Thursday, October 31, 2013

Ghoulish and Macabre

                                                                                        Attribution: Bissolis
Image: Halloween Pumpkin
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Uncanny designs devilish in nature
Its appearance ghoulish and macabre
Leaving  imagination set to venture
Acceptable even without a lure

Transcending through time and space
Flirtatious roaming about the community
Scouring door to door moving in a maze
Trick or treats not entirely charity

But beware youngsters of present day danger
Times have changed now wrought with risks
Stalkers aplenty when opportunities appear
Defenseless revelers not given a miss

While among those friendly house owners
Once, one was known to have pulled a gun
Contending at the door a would-be robber
Or was it just a mere excuse of defense

Ghost-themed and morbid all so sincere
Halloween to fulfill an annual adventure
Having them indoors can be served better
To stifle probabilities of impending danger

Anna hosting at d'Verse's Meeting the Bar: Wild Beast. Anna has a macabre avant garde as a theme

Misconstrued Insanity

                                                                                                    Attribution: dvsross
Image: 2013 Burning Man Festival
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Case of misconstrued insanity
Could he be faulted for a time
Lingering in throes of secrecy
Not really worth a dime

He searched his conscience
He thought he had it made
Sweetie Pie, he even gave a name
But she would rather have him dead

What did he do wrong
Whispering sweet nothings?
Choice of words all along
Not open to feigning 

But he was not about to give up
Faint heart given a nudge
Plodding on would be smart
Time would be the judge

Written for Mrsupole's Theme Thursday with prompt  -  sweets

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Gone With the Wind!

                                                                          Attribution: Sander van der Wel
Image: Depressed
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

The 3WW with words::
Depressed  Fuzzy  Sharp

Decidedly depressed
Could not hide his emotions
Others did not express
Any kinds of suggestions

What was he to do
It was a lone battle
Fuzzy and feeling blue
It was a big muddle

Love of his life
Had frittered away
His being nose-dived
Much to his dismay

Sharp in giving his all
Nurtured of good tidings
Felt rather small
That all gone with the wind

More guarded now
In expending feelings
Not way he did before
Which left him reeling

Written for Thomg's  3-Words Wednesday

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Fight Back Against Bullies

                                                                                Attribution: Eddie S
Image:  A Reassuring Sign
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Fenced in idle thoughts
Yearning to be free but lo!
Forcibly held back

Languishing alone
Tiny room a make belief
domain but not quite

Invoked tsunami
Forced running battle against
the likes of bullies

Fight back a signal
not to harass, only then
they learned  to respect

Written for Joe's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight week #120 and
Chev's CARPE DIEM #334 with Lolly's prompt choice - fence

Sunday, October 27, 2013

A Sultry Baby

                                                                               le Jardin 1962, by Max Ernst
Image: Courtesy of Tess' Magpie Tales 191

Sultry baby
Not quite exposed
But just

Sexy beauty
Not quite seen
But a blast

Sensuous lady
Peeking through
Must you hide?

Desirable  plaything
Not creating a scene
Innocently alluring

Sensational being
Clever in feigning
Success in the offing

Written for Tess' Mag 191 with above image! Shared with Poets United's Poetry Pantry #173

A Hot-Dog Dog - MF


Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash

Not that vacant look
You are looking smart
Brace up, you are not
just a dog but a hot-dog
dog. Get it!  A walking
hot-dog! Can't you see?

(140 characters)

Linda at Grandma's Goulash, Succinctly Yours week 136 challenged
us to write a Micro Fiction of not exceeding 140 characters with the
image provided above and to include the word of the week - vacant

Saturday, October 26, 2013

A Companion to Obesity

                                                                          Attribution: Evans Amos
Image:  A Familiar Treat
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Note: The image is not the Hillbilly 10 Pounder Burger which is way bigger.
Not quite ghoulish or spooky but a monster no less

A monster of an offering
A Hillbilly Hotdogs’10 Pounder Burger
Gobble and munch no fearing
On the road to being an obese contender

Where to find it, needn’t look far
It’s a  West Virginian specialty
Enjoyed by all and not a mar
to the state’s 31% of adult obesity

The ingredients if one cares to know
Comprised bread, lettuce, 10 pounds of beef
2 pounds of pickles, 3 onions, 3 tomatoes
And would you believe it, 25 slices of cheese

Fat content of 10 pounds of burger meat
is more than 800 grams of fat with ease
Or to put it more simply, it is the day’s fats feed
For 12 women and not even counting the cheese

Hail all lovers of fast foods
The convenience that matter
Having it in a jiffy governs the mood
Couldn’t trade for anything better

Written for Shanyn's hosting at d'Verse Poetics: Lighter side of
ghouls & goblins on a monster of sorts

Friday, October 25, 2013

Brown and Golden Colors

                                                                                                 Author: Ragesoss
Image: Autumn leaves
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

autumn leaves
myriad shades red and gold
begin to fall as snow        -       joanne
just as well to usher in
the impending winter months

autumn leaves
myriad shades red and gold
begin to fall as snow         -     joanne
blanketing earth’s surface with
heaven’s goodness of colors

autumn leaves
myriad shades red and gold
begin to fall as snow          -    joanne
and coolness of autumn breeze
sustains romances and dreams

Chev at CARPE DIEM wants us to complete joanne's haiku into a Tan Renga at
Tan Renga Challenge #20 with an addition of two 7-7 lines

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Deprived of Decent Living

                                                                                   Drawing by Carl Nabel
Image:  Battle of Buena Vista
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

3WW with words:
Greasy Insidious Reveal

It’s a make believe world
Living in peril not wanting
But faces of despair in limbo
To reveal a scheme of things
Driven through a greasy tide
Of experience pulling through
A living more in tune with
Knowing of existing conflicts

Insidious in nature fronting as
Big business but hiding behind
Lawful outfits given to cheating
Whole communities of comforts
And shelter fundamental to
Survival with not a glimmer
Of hope than meeting basic
Needs of being and begging

Strong economies giant in nature
Swallowing minnows juxtaposed
Among many of equal stature
Basic in wanting to sustain
Some semblance of staying alive
But forced to put through a notion
That supporting a cause is better
Than desire to be alive and kicking

Written for ThomG's 3Word Wednesday shared with Mrsupole's Theme Thursday with prompt  - faces

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Tummy Pains Determined

                                                                                    Attribution: Jackhsiao
Image: Hospital Bed
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Just returned from a procedure, to
check on lower abdominal pains
Confirmed not cancerous 

Gastric
Lingering pain
Endoscopy check performed
Ulcers confirmed but not serious
Ailment is now addressed

A Pensee has a 
2-4-7-8-6 syllable count whereby
line one is the subject line,
line 2 is description,
line 3 is action
line 4 is setting and
line 5 is the final thoughts on the poem.

Written for Tony's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight #119
based on a Pensee Form 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Candor Not Asked For!

                                                                              Attribution: Derrick Coetzee
Image: A Yellow headed Amazon
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Sunday Whirl, wordle # 131 with words:

amalgam balance brick cheat everything fence
gravel mouth nothing notices tentacles trash vacant

Nothing prepared him for it
Had much faith in good manners
But it crashed like a brick wall
Everything went off balance

The cheat extending the tentacles
An amalgam of slick play-acting
and sweet talking conman juice

A vacant look often times were
the opening gambit before flying
into a rage unbecoming of one
given to trappings of high society

Trash from the mouth were plainly
dirty gravel extending notices of
the muck oozing with profanities

Attempts to fence in the emotions
came to nought and it taught him
a lesson  - never ever bring back
home without prior checking a
talking parrot!

Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle #131 and shared with Open Link Monday at Real Toads 
and Poets United's Poetry Pantry #172

Sunday, October 20, 2013

New Experiences, New Life!

                                                                                     Attribution: Doc Sphere
Image: New Snow Through snow Covered Meadows
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

new snow
the path you made last night
has gone with you   -   Garry Gay
grey remnants, blot to
noble efforts extended
to benefit man   -   Hank’s

new snow
the path you made last night
has gone with you   -   Garry Gay
need create a new path
to obliterate ills of
past and chart anew   -   Hank’s

Shared with Chev's CARPE DIEM #63 where one is to match Garry's
haiku with one's own and Leo's Haiku Heights #305 with prompt  - grey

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Not to Lose All!

                                                                                         Attribution: Zellmi
Image: Lost the Bone in the Water
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

You’ve heard of the dog in the manger
Which kept others at bay while it lounged
At a place not readily its domain
Just so others were deprived of its use

Not short on dog stories there’s another
Not unlike the one in the manger but close

Secured with a bone clenched between its teeth
Happily on the way home it crossed a brook
It spied its reflection in the water, bone and all
Thinking it was an easy picking for another bone
It opened its mouth to wrest at the other
Down dropped the bone and now it had none

And the moral of the story kids,
Be happy with  what you already have
As a wrong attitude might cause you to lose all

Victoria is hosting at d'Verse with prompt  The Mind of a Child, d'Verse Poeticd

Friday, October 18, 2013

A Scarecrow Fisherman?

                                                                                      Attribution: Thomas Schoch
Image: A Spectacular Fisherman - a One Leg Rower
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Halloween night
the fisherman
dressed as a scarecrow     -  Garry Gay
Fishes down below laughing
Can well see behind the tricks!

Halloween night
the fisherman
dressed as a scarecrow     -  Garry Gay
Scared the daylights of the fish
And translated to poor catch

We are to complete the given Garry Gay's haiku into a Tan Renga
with two lines of 7-7 in Chev's CARPE DIEM Challenge #19

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Spur of the Moment

                                                                              Attribution: Broken Sphere
Image: A 1929 Auburn Speedster
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Spur of the moment
Release of a spark varied
In circumstances

Dare graze the bumper
of the speedster in front, a
road bully  transformed

Enduring moments
of ecstasy but next a
monster suddenly

Crying for a fix
Wayward son swiped the meager
earnings of poor dad

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #325 with prompt  - release
# 301 - spark

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

What of a Trash Heap!

                                                                            Attribution: Arthur Thomson
Image: The Java Man
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

It was a daunting task
To determine what it could have been
Sieving through layers upon layers
Of trash of no known origin

It was not foolproof but rather
A next best alternative
To plainly extend guesswork
Humanly possible to intensify
Based on evidences relative
To other similar specimens
To reach some form of conclusion

It could reveal the social fabric
Covering food ,clothing and implements
Which vowed to keep it a secret
Undisturbed for millions of years
Until archeologists arrived at the scene

The variety of artifacts could only have
Claims to prominence through conjecture
Of such scientific conclusions

Even the discovery of a single Java Man
Could still be mired in controversy
Whether it was an erect homo sapiens
Or just an ape or baboon of recent times

Being fastidious in collecting and collating
Of remnants of bones or skulls were by no
Means an accuracy of determining a fact
But rather of good methodology at best

Written for Peggy's hosting at Poetry Jam to write on It's All in the Trash and
Shared with ThomG's hosting at  3Word Wednesday with  words  
daunting, fastidious and intensify

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Blessings from Heavens

                                                                                 Attribution: Mike
Image: Floating Lotus Shaped Chinese Lanterns
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Endearing spirits
Of loved ones basking in lights
Of blissful Heavens

Returning  visits
To those living, with blessings
For goodness in life

Lighted lanterns show
path back to Heaven’s gates
to return later

Privileged few who
remember their ancestors
can expect visits

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #323 with prompt -  threnody shared with
d'Verse's with Bjorn's hosting at OpenLinkNights week #118

Monday, October 14, 2013

Behind the Mean Look

                                                                                     Courtesy of Tess' Mag 190
Image: The guard dog
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

It is looking out
The mean look gets one jumpy
This is fair warning

This is his turf, takes
to wrestling,tossing,freestyle
Better take notice

Lurks behind the fence
Play-acting but be careful
Known to jump over

Written for Tess' Magpie Tales #190, Mary's hosting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #171
and Kerry's hosting at Real Toad's Open Link Monday

Sunday, October 13, 2013

In a drunken stupor!


Image: Courtesy of Grandma's

I hear voices in a drunken stupor
It's funny! We doctors can sometimes
'see' the future just by listening
I advise you not to go on drinking

(140 characters)

Linda at Grandma's Goulash, Succinctly Yours week 134 provided the
above sketch for a Micro Fiction of not exceeding 140 characters and to
include the word  - stupor.

Friday, October 11, 2013

It’s Beyond Redemption!

                                                                       Attribution: West Midlands Police
Image: Early Morning Drugs Raid
Source:  Wikimedia Commons (here)

Having seen the flower children
with ‘flowers in their hair’. The 60’s
were times of discoveries. It was
respectable and acceptable to
dig the drugs scene then.

More so when musical’s greats were leading
and lending a hand. The drug scenes were the pull
factor. Hendricks, Joplin guitar strumming
and belting great songs. Lennon with sleep-ins
it was all fun and games.  Dr Timothy and LSD
gave the ‘license’ at the appropriate time

And the flower children? They were lucky, yes,
all were lucky. Why?  weed and grass were
apparently mild then!

Big money brought more daring variants
Acid, ice and what-have-you, made the scene
Expensive drugs,  fashionable but lethal
Some were not even known or readily
available but prescribed to Hollywood greats
I missed my idols, I missed Elvis, MJ and a host
of others knocked senseless

The game is still being played, the drug scene
is still very much alive. But the players

are different. Drug mules tricked into carrying them
across borders.  Languishing in jails the world
over either serving life terms or awaiting
execution. The end users at dark alleys and
street corners in deathly stupor. It's no more
just a fix. It's suicidal!

The drug barons on the contrary are enjoying their
ill-gotten gains without as much a conscience

The drug scene is beyond redemption!

Fireblossom is hosting at Real Toads with prompt - redemption

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Lingers in Memory

                                                                            Attribution: Dababarata Ghosh
Image: A serene morning
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Written in memory of a wonderful
gentleman, Dave King

Emptiness softly
engaging a warm soul
with empty feelings

Perfect gentleman
Left a void that struck hard
on terms of friendship

Heavy heart held high
Unforgettable talents
Shell of memories

Written for Brian's hosting at d'Verse Meeting the Bar: To friends and Chev’s CARPE DIEM #319 with prompt - shell

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

A Step A Time

                                                                   Author: Loadmaster (D.R. Tribble 
Image: On a Concrete Step Ledge
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Taking a step a time
Walk don’t run
Easy does it!

Not stepping out of line
A common compromise
Not upsetting the apple cart

Stepping on a toe
One ought to be careful
Lest one get rewarded with a bloody nose

Walking in steps
Like soldiers do
Disciplined and proper

Step in the right direction
It’s a good education
Dignified with successful conclusion

Taking many steps
Play safe with
Life’s choices

Stepping stones in discoveries
So is the thinking!

Written for Mary's hosting at  Poetry Jam with prompt  - steps

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

The All-Important Announcement!

                                                           Attribution: Andrea Westmoreland
Image: A Pair of Egret
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Sunday Whirl Wordle #129 with the 12 words:
basket blinked chance clever flesh hand
nest ripe saw secret stars swept

This is a late response to the Sunday Whirl which is now 
submitted for the OpenLinkNight

The great Egret couple
Dancing hand in hand
Emerging through a misty morning
From a rain swept night of cold showers
That tugged at the raw flesh
Heavy rain that threatened the security
Accorded by its nest of twigs interlacing
Brilliantly woven in intricate fashion
In a clever way in mystical conjecture
To  welcome the next generation
of young egret chicks

In a basket of a fashionable home
Mother egret rubbed her eyes, blinked
By chance saw the reassuring presence
Of its head of the household
It was the ripe time she realized
to reveal the secret she harbored
alone for so long

With stars twinkling in her eyes
She declared proudly
Reliving that special moment
Of all mothers-to-be
‘I’m pregnant’

Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle #129 and shared with
Brian's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight #117


Monday, October 7, 2013

Strangers in the Night

                                                                                      User: Martin Hagberg
Image: The President Awarding the Medal of Freedom to Frank Sinatra
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

The song was made famous in 1966 by Frank Sinatra. It was the title song for Sinatra's 1966 album Strangers in the Night, which became his most commercially successful album. The song also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Sinatra's recording won him the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist or Instrumentalist for Ernie Freeman at the Grammy Awards of 1967  -  Wiki

Of such a wonder
Of Sinatra and his song
Of unmatched talents

Of nostalgic strains
Of strong bidding for the top
Grabbed honors all round

Note: I had written this without looking at Kris' posting prior to writing. Pardon me for the similar utterances. I decided to let it be without having to post another one. Just shows how 'strangers' can evoke an immediate reaction to Frank's song!

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #316 with prompt  -  strangers and Mary's
posting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #170

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Hitting Hard on Punctuality


                                                                                       Image by Crilleb50
Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag 

He failed once again
He did it once before
He was punished
He didn’t seem to learn
Now he is back here

The angels were efficient
The moment it happened
And ‘swish’ he was transported here
That split of a second!

But why did he do it
He was supposed to be on time
Now he’s here a second time
He has to do penance
He has to sit at the bench
The first time he had to sit for a day
For being one hour late
Now he has to sit for half a day
For being a half hour late

He has to be taught a lesson
He must learn to be punctual

Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Privilege of Older Men

                                                                                   Attribution: Brad Beattie
Image: Taken out for Halloween during Carving
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

As both saw palmetto and pumpkin seed extracts benefit prostate health, taking these at the same time may provide synergistic effects. Men who took a combination of saw palmetto and pumpkin seed extracts experienced significant positive effects with no adverse side effects.
But more recent studies however found that saw palmetto was no better at alleviating the symptoms than taking a placebo pill  -  Wiki

Suffers  in silence
Privilege of older men
An enlarged prostate

Relief in combined
saw palmetto and pumpkin
seed herbal extract

But recent studies
on saw palmetto alone
not encouraging

Perhaps the pumpkin
seed element saves the day
all these while.. may be

Note:  Just a matter-of-fact comment of what ailment the burly hunks face in later years

Written in haiku for Brian's hosting at d’Verse Poetics:  Issues with pumpkins

Friday, October 4, 2013

Never Had it so Good!

                                                                                     Attribution: Roland zh
Image: Autumn Leaves
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Anger, raving mad!
What!  Summer fleetingly gone?
Gosh, never had it so good!

What do I see now?
Brown, unsmiling looking trees!
Cannot wait for White Christmas.
(experimenting with punctuation in poetry)

Note:
1.    Are there those who should
           fail to see the beauty of Autumn?

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM " Little Ones" #5
a sedoka, a short poetry form with 2 stanzas of 5-7-7 each

What of Vision Quest

                                                                              Attribution: Oliver Herold
Image: Ideal setting For a Vision Quest Retreat
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Vision quest:  A period of spiritual seeking often undertaken as a puberty rite. 
It typically involves isolation, fasting, and the inducement of a trance state in
a forest environment. It’s  for the purpose of attaining guidance or knowledge
from supernatural forces  -  Wiki

What of vision quest
Initiation ritual
From child to adult

Spiritual nature
Energies of creation
Guiding life’s purpose

Test of adulthood
Through chasms of discoveries
Shadowed by elders

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #314 with prompt vision quest







Wednesday, October 2, 2013

A Godfather’s Natural Take

                                                                                        Author:  Unknown
Image: Puppetmaster hand from the movie Godfather
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

3 Word Wednesday  -  Allege Conceal Propose
Theme Thursday  -  cement

He is quick to act
A Godfather’s natural take
Will impose his will immediately
Let it be known

Don’t mess around with me!

Not to conceal his odds
The underlings had better understand
His purpose in life
Is to be all-powerful
Be it in strength
Or in finance

Work and perform with me!

Propose whatever to whet his ego
Hard hearted he’s no fool
Refrain from small talk
Never to allege against anyone within
Lest he gets suspicious of one’s agenda
If ever it comes to that
Then pick your choice
To be buried in cement
Either in a shallow grave
Or in a used oil-drum
It’s  morbid

I sense betrayal in seconds!

Written for ThomG’s 3WW (Allege Conceal Propose) and
Mrsupol’s Theme Thursday

Just So There's a Good Laugh!

                                                                Author: Ardizzone, Edward Jeffrey Irving
Image: Having a Good Laugh
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

A ladies’ pastime snack
So they say
He said, she said
Lots of groundswell
Juicy ones get better treatment
Building up an arsenal
Can be handy
To get the mortal flatfooted
Sometime later in the future

Healthy as a conversation piece
Unhealthy of negative consequences

Oddly enough though
Among men there are gossips too
But the underlying motive
Is more of having fun
Just so there’s a good laugh

Of the mortal’s antics
Which painted out
To be silly and plain stupid
On how he should get himself
caught over a silly thing
No judgement nor ulterior  intentions
Just so there’s a good laugh

Written for Kim's hosting at Poets United Verse First with the notion, He said, She said  -  gossips

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

An Eclipse to Outshine

                                                                                          Attribution: Bree
Image: Eclipse Glasses
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

As when the Sun, new risen,
Looks through the horizontal misty air,
Shorn of his beams, or from behind the Moon,
In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds
On half the nations, and with fear of change
perplexes monarchs                                        -  John Milton's Paradise Lost

We are to write a haiku or haiku set from a distillation of the above excerpt:

Tries hard to impose
Hidden in shadowy form
The sun bids its place

An eclipse takes form
Envelops half the world to
submission meekly

Written for Chev's Distillation #3 and shared with Claudia's hosting
d'Verse OpenLinkNight week #116


What of The Eclipse

                                                                               Attribution: Javichu el Jerfe
Image:  A Solar Eclipse
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

It’s either a solar eclipse, when the Moon's shadow crosses the
Earth's surface, or a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into
the Earth's shadow  - Wiki

In ancient times it was believed a dragon was about to swallow the
Moon and the villagers would beat gongs to scare the dragon away

In modern times dark exposed negatives were used to view the
spectacular event. Dark sunglasses were not protection enough

Solar or lunar
In both instances the moon
came by into play

Gobbled by dragons?
Averted  with din of gongs
Earthlings did their part

Exposed negatives
better than sunglasses or
even telescopes

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #311 with prompt - eclipse  as
proposed by Bjorn