Rally ‘round the middle melodies Hold hope in your heart as deities design a perfect pause to catch karma Sing songs of aftershocks and avenues as winding ways back beckon Rally ‘round, rally ‘round, rally ‘round Shelter and stand beneath love and light photo: Hammacher Schlemmer prompts: #VerseAngel, The Sunday Whirl, Mindlovesmisery’s Menagerie – Saturday Mix Continue reading Cryptic Carols
some thought it sad her swiftly failing memory from this side of dreams it looked dreary and dark like rain on a cold November night caught between the grim and the futile she was a frail woman lingering on the edge of golden gates window-shopping before making a final purchase living in the space between breaths against the odds, as if efforts to contradict were … Continue reading Heartbeat
More than the air, still and stagnant, more than cloudless skies and blue, blue water, Silence uttered the warning, a foreboding to beware. Rolling hills met the ocean without a care, yet not a creature moved. No field mice scurrying here and there. Cats hid and dogs cowered beneath abandoned porches. Livestock disappeared behind tall grasses, clustered tightly together. No children laughing on the lonesome … Continue reading Blue Sky Warning
the woods waited for her every day she passed the ancient sickly trees she felt the wind still with their bated breath she heard whispers in that wind, hollow silence screaming desperate pleas the woods waited for her every day brittle branches intertwined casting shadows of love between midnight and morning glories and violets and dawn’s hello bidding time as she walked on flowers, … Continue reading Into the Woods
Tortuous, these cravings that burn Tantalizing beats keeping time Trembling voices softly beckon Catch your breath, pause, pause and reckon Embrace and release every rhyme Let each minute toss and turn Will you ever learn, will you learn Crystal balls and these magic chimes won’t stop this moment, this second Trembling voices, how they beckon Tantalizing as they keep time Tortuous cravings crash and burn … Continue reading Disarray
There’s humility in the rain that visits in the whispering shallows Here where the world is quiet and still, I listen I draw comfort from the steady drone that sounds like a heartbeat, here where drops of water weigh heavy on fragile petals They glisten like diamonds, like kaleidoscopes swirling And those tender blossoms? They accept the weight without effort, knowing it helps them to … Continue reading Rainy Days
show me what I’m looking for a reason to believe after the fall this world in an uproar moments meant to deceive show me what I’m looking for life seems so small still holding on to a reason to believe if hope is meant to heal faith might start a spark after the fall photo: Pixabay prompts: #aprpad – day 6, #napowrimo – day 6, … Continue reading After the Fall
A taste of nostalgia, ever sweet lost in the rituals of old each time I cross that threshold just one step and I am complete Family traditions, the heartbeat each one spun from gold A taste of nostalgia, ever sweet Lost in the rituals of old That familiar feeling as I pull up the street Sisters and brothers and babies to hold Love, laughter, and … Continue reading Home for the Holidays
“I talk to God but the sky is empty.” – Sylvia Plath I seek wisdom in the sawdust falling gently beneath the polished mahogany bowl you carved with loving hands for it is not the finished product but rather the blood, sweat, and tears buried deep within its caviar ribbons that tell this story My eyes long for the beauty of paradise scattered like sunflowers … Continue reading Seeking Wisdom
As young boys, they left home bound for adventure, bound for war Courage still an illusion unknown Death, a distant enemy even as mothers dried tears and prayed that freedom was worth the cost Striving to be the best no matter the cost each would combat loneliness with letters from home Some read again and again while they prayed Restless as the rain, they fought … Continue reading Letters from Home
The rhythm of sunrise, the rhythm of sunset, filled her life Like a thoroughbred galloping along crashing waves her course left footprints heavy with intention She hijacked a trail of rooted memories and hitched a ride on wayward winds She caressed the hem of havoc’s reach and brewed a tea of hemlock and corn husks just to prove she could The rhythm, the rise and … Continue reading Hidden Hope
If love were an umbrella it might shield and shelter it might cover and offer protection from pain, from loss, from time moving, raging, clanking but what if it was more what if it was an easement between what was and what could be what if it was that ethereal curtain daring to display your deepest dreams what if was meant to dull the edge … Continue reading Umbrella Love
Wicked winds whistle a siren call of Autumn draped in gold and red Winter soon follows Its echoing ache bellows across snowy skies The glory of Spring rejuvenates tired old bones with blossoms and hope Faithful friend Summer You encourage me to pause and enjoy each day photo: Pexels prompts: Heeding Haiku With Chèvrefeuille, #SeptemberFalls18 Continue reading Chain of Seasons
Light shines through darkness A beam of hope revealed like smoke on the water Some say if I wait if I stop searching, seeking I might find true peace So I surrender today’s troubles and worries What will be will be photo: #PoetryPotion prompts: #GoDogGoCafe, #PoetryPotion, WD Wednesday Prompt, #Deedster Poetry Prompt 14, #Heeding Haiku with Chèvrefeuille- MindlovesMisery’sMenagerie … Continue reading Learning Patience
Sometimes below the tears that fall gently like the summer rain resolve falters and that brave front weighs too heavy Somehow among the rack and ruin you find the courage to fall into the unknown and release the desperation Grief is like that States of emergency muddled with stress and too many decisions disappear or at least rearrange and those hands that you’ve clenched and … Continue reading On Loss, Again
Seeking quiet solitude I followed a morning path where the echoes of words were heard but not seen photo: mine prompts: #NatureVerse, #WrittenRiver, Sunday Writing Prompt “Collage Prompt #41” Continue reading Sustenance
Serenity found in balancing layers Memories of grace Moments of honesty Times when willows wept at night tracking tears of the misguided Times when winds danced with the rising sun trafficking unadulterated joy Honesty colors this retrospective in hues we seek to keep Peace paints the perfect picture photo: mine (My son and I in Sedona) prompts: Mindlovesmisery’s Menagerie … Continue reading Tandem Masterpiece
I escaped to the land of clementine skies A tapestry of chiseled red rock draped me in renewal Ancient lands dotted with saguaros carried my troubles away Up where mesas dominate each vista gentle breezes ushered in a fresh perspective and washed clean the stale air of yesterday I felt my breath rise and fall I spoke the language of clouds I kissed … Continue reading Arizona Afternoons
They wield poison pens fancying themselves erudite erudite thirsty for power erudite scattering ignorance ignorance spread in minatory threads ignorance draped in a need for justice justice meted out by frigid hearts justice in desperate need of stark reflection reflection distorted in a puddle of shadows reflection disguising all that lies underneath underneath that need for revenge underneath that call for action action … Continue reading Erudite as Weakness
almost close enough to touch out in this barren land where the song of the whistling robin is muffled by damp and cold these last vestiges of winter linger as I fall to my knees and pry loose petals captured by early April snow earthen clay clings to my chapped skin is it no wonder that I take secret pleasure in outwitting this … Continue reading Spring
Sometimes I am unprepared as the past crashes into the present and the world stops spinning Memories hang in the air obscuring all those things I thought were important I reach for them and wrap each around my trembling body It’s the longing to stop the clock that hurts the most Snippets of conversation between the child I was and then man he is linger … Continue reading Perspective
Butterflies fly on currents the winds forgot released from cages by one who understood the hunger for freedom by one who felt the call of an open window by one who shuddered as every door slammed shut by one who grasps opportunity and lets it go photo: Pixabay prompts: #becomingfragile, #WrittenRiver, MindlovesMisery’s Menagerie, WordPress Daily Post Continue reading Empathy
As a teacher in a Catholic school, I was required to attend a safety meeting last week. It was held in a church and two retired law enforcement personnel taught us what to do if there was an active shooter during mass. While an important discussion, I was struck by the contrast of the topic in a place that is supposed to be one of … Continue reading Just In Case
Sunday Writing Prompt 242 A second hand rocking chair alone in the corner keeper of secrets collector of memories a safe place to retreat from the madness within Its curved arms warped by time welcome those who hunger for comfort Its curved rockers sway without sound boundless in soothing repose and when the urge to follow despair beckons and … Continue reading Contemplating Patience
This week’s Saturday Sound Bites prompt: Think of something you lost recently. What are two positive insights you gained from the experience? I went for a walk today, enjoying an almost spring like day in February. It’s been months since I walked along the boardwalk and as I strolled along the water’s edge, I thought about these little opportunities I miss to take … Continue reading Taking Time
Because the harsh days of winter invariably lead to rebirth, I am thankful for short days and cold nights. This scratchy wool that punishes my skin somehow prepares my body to receive the healing touch of silk and satin that is the warmth of spring. A celebration, this joy in knowing that each self-inflicted hibernation prepares an invocation of renewal. Hold fast the belief … Continue reading Awaiting Renewal
A curious power — finding magic hiding between the thorn and the rose with wounded words found in rain-soaked cities and wide-open fields between walls of glass that sparkle before dawn smudges and distorts clear blue skies the lonely poet wears a cloak meant for the malefactor he lurks in the shadows waiting to steal beauty from the grotesque restless … Continue reading Poetry Conceived
Like air, I’ll rise like wildfire burning over open prairies, I’ll consume consume each new opportunity consume with hunger borne of necessity necessity frames new directions to follow necessity leading to anywhere but here here quiet voices urge me to listen here demons dance to unsteady beats beats drumming, heartache strumming beats to carry me above and beyond beyond the confines of the small-minded … Continue reading Rise Above Today
Once the Harlequin, she danced pulled by strings she did not control She tried to dampen rage, not her own She attempted to silence growls of the beast A false smile belied inescapable tears She was a leaf flailing in the wind Broken But sometimes those damaged bits meld together to create something stronger Sometimes something abysmal becomes a thing … Continue reading Recycled Power
I found myself in the ruins again a barren landscape, that wasteland of the past somehow both haunting and familiar The angel on my shoulder endeavored to find reprieve as I struggled to breathe, struggled to find the horizon She stirred stagnant air, beating torn wings with the honed perfection unending practice brings My constant companion, albeit sometimes under protest, she whispered advice knowing I … Continue reading On Wings
