Listen
to the laughter,
chocolate-chased giggling and
bageled love feasts. Sweet echoes that
linger
in light,
flickering flames,
as stars glow from afar
with ghost motes that dust our beings,
always.
A double cinquain for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday. Colleen asked us to write about holiday traditions. Our family holidays always revolve around food and include lots of laughter. My mom had the best laugh, and we all miss her.
Comet Hale-Bopp Attribution: Philipp Salzgeber / CC BY-SA 2.0 AT (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/at/deed.en)
Any War, Every War
affects
the heart and mind–
bodies weak, spirits dark
waiting for illumination,
succor
within
the downtrodden,
aided by the helpers–
they fight their own weariness, yet
they smile,
offer
hope like beacons–
fog lights glowing through murk,
beams cutting through storms, resisting
always
with deeds
as well as words
carried in their hearts–peace,
justice, truth, freedom–and then, hope
rising
rising
sun, moon, and stars
shoot through the sky, falling
in brilliant clouds, surrounding us
with light
and so,
we look again,
up to the sky, seeking
beauty, if not hope, shooting light
at us.
For Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday using the theme I chose, this quotation from The Merchant of Venice:
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
This is a cinquain sequence where each stanza can stand alone, but also connects to form one poem. I’ve used the syllable/line form of a Crapsey Cinquain, though I don’t think the meter is right.
I watch–
the rosy red
blooming, adorning the sky
fashioning the day’s beginning,
rising.
A Crapsey Cinquain for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge. (Synonyms for grace and style). I wrote about the moon yesterday, so it’s only fair that I write a poem about the sun today.
Franz Marc, Blue Horses
Wonder
as bright stars fill
night sky without design,
arranged by chance, dancing light sings
through time
find peace
in prismed glow
sparking within your soul–
rainbowed worlds where blue ponies graze,
content
I’m feeling the need for the blue horses today–a Crapsey Cinquain sequence for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, using synonyms for plan and spend.
That Day, and Since
Forget?
Impossible.
Lives lost in flamed towers,
toppled, we steer, unmoored—we move
forward.
This is a Crapsey Cinquain (syllables 2/4/6/8/2) for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, using synonyms for plan and finish.
On 9/11 I always think of this song from the musical Ordinary Days—performed here by Audra McDonald. I think it goes with my poem.
Shifting
Shifting–
green leaves turn brown
and frangible, concede,
never rebelling, rustling
underfoot
bees’ buzz
ceases, replaced
by raucous geese in flight
calling themselves home, and we too
abide
This double cinquain is for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, using synonyms for change and defy.
This is a Crapsey Cinquain with syllables 2,4,6,8,2.
Marc Chagall,Le somnambule, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
I.
Moonlight
bathes the figures
balancing and shaking
unsure, spirits of the night world
dreamscape
This is in response to Jane Dougherty’s Poetry Challenge. This week’s challenge was a cinquain based on the painting above.
I felt like I wanted to say more though based on this painting and Chagall’s other works.
II.
Perilous times.
The moon hums a warning
watching over night-dreamers
and silent screamers
paralyzed with fear.
Uncertainty reigns
at the precipice
the fiddler keeps his balance–
barely.
The roof is steep,
His bows slides, the tune changes
shifts to minor,
a dirge punctuated by the drumbeat of fear
and hate
in the distance,
coming closer.
Raven
flying at night,
lightning’s jagged staircase
unfurls a luminous pathway
homeward
verdant
fields below him,
setting his sights, he soars–
landing by his love-mate, who caws,
softly.
This is a cinquain for Jane Dougherty’s challenge.
Apparently raven’s mate for life, and they make “comfort sounds” that are different from their more common “Caws.” You can listen here.
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