mine walks fine line

11 Sep 2019 6 Comments

by lynn__ in rhyming verse, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

in
sanity’s measured continuum
continue to march to drum
did you know alpacas hum?
so
hum to yourself like alpacas doIMG_1603
they won’t bite, but will you?
if howl growl, put me in “zoo”
to
write bright fantastical poetry
under plastical poet’s tree, see?
inflated palm lights-up for free
on
this blog written by “mad hatter”
a pinch of craziness won’t matter
just stir into my pancake batter
as
flapjacks flip, overturn life’s game
healthy dis-ease is recovery’s aim
let go of stigma and false shame!

(give freudian therapy all the blame)

 

 

 

Poeming with Laura at dVerse about mental health. I admire my family members who’ve lived bravely through mental illness to recovery. NAMI is a national organization in the U.S.that offers resources and support!

nowaki (windstorm)

07 Sep 2019 3 Comments

by lynn__ in Uncategorized

 

 

IMG_0712

 

 

windstorm passes through

time to pick up sticks again

branches down in grove

price paid for shaded farmstead

how nature attacks her own!

purple-urple

04 Sep 2019 33 Comments

by lynn__ in ekphrastic, poem for children, rhyming verse

Mish at dVerse Poetics inspires us with the lovely art of Beverly Dyer…and today I did paint one wall of our living room “purple suede”!

 

paint a purple wall
pluck a purple plume
pick a purple wildflower
play a purple tune

write a purple poem
wear a purple dress
climb a purple mountain
make a purple mess

eat a purple plum
fly a purple kite
plant a purple garden
dream a purple night

tired of my purple riot?
let’s do violet!

 

il_340x270.812499363_f28l

Purple Wildflower by Beverly Dyer

celebrate labor day

01 Sep 2019 27 Comments

by lynn__ in haibun

My greatest labor was bringing each of my boys into the world and working with them as a mother at home. What shared joy to participate in the creation of new life! What secret thrill to feel the first delicate flutterings inside my womb! What amazing privilege to bear a developing human for forty (plus) weeks, alive and kicking! What relief to finally have him delivered safely into the world!

To carry and birth a child is only the beginning of a mother’s labor of love. It will take everything she’s got, and demand much of what she doesn’t yet have, to nurture this needy little one, to protect the toddler, to train a child, to counsel that teenager and raise him/her to capable adulthood. Thankfully, a mother doesn’t labor alone but often the nesting and nurturing details naturally depend on her.

I’ve worked in hospital dietary service, taught kindergarten students and art classes,  balanced farm accounts, fed & bedded livestock, drove tractor, mowed lawn, grown a garden, cooked meals and tutored adults in English. But I’m most gratified by the blessing of raising and home-educating our five sons. To serve my family has been, and still is (with the next generation) my high calling…and the hardest job I’ll ever love.

 

due on labor day

you were born ten days later

now your baby waits!

 

 

Frank invites us to write about “labor” for Labor Day and link to dVerse Poets pub. My husband and I await the birth of another grandchild this month as our middle son is expecting his third child…a daughter!

sea of tranquility

29 Aug 2019 3 Comments

by lynn__ in quadrille, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , ,

Lillian at dVerse invites us to write a quadrille (44-word poem) on the most beautiful word in our language: tranquility

 

adirondacks sit on
porch of beach house
surf flows in, lightly froths
foam over fine sand…
sucked back to sea,
leaving castaway shells.
seagulls perch on pier…
launch upward in lazy arcs
where white clouds float,
billow, accumulate into
tranquil dreams…
of sunny tomorrow.

 

 

IMG_0021

photo by lynn

smoke & mirror

21 Aug 2019 13 Comments

by lynn__ in rhyming verse Tags: , , , , ,

 

mirror, mirror, on the wall
could make fools of us all

walking past, we catch a glance
practice pomp and circumstance

if glass surface’s too reflective
naked soul knows we’re defective

we see ourselves, then look away
don’t focus on our faults today

mirror fogs with each warm breath
face clear truth before cold death

scripture’s gracious mirror heed
words of life are what we need

be not afraid to look in mirror
for hellish smoke is to be feared

 

Joining Amaya at dVerse poetics for a “smoke & mirrors” prompt.

price paid for paradise

17 Aug 2019 22 Comments

by lynn__ in rhyming verse, sestina Tags: , , , , , , ,

 

A man is wed to land as dear as wife
and for his farm he‘ll gladly sacrifice
what is his livelihood becomes his life
such dedication keeps away most vice
invested time gives meaning in the strife
as he creates his own small paradise

reflection of first garden paradise
tilling the land together, man and wife
completely innocent of hate or strife
man gladly gave his rib, small sacrifice
but snake twisted the truth of God’s advice
eating forbidden fruit embittered life

to work in sweat would be man’s lot in life
rebellion led them out of paradise
their eyes opened to every evil vice
still-birth of sin brought pain to Adam’s wife
to cover shame requires blood sacrifice
our fall brought all creation death and strife

seeds of weed, thistle, and thorn now rife
disease and aging process shortens life
to bear children demands self-sacrifice
we cannot find way back to paradise
now shame’s dark secrets divide man and wife
our world is broken by our greed and vice

the Enemy holds captives in sin’s vise
conquers the world with anger, fear, and strife
cools the love between each man and wife
our stubborn pride leads miserable life
the only way to restore paradise
would be a perfect human sacrifice

God’s Son offered himself as sacrifice
divine and human free of any vice
for Christ alone can restore paradise
and put an end to all our sin and strife
if choose to follow him, we find true life
he loves the church as his own precious wife

to work the land ‘mid sacrifice and strife
farmer’s advice says his is still best life
earth’s paradise shared with beloved wife

 

This sestina surprised me by turning theological…I think it was the repeating/rhyming word choices I made that lent itself to themes of creation/fall/redemption/restoration. A sestina has six stanzas of six lines followed by a 3-line envoi each with a complicated pattern of final words repeated. This challenging form is described in detail by our host Victoria at d’Verse Poets.

translated celebration

13 Aug 2019 12 Comments

by lynn__ in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , ,

Tonight for poetics at d’Verse, Laura offers translations of poems by non-English poets for us to interpret and respond with a poem of our own…

 

Anniversary

And we go on and on,
neither sleeping nor awake,
towards the meeting, unaware
that we are already there. 

That the silence is perfect,
and that the flesh is gone.
The call still is not heard
nor does the Caller reveal his face.

 But perhaps this might be
oh, my love, the gift
of the eternal Face without gestures
and of the kingdom without form! 

by Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) – the pen name of Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, was Chilean and the first Spanish American author to receive the Nobel Prize in literature.

 

50th anniversary

oh, my dear,
we would have
celebrated fifty years
together,
if still awake
but here we lie,
on and on
yet
side by side
asleep in
perfect benighted
silence
waiting for day
when our Maker calls
us each by
name
new flesh restored
reuniting with spirit
to fully
savor
the gift revealed
of an eternal kingdom:
to see
face to Face!

 

by lynn__ American poet 1959 –

 

unfrazzled

12 Aug 2019 24 Comments

by lynn__ in quadrille, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

 

Grandma, screen-shot-2019-08-09-at-3.48.13-pm
who bore seven children,
rambunctious and noisy,
marveled
over my great aunt,
who raised six children,
so well-behaved
that following a meal
she would direct them
once
in a very soft voice…
they would immediately
clear the table
and
wash the dishes.

 

A quadrille  (poem of exactly 44 words) for dVerse Poets Pub with De.

at my casket

12 Aug 2019 1 Comment

by lynn__ in Uncategorized

 

When you all your tears are blinking,

look carefully… i may be winking.

😉

prairie calls my name

10 Aug 2019 2 Comments

by lynn__ in classical haiku, fusion haiku, troiku Tags: , , , , , ,

windy weather
calling the flowers by nameIMG_2785
each nods

depth of a flower
flying away with the bee
some mystery

© Jane Reichhold

 

My “fusion” haiku/ troiku:

wildflowers nod heads
while bees hum mystery song
prairie breeze summer

wildflowers nod heads
as gentle wind nudges clouds
sleepy afternoon

bees hum mystery
in honeyed depth of pistil
sweet nectar distills

prairie breeze summer
delivers pollen and seeds
native plants flourish

IMG_2765

photos by lynn

 

 

gratitude recorded

07 Aug 2019 16 Comments

by lynn__ in free verse Tags: , , , , ,

 

counting grace gifts

moves me to mindful

noticing the beautifulIMG_3011

(even or especially)

in middle of the mess

 

grace gifts are blessings

magnificent and minute

given generously from

divine nail-pierced hands

with love, design, intent

 

i count and recount

voice in quiet prayer

write in poetic words

number in journal

capture with camera

 

lavish gifts everywhere

experienced in garden

discovered on farm

encountered in travels

observed as dear faces

 

Linda hosts poetics at dVerse Poets Pub on what brings us peace of mind…

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