From Beneath

 

From beneath,

under, and within

monsters come–

arising

from the depths they smile at you

offering you gifts

 

but light drifts,

blue-shifting nearer

in pinpricks

and glimmers

radiating from above,

brightening beauty, truth

 

is constant,

never ebbing or

flowing, though

it tumbles

blown by foul winds, yet always

seeking the surface.

 

A shadorma sequence for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday prompt . This time, an ekphrastic challenge, using the photo above, supplied by Vashti Q. Vega.

It made me think of this song because my daughters used to go around singing it.

 

Circles

Vassily Kandinsky, “Several Circles”

 

In transit

we wander, seeking

what? Circles

unbroken

form constants, our existence,

balanced symmetry–

 

light and dark

not opposites, but

shifted hues

shimmering

through time and space, reborn in

stars, flowers, the sea.

 

For Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge, a shadorma sequence, using synonyms for the words Kerfe chose, transition and harmony. I hadn’t intended to write about circles, but since Kerfe and I seem stuck on them, I suppose it’s not unexpected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circles

Puddle Reflection, May 2020. Upside down world, fleeting or timeless?

 

And after,

do the birds still sing–

the bardo

in-between

past and future, everything

rippling, light circles

 

to before,

the after, before

time begins,

radiant

waves humming—the sound of dreams–

forever’s spindrift.

 

A shadorma sequence for Colleen’s challenge because she admired this photo I took during a morning walk when I got caught in the rain. The challenge theme is “the day after,” chosen by Elizabeth of Tea & Paper. Also, this is Colleen’s 175^th poetry challenge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moving On, NaPoWriMo2020, Day 15

Delaware River at sunrise, moving on.  April 2020. West Deptford, NJ

 

Waiting now–

ghosts and dreamers drift

on ifs, when

hope moves on,

the world is shaken—but watch–

it tilts, seeking light.

 

A shadorma for Day 15.  The NaPoWriMo  prompt for today is to write a poem based on a song or music. I chose a favorite, “Move On” from Sunday in the Park with George.  Probably Sondheim has a song for everything. I feel like we’ve all been doing a lot of waiting. I took this photo yesterday morning when I went out walking while I was grieving for my cat and the world.

Here’s Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin singing “Move On.”

 

 

 

 

Moon-glow Memories

Image Credit: © Ritu Bhathal

 

Welcome home

the glow said to me–

weary from

work and time

dragging me down. But light

keeps shadows at bay–

 

memories, they stay,

in moonlit places–

yet faces,

dark creatures

still slither into my dreams–

till dawn, and I’m free—

 

moon-glow memories

dance the way we did

remember?

Hand-in-hand

we moved, kissed, together said

words of love, now gone.

 

A shadorma sequence for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, using Ritu  Bhathal’s photo prompt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Syncopation

 

 

 

Clouds raced

across the night sky,

we watched them

together,

heartbeats in syncopation,

the stars dancing on.

 

A shadorma for  Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

Pleiades

The Pleiades, an open cluster consisting of approximately 3,000 stars at a distance of 400 light-years (120 parsecs) from Earth in the constellation of Taurus. It is also known as ‘The Seven Sisters’, or the astronomical designations NGC 1432/35 and M45. NASA, ESA, AURA/Caltech, Palomar ObservatoryThe science team consists of: D. Soderblom and E. Nelan (STScI), F. Benedict and B. Arthur (U. Texas), and B. Jones (Lick Obs.) [Public domain]

He’s breathless

at the sight of them,

all seven

beautiful.

Heedless of their desires,

only knows his own.

 

A god’s touch–

they’re doves. Now weightless,

flying high

and higher

through the moon’s shimmer, and then,

too, they glimmer.

 

Ageless, they

wander, star-lighted,

twinkling and

traveling

through the skies. Are they at peace?

Immortal sisters

 

still pursued

but untouchable,

in stellar

grace they sail

an indigo timeless sea

forever and on.

 

For Laura’s dVerse prompt, “less is more. . .”  She gave us a list of words. I chose breathless, weightless, ageless, and I added timeless. This is a shadorma sequence. I’m also linking it to Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday prompt. 

 

 

 

 

With a Bang Comes Possibility

Image by enriquelopezgarre from Pixabay

with a bang

comes the birth of worlds

and star songs

drift, falling

to papaya glow, rising

over barren rocks

 

then soaring

above burnished crags

the black-winged

dreamers fly,

carrying all the befores

and all the afters

 

landing here

where light and shadows

together

dance, holding

possibility aloft

for millennia.

 

A shadorma sequence for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday. The poem is inspired by the image  above chosen by Linda Lee Lyberg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forest Magic Seen

 

Magic in

forests’ midnight green—

fairy queens

bewitching

with enchanted flute music

may never appear

 

but the deer

shyly nibbling grass

in autumn’s

golden hue?

That is magic I have seen,

and it is enough.

 

While I’m procrastinating with poetry, here’s a shadorma set for Colleen’s tanka Tuesday photo prompt, using the image above.

 

Reflect

 

Birds take flight

leaving their shadows

dancing there

on blue water

trees reflect, remembering

fields of green and gold.

 

A shadorma for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, using the photo selected by Jane Dougherty.