Death Comes and Waits

Image Credit: https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/66272

Now, death comes–
an owl’s wing-woosh, sighs
in moonlight,
shadow shapes.
But weary-boned, he pauses–
eyes wide-open shut

forever
gone–or in-between
time shifting,
ghosts drifting–
past meets future, unmasked
Death enters the room.

This is a shadorma for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday. I selected the artwork.
I saw the above print on the Philadelphia Free Library’s Print Department’s Instagram feed. It captured my attention, and though created during the Great Depression of the 1930s, it seems so timely, as well as seasonal. I asked Colleen if it would be okay to use it instead of a photo for her ekphrastic prompt.

All the Voices: Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 28

Inspired by KR28 and JL28

• 

  The Sky Is Filled With Voices
  -Kerfe Roig

• 

  Tawny Owl At Coach and Horses.
  -John Law

Blue of sky
to river flowing
colored light
green growing
tall, bright, with birdsong trilling
day into night

mockingbird
sings. Hawk is screeching
gulls laugh back,
call goodbye
to fly in formation, light-
glimmered wings in flight

paths swirling,
all the sounds whirling—
sky voices,
birds and bees,
stars and moon, owl’s mournful whoooo?
So, you dream of scenes—

blue of sky
and river flowing,
all the birds’
bright knowing,
summer sounds in winter’s dream—
I turn towards you.

A shadorma sequence for Paul Brookes’ Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 28. You can see all the art and read the poems here.

Wishes: Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 24

Inspired by KR 24, “Wishes” and JL 24 “Snipe”

• 

  Kerfe Roig, “Wishes”

• 

  Snipe
  -John Law

Wishes glide
on many wings, some
slight flutter
newly born–
butterflies from chrysalis
dreams, desires seen,

soar and sing
as mockingbirds of
dreams. Or dove-
cooed clinging,
birds on a wire, resting,
still before the storm

gusts, blusters–
rising tide, wind blows
winnowing
like the snipe—
creeping dreams, such feathered things
that soar, fly, drift, die

and again
reborn, spring-lighting
from winter
gloom, hatched to
buzz, sting, flitter, sing, and then
sometimes. . . they come true.

A shadorma series for Paul Brookes’ Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 24. You can see all the art and read all the poems here.

Too Late: Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 15

• 

  75 million years at spurn beach
  -John Law

• 

  Ace of Cups
  -Kerfe Roig

• 

  Jane Cornwell

Cosmic after-
glow, echoes of light,
energy
and matter
through time, before time
before our time–eons

of coursing
color no one sees–
from the sky
to the sea
repeating cycles, fractals
and Fibonacci

on the beach,
a nautilus shell—
you hold it,
marveling
at its spiral curves, ancient
sailor, now moored here

amidst stones
and gull laughs, soaring
as Gaia
cups the world.
This is how life unfolds, in
circles and seasons

without hate.
Too late for her, or
him, or them—
the Other—
though filled with stardust, too. See
how cycles repeat?

A shadorma sequence for Paul Brooke’s Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 15. We’re halfway through! You can read the other poems here. My work is inspired by all three works of art. I am behind on replying to comments and visiting other posts because I’ve had to finish paying work this week, but I will catch up in the next couple of days. This will be my NaPoWriMo poem for today because I know I won’t have time to get to the prompt.

Everything: NaPoWriMo, Day 8

^{Crow flying over the Delaware River at Red Bank Battlefield}

Listen, as
Crow caws your future—
winter goes,
spring appears,
cycles repeat forever,
light to dark to light

from before
time, it resonates–
the afterlight
of star-birds
flapping their bright-feathered wings,
and traveling on.

Ghost glimmers
spot the sky. Humming
with the moon,
the sea sighs,
everything connected. Now,
listen again. See?

A Shadorma chain for NaPoWriMo, Day 8 inspired by my walk this morning. The crows have been so active, and right now a mockingbird is putting on quite a concert from a nearby tree. It’s a good time of year to look around and listen. Since I’m writing a daily poem for the Ekphrastic challenge, and I’m behind on all my work, I’m mostly not writing for the prompts this year. But, I do love the shadorma form. 😏

Warp and Weft: Ekphrastic Challenge, Day 4, NaPoWriMo

• 

  Moment of Birth
  -Kerfe Roig

• 

  Jane Cornwell

Warp and weft,
life weaves through tides,
sun-sparkled,
moon-bedewed,
blue-waved and bleached white, patterns
form again and go

in dream worlds,
she sees. Star-gathered,
the crows come,
dark to light,
now, never, always—this is
what might be. Time is

an ocean
layered with rippling
currents, not
constant, but
ever-changing. Dark to light,
warp and weft. Again.

A Shadorma chain for Paul Brookes’ Ekphrastic Challenge. You can see all the art and poems here. I don’t have time today to write a poem based on the photos in the site mentioned into today’s NaPoWriMo prompt, but–as in this poem–I often write about liminal spaces.

The Question

Mortal, we
free-fall in life-aches’
whispered, whys.
Dark matter
attracted, but questioning
the spin, the drop–still

carbon-based,
not immortal, but
time-holding–
swallowed stars
coursing through our veins, scattered
light diffused, always

there waiting,
the flame, unknown or
forgotten,
a beacon
within brain, heart, skin–or soul-
dimmed till it’s released.

In a dream,
a blue river shines,
calling me,
and I wake
with the vision remaining.
I send it soaring.

And does it
live on in space-time?
Not human,
not mortal,
but eternally, star-sparked–
circling forever.

Cloud Reflections on the Delaware River at West Deptford, NJ ©️Merril D. Smith 2020

A shadorma sequence for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday, where I chose the theme, “Immortality.” I’m also sharing this with dVerse for Open Link Night, which is live tonight! I really did wake from a dream of a blue river

Moon Song Blooms

^{Morning Moon with Gulls, Delaware River at Red Bank Battlefield ©️Merril D. Smith, 2021}

Moon song drifts,
over pink-glowed sea.
Gulls gather
to hear the
tune and circle-dance, catching
currents, sing along

with dawn moon’s
farewell. Remember
me tonight-–
her refrain
floats, feather-white, and fleeting,
falls to warming earth

is planted
as sparkling star-gulls
flock to light,
and geese pair,
delight to share longer days,
and moon-song blooms white.

For dVerse Open Link Night where Linda is hosting. This is a shadorma sequence that I’m also linking to Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge. I said about the top photo that the gulls in the picture look liked stars, and Colleen called them “star-gulls.” Originally, I was going to share a diatelle I wrote about the Hindenburg, which Linda mentioned on the dVerse prompt. However, I can’t ignore it was a Nazi propaganda ship, and the poem got very dark, and I feel more like celebrating spring today. Our crocuses are starting to bloom!

Ekphrastic Challenge: Day Twenty-Five

For Paul Brookes’ Ekphrastic Challenge, Day Twenty-Five inspired by the works below. (The link will take you to all the art and poems.)

• 

  -Kerfe Roig “The Strange”

• 

  -Marcel Herms “Sin King Sinking”

Wondrous and Strange

Mirror-worlds
where fairies dwell in
always-green,
but in-between,
in that center line, humans
live with paler hues

unable
to see vibrant shades
or beyond
space and time,
defined in narrow bands—birth
death, and then the end.

But there he
fell, and she caught him—
beautiful
Fairy Queen.
“Stay,” says she, but no, he wants
home and family.

So, he runs,
bumbles, stumbles, from
the wondrous
fairy place
of green and dancing flowers,
because he senses–knows

beneath the
glow, snapping teeth snarl
and bite, and
huge monsters,
alligator crawl, slither
from swamps, over walls–

it is not
the place for humans.
Our hearts must
wake in that
center line axis of earth,
sun, moon; we need smiles

and tears to
fall, but light always
behind the
shadows tall
and looming. We’re mortal, but
love everlasting.

I thought I’d try something different today. This poem is a shadorma sequence. Kerfe’s painting made me think of pre-Raphaelite fairy tale illustrations. Work in progress. . . 😏

After the Longest Night

After the longest night–

float a barque
on moonbeam seas, sail
past stars, glean
ghost-light of
yesterday, interlace dreams
with glimmered visions–

prophetic
muse! Sing aloud the
birth of sun
from shadow-
world–light candles, flicker-flames
to recall your hopes

barque-breezing,
caught in spindrift. Soar
moon-bound, star
searching, un-
barred, braided with sparkling dreams
to glide heart-sworn home.

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, so this is a December-flavored shadorma sequence of light and hope for Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday challenge using synonyms for Kerfe Roig’s words, mingle and drift. I’m also linking this to dVerse Open Link Night, where Björn is hosting a live event.