Moon Rising

 

Pure

water,

the essence

of life, tumbling

down, cascading to

stillness, a pellucid

pool mirrors the sky above.

Clouds ripple in the lake and sky,

and bird shadows soar, black against white–

their calls echo, echo, echo, echo

until the sound fades into the gloaming

and fireflies dance about the shore.

Then come the night sounds and creatures

that fly, swim, flitter, twitter

with anticipation.

She is here, rising

from the water,

luminous,

glowing

moon.

 

A double etheree for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge.

 

 

This Place, Home

 

Train

slows down

time has stopped

rather, reversed–

a more pleasant time–

or perhaps it’s a dream.

She wants to stay here. This place

where flowers bloom, and it is spring

always. She gets off at the stop, now to

live another life, or one meant to be.

 

Colleen is doing an ekphrastic challenge this week, based on the photo above. This is my quick response before the deadline! My poem, an etheree, is based on the feeling that I got from the photo. The scene looks so idyllic, and the “Next Stop Willoughby” episode of The Twilight Zone flashed into my mind.

 

 

 

 

Dawn

Eos, Evelyn de Morgan

Dawn,

blushing

awakens–

pitcher in hand,

she waters with dew

the earth as she rises,

leading the way for the sun–

the god in his chariot glides–

swallowing night in his golden blaze.

But to where does rosy-fingered dawn fly?

On feathered wings, she dances with the stars,

creates new life with passionate embrace,

cares for her incandescent steeds,

(though careless with her lovers)

she beckons and woos, then

sleeps to rise again–

saffron-robed and

radiant–

bringing

light.

 

Colleen is back! A double etheree for her Tanka Tuesday, using synonyms for beginning and consume. I haven’t written one of these in a while. It’s a fun exercise.

There was a beautiful sunrise this morning.

 

 

 

 

Unanswered Cascade: NaPoWriMo, Day 2

Why,

I ask,

do I smile

at blushing skies?

If scented, I’d smell

peach—my mouth waters—though

the window glass is frosted,

the peach, only a memory,

a dream of what was, or what could be.

Time, meandering in my head always

circling around, forming connections, here

cascading like a waterfall, or

a shooting star, streaking, trailing

glimmers of light as it falls–

and then, the dinosaurs

gone in random strike,

like a question

unanswered

trailing

if

 

 

Sunrise this morning was such a beautiful peach color.

This double etheree is for NaPoWriMo, Day 2, where the prompt is to write a poem that ends with a question. It is also for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, and dVerse, where Amaya asks us to use “cascade” or write a cascade poem. Poetry Month! I wish I could sit and write poetry all day. So many prompts; too little time.

 

 

But, Still

Days

lengthen,

and we dream

again. Circles

and cycles spinning

a planet round a star,

our bodies full of stardust,

so, we reach up bravely, and search

for answers, the hard problem of who,

why, and what we are–but still, flowers bloom

 

rise with cues of light and hope, a promise

of what was still is, even if we

are not. They will vanish also,

like dinosaurs and dodos,

evolutionary

romps through the ages,

blinks and heartaches–

but still, there’s

you, me,

now

 

Yesterday, I saw this crocus and some green shoots rising from the ground. It made me happy, even though we’re supposed to get snow today. I’ve noticed how the angle of the sun is different now, and how it lingers longer in the day.

This is a double etheree for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday prompt, using synonyms for game and trouble.

 

 

 

 

Pause and Dream

Claude Monet, “Waterloo Bridge, Effect of Fog,” [Public Domain], Wikipedia Commons

Pause

and dream

of what could

be. Wonder then,

if happiness comes

will you recognize it?

Or will it vanish, in mist,

the fog streaming from the cold sea

hiding the world from you, shrouding all?

Know that the sun is just beyond the clouds–

beyond the clouds, knowledge waits to be found–

assume this, and then go from there–

where else would you be? What matters

more than this? Contentment, then,

if not bliss. Maybe peace.

But there is more

in lucid dreams

of love and

laughter–

hope.

 

A double Etheree for the prompt Colleen’s left during her break—synonyms for belief and joy.

Eidolon

Old Pine Street Church Graveyard, Philadelphia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There

she is,

haunting me

wearing her face

stepping silently

over the cobblestones,

to fill a void in the air

with an electrical charge—a

gleam, a shiver, that slight susurrus

of swirling air–sojourning spirit, stay

 

that I may look upon her face once more,

see her clothed in her favorite gown,

pretend that what is lost, was not.

But she moves into the mist,

dissolves and fades away.

My dreams vanish, too,

forevermore

light is dimmed,

she is

gone.

 

 

I’ve channeled my inner nineteenth-century Gothic writer for this double etheree for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday! We were to use synonyms for ghost and hollow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Salem, 1692

By Baker, Joseph E., ca. 1837-1914, artist. “The Witch, No.1” Lithograph, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Salem, 1692

I

wait, crushed

by despair,

disturbances

in the air. Demons,

or human frailty, now

exposed? Light and darkness bound

together we must fight evil–

the duty of magistrates is clear

and so, we sentence the witches to death

 

the affliction has spread through the region,

so many blackened with devils’ marks

though they bleed red as anyone

(their master teaches them tricks).

They will suffer justice

crushed by rocks and rope–

but at night I

wonder, what

if we’re

wrong?

 

A double Etheree (syllable count: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and then 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1) for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday. I think she was looking for Halloween themed, but I went to history.  We were asked to use synonyms for color and creepy.