sunday morning
all the waves in white
kneeling on the beach
© Jane Reichhold
prayer clouds in blue heaven
creation’s meditation
© lynn__

Tan renga challenge at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai…
posting poetic prose
11 Feb 2019 7 Comments
in tan renga Tags: beach, blue, clouds, heaven, prayer, waves
sunday morning
all the waves in white
kneeling on the beach
© Jane Reichhold
prayer clouds in blue heaven
creation’s meditation
© lynn__

Tan renga challenge at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai…
09 Feb 2019 Leave a comment
in tan renga Tags: cold, ocean, sun, wind, wintry
Carpe Diem‘s “tan renga” challenge…add 2 line response to original haiku.
the cold wintry wind
is blowing so hard that
the sun sinks into the ocean
© Soseki
today, sun admits defeat
tomorrow, will rise stronger
© lynn__

image from pinterest
07 Feb 2019 22 Comments
in rubaiyat Tags: blizzard, cold, log, mug, prairie, snow, summer, warmth, winter
across this frozen prairie, winter blows
strong blizzard gale bullwhips up fallen snow
we shiver, polar-cold, wind’s frightful roar
and add thick logs to embers burning low
such fierceness could freeze creature to the core
if wait exposed; come, safe inside closed door
we offer mugs to drink in warming flow
and reminisce of summer sun-swept shores
Rubaiyat: The ruba’i is a classical Persian quatrain or double couplet of 4 lines and having rhyme scheme either AABA or AAAA. A collection of more than one quatrain is called a rubaiyat.
Edward Fitzgerald popularized the form in English. He chose iambic pentameter, generally 10-syllable lines with alternating accents, for the meter and used the AABA rhyme scheme. Having the unrhymed third line allows the poet to use that sound from the first quatrain as the main rhyming sound in the next quatrain, connecting the stanzas.
My thanks to Frank at dVerse Poets for this information on the rubaiyat form!
07 Feb 2019 5 Comments
in tan renga Tags: beauty, life, monarch, waterweed, weight
Carpe Diem Haiku Kai’s “tan renga” challenge…add 2 lines to original haiku.
waterweed
floating away, despite
the butterfly’s weight on it
© Chiyo-Ni
beauty flits magnificent
but life’s current moves stronger
© lynn__

photo by lynn
06 Feb 2019 18 Comments
in sonnet Tags: elderly, homeless, invisibles, residents, sex trafficking
who go unseen by fine society?
the ones unnoticed and unheard today
they live invisible to you and me
on city streets with nowhere else to stay
he sits on curb, searches through garbage can
inside small tent or under bridge he’ll lay
she’s taught by pimp to satisfy the man
but now that she is pregnant, he’s enraged
he curses in her face, hits her with hand
they live forgotten in home for the aged
small rooms smell sour as wander down the hall
both residents and staff are feeling caged
if listen closely can we hear them call?
with open eyes and hearts respond to all.
A sonnet consists of 14 lines structured into two parts: first part gives an “argument” and second part a “solution” separated by a “volta” (turn).
English sonnets are usuallly written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables in 5 feet), which resembles natural speech in a “da DUM” rhythm.
Terza Rima is a sonnet divided into 4 tercets and a couplet with the rhyme scheme: ABA BCB CDC DED EE.
Sonnet information from Frank and “invisible” prompt by Merril at dVerse poets pub.
06 Feb 2019 Leave a comment
in tanka Tags: Choctaw, justice, mist, poverty, turnpike
Choctaw nation land
low mist filters thru dead trees
ancestor spirits
crying out for true justice
turnpike poverty hidden
03 Feb 2019 2 Comments
in fusion haiku Tags: birdsong, Black Forest, needles, snow, spring, wet
CDHK challenge to create a “fusion-ku” with the two given haiku:
black forest
night extinguishes
the snow
sun and snow
still in the pines
the black forest
© Jane Reichhold
Combination fusion-ku:
wet needles on ground
morning birdsong from branches
announces spring melt
© lynn__

photo by lynn
02 Feb 2019 1 Comment
in tan renga Tags: awe, beauty, chrysanthemums, tea
for his morning tea
a monk sits down in utter silence-
confronted by chrysanthemums
© Matsuo Basho
a holy moment of awe
contemplating God’s wonder
© lynn__
31 Jan 2019 3 Comments
in tanka Tags: fence post, grass, hawk, predator, silent
“Taka” is Japanese word for hawk. “Tanka”is Japanese poetry form.

red-tailed predator
eyes alert, talons sharpened,
silent as fence post
waits for slightest rustling
small creature disturbs switch grass
29 Jan 2019 2 Comments
“Kaeribana” is Japanese kigo for “returning flowers”…from Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

29 Jan 2019 9 Comments
in quadrille Tags: drive, dunes, sand, steeps, tea, travel

after the
tea steeps
let’s pour it,
steaming, into
travel mugs to
drive south
away from
bitter winter
over steeps
across desert
through cities
onto island
where sun
smiles for
sandy miles
where we
hide from
hazy sea-spray
between
steep dunes,
sipping tea
Mish invites us to write a quadrille (44 words) on word “steep” at dVerse Poets
23 Jan 2019 23 Comments
in free verse, lament Tags: abortion, choice, daughter, option, viable
desperate now
no real choice
no viable option
he’d already left her
she birthed other babies
what else could she do
but have child removed?
…the one she’d never celebrate
Abortion is a tragedy to grieve, not an occasion to celebrate. Author Leslie Leyland Fields writes an open, compassionate letter to “celebrants” of abortion here.
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