Monday, March 31, 2014

winds lashed hard...

                                                                                                                           Artist:  Jan Porcellis
Image: Strong Winds at Sea  (here)

All of the 33 words:
me you mockingbird tea cake says window morning
road rain melting wind churches sky bread stars read
rabbit woods smile tease life swearing thin again
water canal south palm madness neck out blue

You, me ‘to kill a mockingbird’
What a thriller over cake and tea
So says he!

Through the window in the morning
Across the road rain and melting winds
lashed hard

The sky groaned the churches'
steeples shook precariously

Bread and butter issues and to think
the stars read well!

A rabbit in the woods daintily
skipping to tease a smile at life
and swearing thin again

Questioning why water at the canal
south of the palm trees should shriek
with madness

Sticking its neck out for no reason
It later turned blue in the face with
embarrassment!

For Miskey's We Write Poems with Wordle #12

trips of conscience..

                                                                                Attribution: Evelyn Simak
Image: Oriental Poppy, Bane of the Drug Scene (here)

Guardedly moving
Explore realms of nature for
The trip of conscience

Careful not to trip
Or smell of gutter and mud
At tip of the nose

Mode of current craze
High on a trip to nowhere
Wisdom came too late

For Haiku Horizons #6 with - trip and shared with
Kerry's hosting at Real Toad's Open Link Mondays 

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Healing Hurt Feelings


Image: Courtesy of Sunday Whirl #154

burst growl heaven heal mending
pack plan root rows shivering time

Burst in with a growl onto the scene
Heaven knows what had transpired
Hoping to heal his hurt feelings
Not in the mood she is not inspired

Mending a broken heart with nothing
But looking for something more tangible
What has been smashed to smithereens
Needs a plan not easy to handle

He is to pick them up where they lie
All are to be swallowed up slowly
How they experimented with mice
Turned out to be a success eventually

Feathers of the wack-wack made into glue
Can't be helped it is that expensive
Swallowed slowly after some dues
Little at a time as a strong adhesive

The broken patches are now functioning
Rows of pills no match to mend
Other medicines may cause a shivering
But good for the mice is good for man

Note: The Wack Wack Golf and Country Club
in the Philippines is named after the bird. The name
is chosen here as it sounds exotic

For Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #154

Saturday, March 29, 2014

What was it?

                                                                                Hank's Pastel Sketch
Image: This sketch was done over a
week-end when Hank started this poetry
blog.

I thought I had a glimpse of you
A fleeting moment across the window
Your brother I met a week ago
He told me you might be home
It was going to be semester break
There was likelihood you would be back

It took a toll on me
Even though our campus were
not too far apart
We did not get to meet
We did not get to talk
I was sad thinking about it

You said you had had enough
It was taking too much of your time
I thought at least we could talk over it
We kept at it for that long
What was it, 3 years?

I remembered the one about the cat
The fur fluffy and white
I said I could not see it that well
There was not much of a cat
And you said it blended with
the background which was white
and we had a good laugh
It was fun!

And remember your eyes?
I thought I could see the twinkle
I thought it was a good portrait
But you said I made it look too good
And it was not realistic
Again we had a good laugh

It was a fortnightly affair
And quite regularly
You said you were tired
You had to concentrate on your studies
You had no time to indulge in it
I had to accept it

You had wanted to forget it all
And to destroy everything

I remembered that day
When we both decided
What was it, 30 years ago?

Now we met again after all these years
Yesterday was memorable
Your grandchildren were lovely
Both the little girls were cute

And I was so happy when you told me
You still had them with you
You did not have the heart to do it
And I was glad I too did not do it
as well!

There are things we kept a secret after all….

Note: This is part fact part fiction. Hank used
to exchange through the post little sketches
and paintings with a talented neighbor during
college days

For Claudia's hosting at d'Verse's OpenLinkNight, shared with
Kerry's at Real Toad's  -  where the phrase 'There are things we 
kept secret after' is to be included and Mary's at Poets United's
Poetry Pantry #195

Friday, March 28, 2014

The Language of Tulips

                                                                              Attribution: John O'Neill
Image: Red signifies True Love and Fame  (here)

Tulips have a strange fascination
Stands straight sturdy of softness
Yet delicate of beautiful colors abound
Happily in rows of likely oneness

Growth stemmed of early preparedness
Planting to start in the cold as year ends
To break ground in Spring’s freshness
Ready for market in much of later months

Belie but much of general acceptance
Variety of colors speak of stated norms
Of color Red signifies true love and fame
Orange of fascination happiness and warmth

Pink a color of confidence and caring
White of worthiness and forgiveness combined
While purple of royalty and regal bearing
Yellow of cheerful thoughts and sunshine

Meant to represent wedding’s 11th anniversary
A tulip is the emblem of the Netherlands
So also the national flower of Iran and Turkey
But representing beautiful eyes are those striped ones

Remember one time it was on everyone’s lips
The search for the ultimate choice of all people
A lot went into getting one of a Black tulip
But it failed and the nearest is one of deep purple

For Marge's hosting at Real Toads with - Artistic
Interpretations of Flowers

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Creature of the Deep

                                                                                              Hank's Acrylic Painting
Image:  An untitled abstract that Hank's loving
wife Shadah remarked to be like a sea creature

There has been sightings of a sea creature
of substantial size as big as that of a whale
but elongated and supple as a Queen Bee.
It can trace its beginnings apparently
to prehistoric times very much like that
of the platypus that uniquely grace
the landscape Down Under.

Elusive and slippery as an eel
it is not so much being coy to human
presence unlike that of household pets
but rather its habitat is found
further down at the sea-bed.

It has developed a system of survival
that allows it to move as freely as a busy bee
without any danger to itself.
Thanks to a tail-like structure that can twist
and turn like an octopus' tentacle.
This appendage is also multi-functional,
capable of pushing its weight forward
with motions of an oar or wriggles
to act as a rudder of a boat or better yet
to smack at any other smaller creatures
ambitious enough to be too close

Of voracious appetite it is rumored
to require the food equivalent to its weight daily.
For that reason it is a loner hunting alone
so that food resources need not be
shared among many mouths.

Similar to a whale it gives birth to its young.
It has an uncanny biological strategy
to ‘get into heat’ like a love struck canine
the moment it meets one of its kind.
When that happens they conveniently
adjust their sex like some kind of amoeba
so that one will be male and the other a female.
They will not allow a chance meeting
of a same sex pair to pass as they
might not get to meet that often.
To 'bump' into each other
is like winning at a lottery draw.
They are opportunists in that sense
but in a good sense 

One can never imagine that there is a high
level of harmony like young lovers together.
Life goes on  in the deep down
below very peacefully.
It is a stark difference from conflicts
and killings, cheats and connivance
up on land at the surface of the oceans.

Note: This is Hank's 3rd effort (3rd Friday) to PPF
which calls for weekly submission of one's own painting.
Good strategy for there is a chance to at least ensure
52 paintings to be done in a year

Tony at d'Verse hosting at Meeting the Bar : Rhythm and Blank Verse,
and shared with PPF hosted by Kristin and EVA



Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Paths full of Colors

                                                                                                 Attribution: xlibber
Image: Rows of Colors (here)

A 5-7-5-7-7 Tanka

Believer's yearnings 
For solace and salvation
Flowers show the way
Lighting paths full of colors
Towards fulfillment of faith


For Chev's CARPE DIEM #431 - Negoro-ji and Yashima-ji

Stay Cool!

                                                                                           Attribution: User Churnett
Image: Cool and Collected Fox (here)

3WW words are:  
cunning degenerate emaciated

Can one be faulted
For being cunning like a fox
So much fun
in a home run
Not likely
To make it a reality

Can one be faulted
For oneself to easily berate
and degenerate
Not likely
Unwise obviously

Can one be faulted
To risk being emaciated
Self gets withered
Do not bother
That’s an order

Stay cool
Be less a fool!

Written for Thomg's 3WW

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Colorfully Garbed in All Gaiety

                                                                                                                                Hank's snapshot
Blue skies above clear and brightly
Fluffs of white clouds moving leisurely

In a taxi we were heading southerly
Dashboard knobs dangling precariously
by its wires red and blue precisely
against the brown panels plain to see
A taxi that had seen better days obviously
Passing through a quiet road slowly

Secondary jungles on both sides gaily
waving with all the greenery so breezy
To  those passing through briefly
With gestures so friendly
With such feelings of serenity
                                                                 
Then in front spied suddenly
A  vehicle moving at a speed so safely
Full of ladies dressed in all gaiety
Very unlike one expected in a lorry

Blue and turquoise on the left fittingly
Orange, loud red on the right splashily
In between mild yellow snug outwardly
Huddled together garbed beautifully

When from the taxi driver upon enquiry
The reason for the dressing so uncanny
Normally of workers at the back of a lorry
Dressed unkempt so unpleasantly

He replied in a manner nonchalantly
In a country of deprivation they happily
Thumbed a lift at the backs of lorries
To partake in celebrations at a wedding party

Note: Hank was in Banda Aceh Indonesia
sometime ago when the above picture was taken

For Abhra's hosting at d"Verse with  -  a Color Festival

Monday, March 24, 2014

in sorrows of whispers...

                                                                                        Attribution: RayNata
Image: Tears (here)

The 43 words chosen out of 45:
arms failed bones clouds leaping fog teacup
broken history calm devotion drowned air
whispers you stumbles splintered roots
sleep frozen gutters stare rushes  harvest
unusable planet dust wicker swan
Cities petals breaths quiet store time alive
Tunes used bells gentle bosom alone slate

He was up in arms make no bones about it
Up in the clouds and they failed to appease

Groping in the fog leaping up a teacup
Broken history of calm devotion drowned
in sorrows of whispers

Putting on airs was a way out but 'you stumbled
on splintered roots all because of lack of sleep!'

Frozen gutters stared him in the face as blood
rushed to his head harvesting his mind blank
and unusable

Was there any in the planet where dust in quiet
breaths got stored in wicker baskets?

They should  remain gracefully alive gliding like
a swan in motion! Were there any?

Time would tell in the gentle bosom  of petals where
City Lights with ringing bells were used to nostalgic
tunes all alone on a given slate

For Miskey's hosting at We Write Poems Wordle #11 and
Kerry's Open Link Mondays at Real Toads

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Way of the Underworld

                                                                Attribution: Ta2man Kieth Killingsworth
Image:Gangster Tattoo

The words are:
addition blunt broken course grind job natural
plenty quartet response rival sting warning

Some new measures were introduced
Blunt addition to the usual activities
Broken only by some dissenting voices
But bulldozed through amid hostilities

Brought the usual jobs to grind to a halt
The course of action was a natural tendency
Plenty of response from rival hoodlums the result
A sting was planned to stamp authority

But a quartet of trouble-makers still persist
Should heed the warning of such occurrence
Being lesser beings in the hierarchy was a risk
Way of the underworld was an abhorrence

Choice of getting bumped off if they insist
Their ‘absence’ would hardly be noticed

For Brenda’s Sunday Whirl Wordle #153 shared with
Mary's hosting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #194

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Shadowing the Sheep

                                                                                               Attribution:  Xlibber
Image: Sheep Shadows (here)

Say, what’s eating  them
An early morning protest
It certainly looks like one
Menacingly they detest

Shadowing their inner feel
The sun also in connivance
Casting long shadows at will
Observing it all in silence

The cat is now out of the bag
And they are just indignant
How they hate it, it’s a drag
They just dislike shearing time

For Gemma's hosting at Shadow Shot Sunday 2 all about -  shadows

Friday, March 21, 2014

Lonely Lighthouse Keeper

                                                                               Hank's Acrylic Painting
Image: The Twilight Zone

The impending dark
Preceding a gap of relative calm
Twilight soothes the heart
When mother birds come
home to roost
The cool breeze succumbs
To  a lonely being in a lighthouse

One of a dedication
Taking a responsibility
Not very often
Accepted by others willingly

None had been said
Of a keeper with a wife?

(55 words)

Written for PPF and G-man's Flash 55

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Team of Progressive Employees

                                                                                       Attribution: Michael Surran
Image: Young Employees (here)

Newly-recruited management trainees
Of raw-experienced sedentary-existence
Where familiarity of social-media liberal-tendencies
Made them sluggish-driven rabble-rousers given to
Ravenous-notions of raucous-attitudes

Were now put through a pace-setting
Program of group dynamics verdict-directed
Tussle-free of exemplary-administrative ability
With hopes of creating a star-studded team of
Target-setting and stellar performance-potentials

No more shambles-strewn slick-characters
Vertigo-afflicted lacking verdant-viewpoints
Of squint-eyed obnoxious-blended individuals
That required porous micro-managing

Prowess led pivotal in nature a repercussions-free
Team of progressive-employees the ultimate aim

For Bjorn's hosting at d'Verse with kenning: Metaphor of Skalds

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

We have been blessed!

                                                                                                Attribution: Lucipara
Image: Admittedly We Are Intimidating

3WW : authentic enlist phobia
Poetry Jam:  owls

Sure, we are seldom seen
That’s understandable
As we are nocturnal
We hunt in the dark
But we don’t depend on luck

We have been blessed
We may not have the looks
But we are authentic
For we have adapted ourselves
Coloration of our feathers are dull
That make us almost invisible
Serrated edges of our wings can muffle
its sound that our flight is silent

Invariably our strategy
is stealth and surprise
We don’t enlist support from others
We are supposed to be wise, remember?
We can accomplish it all with flying colors
(pardon the pun)

Besides we are made
to be a lethal killing machine
Don’t get us wrong
It is no phobia
We need to survive like everyone else

Our talons are powerful
Our beaks sharp
We can crush the skulls of rabbits
And swallow whole
For we have been blessed

Written for Thomg's hosting  at 3WW and alan's at Poetry Jam

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Orchid’s Tantalizing Aroma

                                                                             Attribution: Derek Ramsay
Image: Mesmerizing Orchids (here)

Willow leaves that swayed
in tandem with the slight breeze
Soothing to the eye

Wintry nights broken
by sounds of barking dogs too
many to bother

Orchid’s aroma
Subdued enough to welcome
tired visitors

Anger discarded
Tiff forgotten friends made-up
To start a new day

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #424  -  Unpen-ji

Give Peace a Chance!

                                                                                     Artist:  Sunita Khedekar
Image: Acrylics by Artist Sunita (here)

Sauntering aimlessly
Three white doves
Hovering in the sky
It was pathetic
Did we allow it
Yes we did
Unwittingly
Unashamedly
They were left without directions
How could it be
They were to bring peace!

So there was no olive branch
In their beaks
But then they were still
Doves of peace

The sky was peaceful
All blue and bright
Vibrant with colors
Dwellings below all quiet
No conflagration
Nor bombs or drones
But the same could not
Be said of areas of conflicts
Around the globe
Why?

There was no political will
Nor a concerted effort
Or a conscience
Nor a desire
To give peace a chance!

Grace is hosting Poetics at d'Verse and introducing Artist Sunita

Monday, March 17, 2014

Flora and Fauna of Rainforests


                                                                                              Attribution: Tbachner
Image: An Orang Utan  (here)

Chosen 26 words:
sanctuary, soul, spiral, carapace honeysuckle
rain, year, eggshells, drums, demons chrysalis
wings, witches angels, blue nightmares, truth
 curvature, cocoon, stoic, nurture kimono
geisha, tangles, bloom, stripes

Sanctuary for orang utans lost soul of
Borneo jungles an endangered specie
in spiral throes of extinction

Carapace of turtles and eggshells scattered
around honeysuckle-like scrubs that sees
rain all year round. Nocturnal creatures unseen
but sounding off nightmares of war drums like
demons and witches in curvatures of truth

This is unlike the quiet slumber of some blue
angels of chrysalis in cocoon stoic in anticipation
to later spread beautiful  butterfly wings

Subdued jungle sounds transformed with
daylight, more ordered moving in dainty little
steps just like kimono clad geisha girls nurtured
in tangles of bloom and stripes

For We Write Poems Wordle #10

Sunday, March 16, 2014

The Big Apple

                                                                                        Attribution: Meutia Chaerani
Image: Liberty during Sunset with
Manhattan in the background  (here)

The Sunday Whirl Wordle words:
apple bottle city dust fuss green plop slack
small strips squeeze  tower wicker

The Big Apple, New York City
One feels bottled up if one chooses
But if one kicks up the dust
and makes a fuss
There are lots to see

Take the Subway to the Grand Central
From there branch off at leisure
The green of Central Park
Plop right in the center
Or go to Times Square, 42nd St
Where all the action is
There’s Broadway, for the polished
Or squeeze into some small strips joints
for those inclined to base tendencies
While around  are skyscrapers that tower above

In the distance the Brooklyn Bridge
Take the Staten Island Ferry which is free
And get a closer look at Liberty
A bus city tour covers Harlem, Empire State
the Museums, Chinatown and Little Italy
Or in the evenings dinner at chic eateries
and sporting activities
at Madison Square Gardens
and Yankee Stadium
And these are just Manhattan

Do not slack go out of the wicker trap
There are still the other 4 Boroughs
For which Hank did not get to see fully
Except for Rockaway Beach at Queens

Peering only from a distance are the rest of
Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx
and Staten Island
Yes, certainly lots more to see!

Note: Hank was in New York for some while 
but could only cover some parts of Manhattan

For Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #152 and
shared with Kerry's Open Link Monday at Real Toads

Saturday, March 15, 2014

...was purely accidental..! MF


Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash

I loath being in this predicament
I'm a racer not a henchman
I don't go knock anyone around
That was purely accidental you
should have known

(140 characters)

For Linda's Micro Fiction at GG's Succinctly Yours
week #156 with word of the week  - loath

The Parisian Landscape

      
                                                                         Attribution: Tristan Nitot
Image:1  Eiffel Tower at Sunrise (here)

Image: 2  Hank with eldest Daughter, Adura

Note: The Constanza comprises 5 stanzas of 3 lines.
Each line has 8 syllables. As an option the first lines
of each stanza makes up the 6th stanza

The Rhymic scheme is as follows:
a - b - b / a -c -c / a - d - d / a - e - e / a - f - f

a Splendor of Parisian landscape
b To start with perfect sunrise
b Sustains throughout the day so nice

a   Ideal ambience for escapades
c Effiel Tower awe inspiring
c Sets the mood for gallivanting

a Choices of visits to be made
d Historical ones aplenty
d Great tourist sights are there to see

a Absolute musts, notable greats
e Venus, Caesar, Mona Lisa
e At the Louvre that is where they are

a Given  time Versailles is safe bet
f Musee d’ Orsay, Notre Dame
f Seine River ride and the Sorbonne

a Splendor of Parisian landscape
a Ideal ambience for escapades
a Choices of visits to be made
a Absolute musts, notable greats
a Given  time Versailles is safe bet

For Kerry's hosting of a Constanza at Real Toads shared
with Poets United's Poetry Pantry #193

Shadows in the Hot Sun

                                                                             Attribution: Florida Memory
 Image: Some Shadows in the Sun - Gladiolus in Her Arms  (here)

Spring’s here unencumbered freely
As a consequence of all the greenery
Swathes of colors of known variety
Scented and fragile in all its beauty
Of flowers crying bidding for sanity

Remember flower children of the 60s’
Being nature’s innocence of purity
Free love music festivals of duplicity
Appearance of Tim Leary and LSD
The drug scene then still in its infancy

Flowers that sustain great creations
Many festive occasions as a tradition
At the lapels a rose or a carnation
And corsage at the wrist at the Proms
Flower behind the right ear beckons
Ideally a right suitor for the maiden

Flowers are not therefore the domain
Of the busy honey bee bathed in pollen
But universally in breathtaking creations
Accentuating hair style’s sophistications
Never a dull moment in their presence
With Ladies of leisure basking in opulence

For Chubskulit Rose's hosting at Shadow Shot Sunday 2
with - Children and Flowers

Friday, March 14, 2014

Toying With Acrylics

                                                      Hank's Painting 'The Cocoon' in Acrylics
Image: While looking for an appropriate title my
grandson Norman remarked 'this looks like a cocoon'
It is so titled. This was drawn late last year

To day PPF having its blogoversary
It also invites for sketches and paintings
New blog Hank discovered recently
Different from others very challenging

To qualify as a member and stay attuned
One needs to make at least 3 submissions
In goes the first one entitled 'The Cocoon'
to total for three Fridays to gain acceptance

(55 words)

Note: One has to include 'PPF' on the image
using photoshop or other means

Submitted for PPF (Paint Party Friday)
and G-Man's Friday Flash 55

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Ready to Pounce..!

                                                                 Attribution: H Pelikka (GFDL & CC-BY-SA)
Image: Kaleidoscope (here)

Moving in the dark groping and searching
All of a sudden the scene brightened up
There were heavy noises in the distance
Sounds of people helter skelter running
It grew louder and louder advancing nearer
It was coming straight and direct to me
I was overwhelmed and was stepped on
I could not feel  it but I tried to flee
Then it was apparent a gorilla like creature
It was chasing them all with a lot of noise
But I could not hear a thing, nothing!

No , not a gorilla it now changed itself
A ghostly creature with red eyes
No, it changed itself again into a big lion
Ready to pounce and it then jumped
Straight to me and straight at me

I tried to move my legs but they were heavy
I closed my eyes and I pushed my legs hard
I floated easily suddenly and away I went
I tried to open my eyes I pushed and struggled
I did it! I opened my eyes suddenly
I was aware now of my surroundings
I was sweating , I had just wokened  
It was a nightmare, a real nightmare

Process note: I used to get such weird dreams when I was in
my pre-teens. It normally would happen following some little
banter or disagreements in the day with playmates or a
telling-off from someone elder to me. I was told later these
were signs of insecurity. It grew itself out by the time
I reached my teens

In my teens however it was the reverse. I was then chasing
and trying very hard to create relationships with lovely maidens
To them I must have looked like the gorilla, the ghost or lion!
I failed miserably every time!

Brian is hosting at d’Verse Meeting the Bar with -  blind poetry
(to use all of our senses except sight)

Who Would Have Thought!

                                                                                       Attribution: Marie Lan Nguyen
Image:   Julius Caesar at the Louvre (here)
                                                               
Who would have thought!
Caesar had reached the English
Channel and crossed the Rhine
The first Roman General to do so

Who would have thought!
He fell out with Pompey who was
Earlier aligned to him against the Senate

Who would have thought!
Upon the end of the Gallic wars
Caesar would return triumphant
And entered Roman territory
Under arms against the Senate’s
Wishes and it led to civil war
And he emerged victorious

Who would have thought!
He noticed the likes of Cassius
With his lean and hungry looks
And  had voiced his suspicions
But had not taken seriously the
soothsayer's premonition
who forewarned him of the
dangers of the Ides of March

Who would have thought!
The vicious daggers that plunged
Upon his body and upon turning 
Around with guarded shock 
To exclaim ‘Et tu Brute? ‘

Who would have thought!
In 2 day's time the anniversary
of his assassination in 44 BC

Written for Susan's hosting at Poets United's :
Mid-week Motif  : Prescience/Foresight

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Patterns of Good Living!

                                                                                             Attribution: Alex Proimos
Image: A Crowd at Leisure (here)

3WW with words:
devout indulgent smug.

Mankind in all of their dealings
Relate to a myriad of ways
Goodness the way for most beings
But some unscrupulous ones hold sway

Those virtuous hold their heads high
Honesty supreme devout in resolve
Sincerity in high esteem and well nigh
Oiling well the wheels of progress

But indulgent in all abundance
On the contrary are those wayward
Smug in conceit, greed and connivance
Barriers to good living untoward

Balance of the reverent and insincere
Playground of both angels and devils
The way of the karma, yin and yang
Choice open to both good and evil

For Thomg's 3WW 

Dreams' Manifestations!

                                                                                          Attribution:  Nhobgood
Image : Dreamlike Colors and Movements (here)

"Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in
dreams than the imagination when awake? 
-          Leonardo da Vinci
Dreams in all fairness
Manifests itself devoid
of any constraints

Imaginations
When awake are subject to
contaminations

Lulled into peaceful
encounters dreams encompass
realities and hopes

Chev's CARPE DIEM Use That Quote #4 - haiku
inspired from da Vinci's quotation

Monday, March 10, 2014

Lost Trudging Alone!

     
                                                                                                Attribution: Peripitus
Image:  Arid Unfriendly Dry Land  (here)

42 of 51 chosen words are:
washing blinds swollen defective shell steering 
waste sandstone riddled silly suddenly fear logic 
muddled sodden flaked notch inside touts natural 
self mirage rings applause library, dreams casually 
transplant scams heart clarity dusk today age turtle 
palms woolen ripe tea flowing please sustains

Washing it down his throat
Bright sunlight blinds his vision
He takes another swig laid back
Throws the empty bottle away
His face swollen, voice crackling
defective sounds from a tongue
long dry trudging the arid region

Shell of a man steering himself
through the waste-lands where
sandstone by the hillside is riddled
with bullet holes and spent shells
scattered silly along his path

Suddenly fear beyond logic muddled
his sodden thoughts and flaked his thinking
A notch inside touts his natural self
Mirage in his mind rings an applause
while a library of dreams casually transplant
scams in his heart that create clarity

He must get out before dusk today!
At his age turtle-like he plods on
His palms sweating under the tattered
woolen and all the while ripe in his
imagination seeing cold iced lemon tea
flowing for a change...

‘Please… …!’  he muttered but it at least
sustains his strength

Written for Yousei Hime's hosting at We Write Poems Wordle #9
(A Blockbuster) and Kerry's Open Link Monday at Real Toads

Awareness of Inner Self

                                                                                     Attribution: Luis Sanchez
Image: Santiago De Compostela (here)

Lone leisurely pace
Clouds up in heavens above
Bidding company

Pilgrimage in search
Awareness of inner self
Return to one’s roots

Exhaustive efforts
Elusive by nature but
Plodding all along

Chev's CARPE DIEM Special #81: Pilgrimage 
to Santiago De Compostela (part 7) and shared with
Haiku Horizon:   Return and
Kerry's Open Link Monday at Real Toads

Sunday, March 9, 2014

His Little Domain!

                                                  Lee Plaza Hotel, Detroit, photo by Bonnie Beechler
Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

A homeless
who felt hopeless
Had only cardboards
for shelter
Finally he found
a place abandoned
Not far from here

Better than most
A roof
over the head
Got back the cardboards
To fashion a bed

Portable TV
On the table
A lot easy
If he was able
To make the cooker
work would be sensible

Broken padded chairs
Were quite a scare
But himself a handyman
He would make it his domain

‘Just give me a little time
It’ll be spick and span!
Luxury of time
Is in my hands'

Written for Tess’ Magpie Tales #210

'Ones That Got Away'


Image: Hank with a biggie grouper during one
of his fishing trips a long time ago. It was quite
a testing time trying to land the catch. We could
finally do it with the pole with a hook at its end

Sunday Whirl Wordle with words:
bake catch celebrate cotton jelly
leaves miss paradise platter row trip

None to celebrate
A half-baked catch
Nothing to elaborate
Seemed too far fetched

Were ‘slippery like jelly’
Just excuses be wary
‘Ones that got away’
Not to cause dismay

Had used wrong 'tools'
Worms were classic
Leaves or cotton wool
Were lures so meek

It was no paradise
Back from a fishing trip
With nothing to realize
Big catch gave the slip

Just row back to shore
To miss a dinner platter
Otherwise of one's own catch
Would have been the best!

Written for Brenda's hosting at Sunday Whirl #151
shared with Mary's Poetry Pantry #192 at Poets United

Saturday, March 8, 2014

The Rat Race - MF


Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash

Going through life's slush
to catch up with those ahead
is testing. Enduring the
proverbial question of a
non-self starter is unsettling!

(140 characters)

To write a Micro Fiction of not exceeding 140 characters
and  to include ‘proverb’ as the word of the week

For Linda’s Succinctly Yours week #155
at Grandma’s Goulash 

Darting Shadows Lurking

                                    Attribution: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0
Image: Mong Bridge, Ho Chi Minh City   (here)

Massive structure but
with shadows lurking under
Over calm waters

Cold, ghostly quiet
Stillness in the dark waiting
 For a cue to move

Rumble overhead
Wheels of rolling vehicles
Darting shadows move

Shadow Shot Sunday 2 all about shadows

Unlucky Feline - a Tetractys

                                                                                                 Attribution: Kerelj
Image: Out of Luck (here)

Oy!
Nippy
up a tree
Perched patiently
Lodged in a feeder birdhouse hoping for
wayward hungry birds that might make a stop
What luck is this!
Been waiting
this long
Rats!

Note: A Tetractys, a poetic form invented by Ray Stebbing
consisting of 5 lines of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10 syllables. A Tetractys 
can be written as a Double Tetractys with 2 verses, but must 
follow suit with an inverted syllable count. The above is such a
Double Tetractys of 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 10, 4, 3, 2, 1 syllables

Kathe had invited any feline posting for
Feline Friday at  It's a Snap!

Friday, March 7, 2014

Unshackled to roam!

                                                                               Attribution: Chester A Read
Image: In a Row Chirping  (here)

Unshackled to roam
Oblivious of drifting mist
Warm welcome assured

Birds chirping wary
of new found freedom happy
to be the lookout

Pilgrims down below
Advancing unhindered buoyed
by nature’s blessings

Chev's CARPE DIEM #416  -  freedom

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Stumbled into but Loving it!

                                                                                Attribution: Jalayou
Image: Thank God it's Frday! (here)

Sacrilege not to write
Facilities available on the 'net
Community so pleasant
Boosts one's presence

Personal challenge
Righteous satisfaction
Opens up new horizons
which otherwise remain dormant

Never a writer but appreciated poetry
Now a discovery writing daily
Time well spent albeit sedentary

But can one be faulted
Remaining in the shadows
Lamenting life's woes?
(55 words)


Written for Gay's hosting at d'Verse on Poetic Movements and
Manifesto in writings and shared with G-Man's Friday 55

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

The Last Remaining Days

                                                              Attribution: Australian Melodrama
Image: Message Loud and Clear (here)

Written for the following with prompts:
3WW : Credible. Decrepit, Pensive
Poetry Jam : Bottled
Theme Thursday: Power

Decrepit not quite himself
A weak derelict
of one once so powerful
that others trembled on
hearing his name

Head of a fighting machine
Credible in his dealings
Only to benefit his own window
On occasions pensive
in nature but held in awe

Where is that fighter
The one held sway
over other lesser beings
Commanding respect
Only by the prowess
of his sword

No more himself
Struggling even to keep upright
Bottled up emotions
Eroding his once alert mind
But now spoon fed
For his daily meals
Pampered with pampers
To thwart his daily needs
Such a pain to the eyes
Bedridden for some years
Existing only in name
In a coma
To account for his misdeeds
Against the innocents

Will those with power
To press the button
of conflicts and conflagration
suffer the same fate?

Written for Thomg's hosting at 3WW and Peggy's at Poetry Jam and
Mrsupole's Theme Thursday

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Then it came suddenly!

                                                                                    Attribution: Ralf Roletschek
Image: A Perspective of a
Science Library is just poetry (here)

Evolution is a slow progression
Resonates with what was experienced
The earlier period of blogging was a breeze
Glided the surface with no freeze
Touched on many instances 
Automatically the inertia enhances

A start was made with a blog created
To write prose on life’s events that transpired
It smoothly rode the storm
Facts and figures made their appearance
Were noted revamped and posted
Most were those emotions related
That touched on laughter and tears
Propped up with photographs
That brought back wonderful memories
of travels events and childhood prowess

Records of sorts for posterity
More than just the annual writing of diaries
But relating with others in blogosphere
A whole new horizon unlike before

Then it came suddenly
Not so much a writer’s block
But the arsenal slowly dried up
Ran smack against the desire to write
Unproductive and stressful
Lingered in the wilderness for months
Nothing written to no end
The blog stopped functioning
Conscience bore the brunt
Of the inaction

Then it came suddenly
An unlikely discovery
Of a love for poetry
A separate poetry blog was created
A blogging urge satiated
A friendly community provided the incentive
Hooray! back in business and relatively active

Prompts galore provided unselfishly
By those schooled in rudiments of creativity
Case in point are new forms presented
Haiku in particular so also Free Verse
devoid of rhyming constraints so obvious
not to be outdone micro fiction and limericks
To conveniently help hone the tricks
One can easily write a poem daily
Can unwittingly chalk up a respectable number
To be compiled into a book at the end of the year

Written for Anthony Desmond's hosting at d'Verse to recount
one's evolution in poetry

Monday, March 3, 2014

Mystery of a Split Second

                                                                                 Attribution: Alvesgaspar
Image: Split Second Strike (here)

Sane in his resolve
Transcends face of Mother Earth
In search of a sword

Questioned by a boy
Mystery of split second
vision of desert

A kind of answer
Unsavory in nature
One of bad omen

For CARPE DIEM #80, The Pilgrimage to Santiago De Compostela
Part 6 and shared with Open Link Monday at Real Toads

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Courting Danger

                                                                    The Sleeping Gypsy, 1897, by Henri Rousseau
Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

True to his expected calling
A tired gypsy roaming
Takes to forty winks
In the cool desert winds
For company a mandolin
A pitcher for drinking
And the moon above shining

A wooden staff in his hands
A likely item for defense
Presence under such pretense
Can be an outright offense
Stumbling onto a lion’s den
May cause a likely end

For Tess' Magpie Tales #209