i whisper my secrets
in blue shade as
eagle soars above
my shaggy crown into thin
blue canopy of sky
where ancient stars blaze,
and gazed down on my
ancestors who succumbed
to wild forest fires lit
by blue lightning;
those charred remains
fertilize my offspring
as evergreen generations of
conifers rise up, and up.
i show protective
mother love for shy
dark-eyed chipmunks
that dart under my skirts
and offer patient tolerance
to raucous mountain blue jays
who build messy nests in my arms,
glad
to be
alive.
coming home
06 May 2014 Leave a comment
in Uncategorized Tags: purple, rhododendron, welcome
purple profusion
rhododendron blossoms cheer
welcoming party
facebook fail
01 May 2014 Leave a comment
in Uncategorized Tags: facebook, like
“Love” can mean so many things
now seems that “Like” does too…
to give “thumbs up” on facebook
should mean that I like you
may be your photo I admire
or perhaps the words you post…
or could it be that “liking” all,
more friends I’ll have to boast?
if story’s sad and you tap “Like”
be sure you aren’t offending;
if I tap “Like” when you feel bad
will it cause our “unfriend”ing?!
__________________
poem written at a friend’s suggestion…final one for National Poetry Month!
perfect peace
30 Apr 2014 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: death, faith, peace, suffering
gentle soul possessed of quiet strength
her name, Faith, was her legacy to all
who witnessed her living…and dying.
she was familiar with pain and heartache:
her husband, seriously disabled in an accident,
needed nursing care ’til his death left her a widow.
her precious twin granddaughters lived only briefly,
she herself suffered multiple sclerosis and cancer.
yet she clung to promises in God’s eternal Word,
and at sixty-one years young, she has received the
reward of an undying faith in her faithful Lord.
You took her up into Your presence: her faith is now sight!
“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29b)
thirst no more
30 Apr 2014 9 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: miracle, water, wine
water washing clean- a sign
overflowing cup is mine
miracle of his design
grafted fruit of father’s vine
spirit-pressed agape wine
____________
Artwork entitled “Aquarian Patterns” by Cheryl Kellar
bleeding hearts
29 Apr 2014 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: bleeding hearts, fuchsia, geisha, shogun, sword
info on names/legend from Wikipedia
In this poem, I incorporated the flowers’ names: bleeding heart,
lady-in-a-bath, lyre flower, Dutchman’s breeches as well as the
legend from Japan, where this plant is native. Enjoy!
photo credit: Janine Calsbeek
Lamprocapnos is monotypic genus;
this sole species of flowering beauty
like one-of-a-kind love story to make
a shogun son’s heart bleed fuchsia
did he spy the lady in her bath?
(such was King David’s waterloo)
did he, like David, strum on a lyre?
sweet music to woo heart strings
he brought her a pair of white hares
soft as silk, like his young love for her
but she nervously refused the rabbits
(perhaps she feared being scratched)
next, he offered a gift of lady slippers
richly ornamented, warm comfort
for pretty geisha girl’s dainty feet;
she rejected on pretense of poor fit
desire to win her heart possessed
him to envisage a golden gift for
such a golden girl; ah, earrings to
dangle from tantalizing earlobes
she laughed at flushed youth
in his Dutchman’s breeches
(East India Company imports)
turning cooly to her green tea
wretched soul, to believe only
forbidden touch would satisfy,
goes to misty forest with sword
to rend heart-broken wide open
distillation
28 Apr 2014 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: haiku, lotus, summer
soft scent on south wind
makes sweet memories blossom
summer in my heart
photo & prompt from Carpe Diem (see side bar link) and Kristjaan’s
challenge to “distill” longer poem,” Lotus” by Tagore, into haiku.
a poem in my pocket 
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