Response to a recent prompt by Kim at dVerse to relate oneself to one of Aristotle’s four elements: fire, wind, water, or earth. I expand on the meaning of my name…
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.
Looks like winter iz doing its zing today… blowing horizontally snowing astronomically squirrel rollz itself in snowball and zings across the driveway “to the tree, to the tree!” (to quote Dr. Zing Suess) stay inside and read, I say, eat chocolate with greed today.
De Jackson serves quadrilles and zingers today at dVerse poets…
by curl of sea, walk curve of sand wet feet make footprints on dry land while combing beach for shells we see to reach, pick up, turn palm of hand and rinse sand off in waves as we walk curve of sand, by curl of sea
find abalone, dig clams and snails put cockleshells in handled pails spot cowrie, conch or spiraled cone look up to watch wind fill boat sails search pools of inter-tidal zone dig clams and snails, find abalone
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Check out dVerse poets where Laura reintroduces us to the “sparrowlet” form…
Yes, the calendar says that February 2 is Groundhog’s Day. So what’s that to me? I may be a German groundhog but I am NOT getting up for any festivities, especially for Candlemas. I must finish hibernating and am feeling all tuckered out…now please, just let me sleep!
What in tarnation is all that commotion atop my burrow? Stop ringing that #punxsutawney% bell up there! I thought Gobbler’s Knob was a peaceful neighborhood but it’s gone to the prairie dogs, I say. There’s no shadow of a doubt, I’ve had my phil of winter in these parts already!
winter’s soft shadow
falls upon snowy landscape
seek comfort of hearth
Frank hosts haibuns at dVerse poets in observance of Groundhog’s Day…
Kim at dVerse prompts us to write poetry from an optician’s chart using a line of four words in order. The words I used in tanka form are:nose–one–cause–even
my nose is running its race against sinuses stiff sniff not enough one sneeze will cause a series using even more tissSHOOS!
a poem in my pocket 
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