a poem in my pocket

Kristjaan at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai features “troiku” (each line of initial haiku is beginning line of three more haiku in a series). I wrote my own haiku to begin…

bare branches burst forth

spring budding freshly green leaves

renewal of life

bare branches burst forth

photo by lynn

birds improvise on treesong

winter’s day is done

spring buds fresh green leaves

young rabbits nibble new grass

first tulips open

renewal of life

gentle scent follows spring rain

promise of apples

purple dreams

08 May 2018 Leave a comment

by lynn__ in tan renga, tanka Tags: dreams, inn, moon, purple, traveler, wisteria

Kortney at Tweetspeak Poetry hosts Monday prompts, tanka this week.

I come weary,
In search of an inn—
Ah! these wisteria flowers!

–by Matsuo Basho, translated by William George Aston

purple moon blooms in doorway
scent welcomes dream traveler

– by lynn

image: groupon.co.uk

obsessed with beams

02 May 2018 3 Comments

by lynn__ in tanka Tags: architecture, building, design, home, landscape, son

Ramblings of a Writer tanka challenge: Home & Landscape

son draws in layers

architectural study

home design project

foundational beginning

building to blend in landscape

photo by lynn

where walk takes me

30 Apr 2018 20 Comments

by lynn__ in haibun Tags: birds, grove, husky, rabbit, robin, trees, walk

I’ll walk down our gravel road, usually alone with God, or sometimes with my neighbor and her boys. We chat along the way and soon we’re back home. I used to take my husky…or she used to take me (I miss my fast and furry companion). I walk a mile or two for the exercise and fresh air.

Other times, I’ll meander through our grove of trees sheltering our house and farm buildings. I go to tune in nature, clear my head and calm my heart. I listen to bird calls, admire the foliage stage of the trees or mushrooms in the grass, and perhaps pick up sticks blown down by our last wind storm.

A bold rabbit hops closer and pauses to observe me observing him. Long ears twitch before he hops for cover under blue spruce. A black-bibbed flicker tap taps in tree until I pass below; he bobs and flits away. I startle a handsome ring-necked pheasant which whirs up, startling me. Bending down, I pick up a perfect robin’s egg that fell out of the nest, unbroken.

oak trees hold old leaves

prairie winds buffet farm grove

birds mourn fallen nest

Bjorn inviting us to take a walk with dVerse Poets this week…

dirt is to dig

30 Apr 2018 6 Comments

by lynn__ in rhyming verse, triolet Tags: bees, birds, dig, dirt, earthworms, garden, spring

it’s spring! i need to dig in dirt
worm’s work brings happiness
while birds and bees MAY flirt

oh spring! i need to dig in dirt
even if knees might hurt and
fingernails witness a mess

let’s sing! i need to dig in dirt
worm’s work brings happiness

Yes, I like to dig in the dirt. Worms make me happy because they enrich the soil. Everyone should have a little plot of land or a pot of dirt to dig in. Gardening is an elemental activity, part of our DNA code; our calling to work the ground and take care of the earth. Photo taken by me with one hand, holding favorite garden trowel with other 🙂

scene with gazebo

29 Apr 2018 1 Comment

by lynn__ in haibun Tags: blooms, garden, gazebo, roses, walking

I completed the April challenge!

Roses have graced my life. Growing up, I admired my mother’s backyard roses with blooms of varied hues. I sniffed each bush’s blossoms to compare scents. Upon high school graduation, I received a lovely long-stemmed yellow rose. Later, I carried three pure white roses in my bridal bouquet and following the birth of each child, my husband presented me with a dozen red roses.

I’ve tried to tame wild roses in my farm garden: a yellow settlers’ rose (possibly planted by pioneers) and a pink prairie rose (our Iowa state flower). Roses require nurturing. Admire the roses and have respect for the thorns in life’s garden. Cut roses fade fast.

roses in the park

tender touch of Gardener

walking by my side