Saturday, January 31, 2015

Plays host as most mothers do care

                                                                                                Attribution: Stefan Xp
Image: Brood care of the Black Redstart (here)

The given words:
day cloud humility host measure spend 
state spread race ticking rescue patron

Great day outside with lots of cloud cover
The horizon seems unblemished but inviting
Sleepy heads rehearsing acts of hunger
But the brood is not really appreciating

Mother bird a Black Redstart in all humility
Plays host as most mothers do care
A measure of love in earnest and sincerity
To spend her time enacting a state of despair

For only one is aware of her presence
Very much a spread reflecting youngsters' reluctance
A race often preceded with show of objections
A ticking off to be out of bed in all innocence

When dislodged from their comfort zones
There is that lone voice of moderation
Have always been there when we needed them
Mothers to the rescue a patron of a great invention

For Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #197 and
Claudia's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight - January





Blissfully peaceful!

                                                                                                   Attribution: Midori
Image: Snow-capped Mount Fuji (here)

Note: In January servants and apprentices were allowed
to go home for a short visit. This would have meant that
the holiday started  with the full moon  -  Chev

Cherry blossom fare
Distant mountain tops capped white
Blissfully peaceful

Deserving off days
Servants looked up their kinfolks
Master off tangent

There were occasions
Extended holidays meant
house in disarray

For Chev's CARPE DIEM # 659 Servant's day

Friday, January 30, 2015

Bright colors peeking out!

                                                                                          Attribution: Unterillertaler
Image: Early Spring flowers (here)

Cinquain:
First and last lines have 2 syllables, 
intervening lines have 4, 6 and 8 
syllables 

Tony expanded it a syllable per line
in a new form

Spring's greens seen
It just cannot wait
With Bright colors peeking out
And small creatures making presence felt
Just Alive! 

Season moves
When cold receding
but just intermittently
It might just come back with vengeance though
It might just

Life's been good
Only keep one's head
So much more to accomplish
Hardships in between makes it more fun
Just stay cool!

Tony's hosting at d'Verse MTB -  the cinquain expanded

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Time for a Zooni Soup

                                                                                                  Attribution: Jennifer
Image: Vegetable Udon soup (here)

Note: Zooni is a kind of Japanese mixed
vegetable soup for the new year and is eaten
on January first in the morning usually after
the first shrine visit - Chev
(it can be of a varied mixture
of vegetables)

Never believe it
Already another year
Time for a zooni

Sitting for zooni
New combination this year
And what a relief

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #657  -  zooni

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

look me in the eye!

                                                                                Attribution: Paul Friel
Image: A Bald Eagle (here)

The given words:
cold depraved powerful

look me in the eye
cool and collected
that’s what you think?
far from it!

cold as the bitter winter
even as I inspect my options
contending to be the most proficient
holding the trump card
and flashing as the siren blares
that’s what I am!
depraved?
far from it!

I swoop down silently
knocked the daylights of them critters
powerful talons do their job
curved beaks tear them apart
precision fare
failures?
far from it!

For Thomg's 3WW  week #412

Monday, January 26, 2015

Modern-day Explorer - OP Yusuf Hashim (YH#1)

                                                                                           Attribution: Yusuf Hashim
Image: Courtesy of OP Yusuf Hashim (here)

Modern Day Explorer #1
Hank takes great pride in introducing Yusuf Hashim, a modern-day explorer and
photographer who gallivants the globe in search of adventure.Yusuf has graciously
allowed his rare and priceless photos to be shared in blogosphere. Hank and Yusuf
were in school together and have known each other since 1962.

For today Hank had chosen the above photo which is most unusual and most fascinating
and matched it with the prompt of 10 words provided by MLMM. This is the first in a series
of photos of the Modern-day Explorer Yusuf Hashim

Yusuf Hashim says,
Last year, I took a small group of photographers into a cattle camp of the Nuer people, deep in the under belly of Ethiopia – specifically the Baro Valley in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia. No sensible tourists ever comes here, simply because there are no tourist facilities

For today, I am posting a photo of how Nuer people stimulate their cows to yield more milk. Be amazed by this photo of a young Nuer lady, actually planting her entire face into the vagina of a cow, and blowing inside it, while caressing the udder area of the lucky cow. It seems, cows with calves will usually constrict the flow of milk, to conserve some for their offspring. Doing what this girl is doing seems to fool the cows into releasing more milk

The given words:
prevaricate (to give the wrong impression) fixture
reckless force pride  stupor blinding jaw chord body 

This was not in any way to prevaricate the obvious
A fixture that conveyed a thousand words
A responsibility may one construe appearing reckless
But still a responsibility taken with ardent efforts

It would bring sniggers, yes, but not to bother
This had been the way as long as she could remember
Light force imposed but it was no laughing matter
It had to be done and it had worked before

She had to do it she gleamed with pride
Not unlike in a drunken stupor in a blinding flash
She thrust her whole face, jaws and stretched them wide
Strong vocal chords blew into the inner body so blessed

To hoodwink the cow into releasing more milk
Simultaneously caressing the udder with relish      
Perhaps some cheap thrills for the cow but it worked
But that’s the way it had been and mission accomplished

For Georgia's Mindlovemisery's Menagerie
Monday Wordle # 45 and
Kerry's  Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Succulent to the inner self

                                                                                          Attribution: Ishai Parasol
Image: Camel Convoy in Jordan Valley (here)

The given words:
aim chime miles trite scorch maybe
spirit mind spell sign words land

To aim a chime on a tired soul
In a slush trudging in a sea of sand
Following one behind the other
In a long line for miles to nowhere

Perhaps to hit an oasis a trite too soon
Melting under the scorch of the burning sun
An option of not many choices

Maybe in spirit the mind spells fun
A sign of not accepting defeat
Where words of wisdom
Succulent to the inner self
Can bear trying times

In a land of opportunity
That a desert can offer
It can well be fun

For Brenda's hosting at
Sunday Whirl Wordle # 196 and
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #236

Saturday, January 24, 2015

life for the asking!

                                                                                              Attribution: Ian Day
Image: The Greenery of Spring (here)

Lunes  -  A Lune or American Haiku comprises two forms.
Robert Kelly’s syllable-based is a tercet (3 lines) of 5-3-5 syllables and
Jack Collom’s word-based a tercet of 3-5-3 words

1. syllable-based

euphoria over
welcoming
greenery of Spring

skies opening up
clouds peek out
chirping gets louder

sentiments provoked
go forward
life for the asking

2. word-based

not happy though
market rumored in for correction
bad times ahead

better get prepared
fingers burnt in subprime fiasco
economic woes looming

For Adele's Poetry Blog #214  -  language of lunes

Moving layers of carpets


Image: Field of Daisies (here)

Not be mistaken
White on white across the field
White daisies hold court
Other colors hold sway too
Varied variety are seen

Swaying in the winds
Leading little white cartwheels
Racing over greens
Moving layers of carpets
Fluid apparently alive

Keeping intact secrets shared
Honesty begets the same
Keeping pace with clouds
Moving slowly up above
Contending as friends

Safe haven at mountain-sides
Across serene green valleys
Bidding time with strength
Symbolic of many things
White daisies revered

For Chev's CARPE DIEM Little Creatures #16  -  daisies

Friday, January 23, 2015

No, just shiny greens!

                                                                                        Attribution: Dalgial
 Image: Yuzuriha evergreens (here)

Yuzuriha with long broad evergreen leaves 
was common in ancient Japan. Used as an
ornament plant for the New Year to celebrate 
the good relationship of the old and new 
generations.There is no English-name for it  -  Chev

None that have flowers
What do you have just plain leaves?
No, just shiny greens!

Some have flowers but
Exotic Yazuriha
treasured for their leaves

Ornamental  leaves
If one should know and that is
a lot of difference

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #653  -  yuzuriha

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Made to bloom on New Year’s Day

                                                                                               Attribution: I Sacek Sr
Image: Pheasant's Eye (Fukujusoo) (here)

Given pride of place
Pheasant’s Eye programmed and to
bloom on New Year’s Day

Bright breezy colors
Dotting the landscape at length
Presence apparent

Pheasant’s Eye missing
a point of wonder wherefore
yearning to be seen

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #652 fukujusoo

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Experimenting with ideas unnerving!

                                                                    Attribution: Totomai Martinez
Image: Getting the Perfect Capture (here)

3WW, the given words:
amicable frivolous unrefined

Proposing to be amicable with his quest
Trivia of locations perceived to be friendly
A photographer wanting to be the best
To capture nature’s environmental beauty

Experimenting with ideas unnerving
Scenes stay unmoving as nature provides
But the camera is thrown up clicking
Or the photographer jumps up astride

Moving pictures sans any video set-up
Unrefined but not outwardly frivolous
Perhaps images are blurred a little in part
Modern tech can overcome that’s obvious

To invoke such out of the box techniques
May not be something new to the talented
Would be fun to see what one makes of it
Lest innovative wants are not left stunted

For Mary's hosting at d'Verse's Poetics:
Photography of Totomai Matinez and
Thomg's 3WW week #411

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Shreds of her heart strewn all over

                                                                                       Photo Credit: Kirsty Mitchell
Image: Damsel Deep in Thoughts (here)

Fair maiden begrudging absence of her beau
What contributed to dissident thoughts brewing
She could well take it sanely when he said adieu
Still she was now dreary dreaming and lamenting

Beyond the ocean high riding the torrid big waves
Prone to adventure overcoming tortuous terrain
Extending bravery tormenting his soul so he craved
She failed to understand workings of a miniscule brain

Day-dreaming with shreds of her heart strewn over
Held on to objects reminding her of safe sea journey
Miniature boat held tightly of her undaunted ardor
Providence’s protection sought to return home safely

For Yves' hosting of Photo Challenge #44
- sleeping ship at  Mindlovemisery's Menagerie and
Marian's Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Signals a new day

                                                                                                        Attribution: BazzaDa Ramlar
Image: The Big Red (here)
                                                             
Rooster cocks its head
Musical interlude starts
Signals a new day

Breaks the dawn’s silence
Others are quick to follow
Melodious mornings

Regal in bearing
Chicken or egg not to ask
Nothing to dispute

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #650
First Rooster Crowing  -  hatsutori

The City of Luxuriant Smiles!

                                                                                                    Attribution: Mplaja
Image: Fun of a Welcoming Crowd (here)

never had it so good!
standing at the crossroads
been told one needed to be led in
much like being seated at a restaurant
the respect accorded professed at a height
none were rebuffed nor needed to recoil
led in with pomp and pageantry
profusion of love
where once a beggar scrubbed clean
led in with respect pristine with fine clothes
garbed as others before him
sparkles of smiles from everyone
greeted with passion

who did we have here
wherefore the crowd

a school ma’am alongside the cheeky girl
holding hands intently
so did the peasant and ferocious landowner
docile as a circus lion now standing together
the shrewd money-lender
slave-driver and office head-banger
the politicians and contractors
the classic duo of exploiters
the torturer and even the cruel step-mother
all in a chorus welcoming new entrants
into the City of Luxuriant Smiles

forgetting the woes of the wicked world
of wars and destruction
of traumatic faces of the deprived
of those raising tension and violence
to push sales of their wares
the treasonous crowd out there 
if only they were in the City
never had it so good!

For Kerry's hosting at Real Toad's
Sunday's Mini Challenge - in other words and
Mary's at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #235

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Engaged for love

                                                                                        Attribution: Sceptre
Image: Layers of Love (here)

The Clarity Pyramid has eight lines.
The first line has one syllable, the second 
line has two syllables, the third line has 
three syllables … etc., on to the eighth 
line which has eight syllables.

Only the syllable count
is adhered to here:
Home
where the
heart was lodged

Engaged for love
Could not be better
Couples were grinning wide
Giving life to their feelings

Could one be faulted for failing?

For Jen's hosting at Mindlovemisery's
Menagerie with -  clarity pyramid

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Ensnare through his tummy

                                                                                        Attribution: Moonsun 1981
Image: Learning young (here)

Resolutions set now
the best part. How to
implement options

Mummy's pet eyeing
fair maiden. To ensure
acceptance is killing

Peeling off the conscience
will help one appreciate
life's offerings

Kneading flour taking
cooking lessons seriously
Ensnare through his tummy

For Victoria's hosting of Brian's creation
of ten words at d'Verse MTB - to write in ten words

Uncanny blue skies enhanced

                                                                                      Attribution: Balaram Mahaldar
Image: Dew drops on Swaying Leaves (here)

Bright sun’s rays pierced through
Dew-drops sparkling like diamonds
Light winter evenings
Bright sun’s rays pierced through
Uncanny blue skies enhanced
Balanced by cool winds

Dew drops sparkling like diamonds
Shaken by light breeze
Float leisurely down

Light winter evenings
Stunned by prospects of light rain
Bathed  by swathe of mists

For Chev's CARPE DIEM Special #127 A Troiku - dewy evening

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

One often gets distracted!

                                                                                      Attribution: Ienarc
Image: Happy birthday, Gramps! (here)

3WW
distracted genuine modest
Poets United  - unbirthday

One often gets distracted
After all nothing much has changed
Days have not been different
Not for those in the golden years
And not at this age to be jolted

But it does happen
Genuine outpourings
By the siblings and grandees
Surprise! Gramps, happy birthday!
Caught by surprise
Might even trigger off a heart attack!
No fooling, there were known cases!

A general request, young fellas
Just a modest one will do.

Hold your horses!
Gramps had been known to have said
He has been applying the brakes
The years piled up fast lately
Gramps was 50 only some while ago
Now he is over 60
He is fast approaching 70!

He is being asked to slow down
Some physical activities are causing concern
He on his part is also asking
It is too fast for comfort
The years should slow down too!

Whew!

For Thomg's hosting at 3WW #410 and
Susan's Poets United's Mid-week Motif =  unbirthdays

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Subjected to lots of rigorous pressure!

                                                  Lavinialeyna Deviant Art (Renee Boynton artwork)
Image: Courtesy of MLMM (here)

Bjorn's given words:
ellipsis - is a punctuation mark consisting of three dots.
eg pride is one thing, but what happens if she…?
ablate -  loss caused by a process such as melting evaporating or erosion
billhook - a cutting or pruning tool with a hooked blade
gaffer - a lighting electrician on a motion-picture or television set
ebony - a hard, heavy, durable wood, most highly prized when black
satire - humor that shows the weaknesses or bad qualities of others


Subjected  to lots of rigorous pressure
Crumpled and cornered hardly breathing
Ablated and hydrated weirdly out of shape
Not anywhere near to its original being

Working on a satirical venture so what will follow if he...?
Billhook employed in vicious stab motions
The gaffer projecting it lavishly onto the screen
Enjoying to say the least come every second

Ebony matt finish smooth and shining profusely
Turned out to be reserved artistically inclined
Very well created with lots of talents
Great picture so refined

For Georgia's hosting at Mindlovemisery's 
Menagerie  - serene in blue # 43 
Bjorn's at lqw # 19 wordle and
Kerry's at Tuesday's Platform at Real Toads





Saturday, January 10, 2015

Spare no quarters for a colleague


Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash

In an environment wrought with hardships
one needs to share unexpected difficulties
Spare no quarters for a colleague who is
in need

(139 characters)

For Grandma's Goulash, at Succinctly Yours
week # 199 a Micro Fiction of not exceeding
140 characters and to include the word -  quarters

One gets over the caution!

 
                                                                               Attribution: Edwinの航空写真
Image: On the Racing Circuit (here)

One gets over the caution
To tread icy waters of winter
Gets to the bones of cold sweat
Still a surge of wetness fear

One gets over the caution
Of handling a new-born baby
As pink as a Barbie doll so real
Heart-beat gets faster for nanny

One gets over the caution
And split the fairway into two
Never thought a perfect drive
Can favor the old golfer in you

One gets over the caution
Revving the throttle for a fast run
When young hearts bid a nasty return
Dicing with dangers of race-track fun

For Grace's hosting at Real Toads with Sunday's
Mini Challenge  -  responding to David Huerta and
Mary's at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #234

Pair stood still in the mist

                                                                              Atrribution: Georgia's 'The Lawn'
Image: Courtesy of MNMM (here)

Cool day quiet early morning
Pair stood still in the mist
As happy lovers holding hands
Just waiting for the kiss

A lawn well maintained bathed in green
Textured well manicured
Snug hidden beneath the mountains
And feeling well secured

Could life be all in abundance
Felt so good together
That accorded to young lovers
In such ideal weather

Note: One is to look into alternating iambic 
tetrameter – trimester (that is 8 syllable beats 
(unstressed/stressed which is an iamb) with 6 
syllable beats unstressed/stressed) often called
'common measure’  Not certain if common 
measure is achieved here

For Georgia's hosting at Mindlovemisery's Menagerie
BJ's Shadorma and Beyond  -  common measure

Friday, January 9, 2015

What pleasure they missed

                                                                           Attribution: Jan Delsing
Image: Very much like the
edible local species (here)

Mountain of mud-snails
Sandwiched among fish offered
for gourmet’s palate

Edible ones sought
Not filling but fulfilling
Not for the squeamish

Rare commodity
But discarded by many
What pleasure they missed

For Chev's CARPE DIEM Little Creature #15
Buson's  mud-snails

Thursday, January 8, 2015

It was a rave that took the world by storm

                                                                                       Attribution: DeFacto
Image: The Mini 1967 (here)

A cutie a beauty when it made its debut
A phenomena not expected
It was a rave that took the world by storm

Hank was extremely thrilled to acquire one 
in the late 60’s and it was even just a used model 
Financed through the limited stipend of a first job
It was a luxury of untold satisfaction then

Billed as a classic British engineering feat
Direct result to counter the then fuel guzzlers
Prompted by  the fuel shortage caused 
by the "1956 Suez Crisis"
A compact small car came into being

Made possible by having the engine block
“Transversed with a front-wheel-drive configuration
This space-saving layout allowed 80% of the
floor space for passengers and luggage”
This ingenuity made the Mini to be voted
in 1999 as the “second most influential car
 of the 20th century, behind the Ford Model T”

The Mini brought back lots of nostalgia of Hank’s
courting days with Shadah now Hank's loving wife

Note: One is 'to summon up memories 
of that first mode of transport, the one
that gave you the freedom to get from
A to B with no one else butting in'

For Herotomost's hosting at
Real Toads  -  road trips

Butterfly flutters

                                                                                             Attribution: Nilfanion
Image: Blue One  (here)

Quiet eerie house
Empty devoid of people
Butterfly flutters

Safe sanctuary no
human elements to cause
them to fly away

Patterns of wing span
of beautiful butterfly
A joy to behold

For Chev's CARPE DIEM Sogi's
Special #126  -  butterfly home

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Pitching to favor a consideration

Image: Courtesy of Nick Gentry through d'Verse (here)

3WW given words:
electric passionate savage

Poetry Jam: Listen

Squared off listen up and listen well
All over the smoothness of features
Electric magic written all over the face
Pitching to favor a consideration

Listen and listening a virtue extended
But long discarded of no consequence
A favorable stance  not readily pursued
They prefer to expound their views
To savage others into submission

Wherefore the elements of free speech
Allowing opinions freely to flow
Why not listen and then talk
Both then grapple at ideas
Sustaining a long conversation
Passionate in its resolve!

For Thomg's hosting at 3WW #409
Grace's at d'Verse: Poetics: Nick Gentry and
alan's at Poetry Jam: One Word

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

ripples of life’s journey in reality

                                                                              Attribution:Arno Rafael Minkkinen
Image: Courtesy of MLMM  (here)

Two of a kind together hemmed in
Shouldering life’s indulgence profusely
Extending a support of five on five
Reflecting on how unwieldy impacting

Clear view of expectations brewing
Visual picture accentuating its burden
Can ten on ten wrought with heaviness
Sustain a glare of test of times?

Perhaps the image intruding in duplicates
Will seduce a mind to readiness in form
To explore eventualities of acceptance
To favor difficulties in sharpness of contrast
Yet swaying in ripples of life’s journey in reality

Devoid of smoothness yearned desperately
By those who strive to better themselves
Kinks bends and pebbles along the way
Scattered about are obstacles to overcome
Unobtrusive but there placed as crazy-paving
To rightly resolve with natural flair and some

For Bastet's hosting at Mindlovemisery's Menagerie
Wave Machine*” Photo Challenge #42 – 6 and
Marian's hosting of Tuesday's Platform at Real Toads

Monday, January 5, 2015

But why it should come to this!

                                                                                    Attribution: Hermitage Torrent
Image: Breakfast interrupted (here)

Bjorn's given words:
misalliance - An unsuitable alliance, especially in marriage.
brouhaha - turmoil or clamor; uproar; hullabaloo.
rook - a swindler or cheat, esp one who cheats at cards
percolate - to drain or seep through a porous material or filter.
gimbal - . A rigid frame or ring in which an object is supported by pivots.
partake - to take or have a part or share; participate:
repast -  a meal or the food provided at a meal:

A misalliance but only recently
No brouhaha to talk of, nothing
It had been bliss no holds barred
It had been loving, heavenly
To say the least
Love sustained right from high school
But why?
Not why it happened
But why it should all come to this!

He was not rookish in his dealings
She provided repast at appointed times
Complete with percolated coffee
Mandatory at meal-times
They did partake in joint activities
Even shared hobbies
Stamp collecting of all things
Could only be described as ideal
A couple meant for each other

The gimbal toppled
The goodness of hot coffee
Splashed all over him
When it happened
He was more shocked than angry

Things changed from then on
The equilibrium shifted
How long would it linger?

For Bjorn's lqw Wordle #18

Sunday, January 4, 2015

The mind works in strange ways


                                                                                                      Attribution: Kirk
Image: Tiggy the Talking Cat (here)

The Joseph’s Star is a non-rhyming 8-line poem with
a syllable count of 1/3/5/7/7/5/3/1.  Each stanza is
center-aligned so that the finished poem is diamond-shaped.


Touch
you will be 
sorry. Talk you will
be damned. It is a Hobson's 
choice that stifles the muddled
The mind works in strange
ways so just
blink

For Jen's hosting at Mindlovemisery's
Menagerie with Joseph's Star and Mary's
hosting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #233

Friday, January 2, 2015

Others always something else

                                                                                                      Author : myself
Image: Fruit so named (here)

Note: A Tanka

Red Sea purple heart
Yellow River Blue Danube
Black sea pink panther
Orange is color and fruit
Others always something else

For Chev's CARPE DIEM  Time Machine #1 - orange

Thursday, January 1, 2015

perhaps they were not aware

                                                                                            Attribution: Oxana Maher
Image: House vacant (here)

The given words:
orange flame poltergeist butt icebergs

stabs of orange flames
shooting out from behind curtains
strangely not causing hurt
nor damage to the fabric

rattling noises from behind the door
strangely enough the bed-room
turned out to be empty
such were the antics

it went for cheap it could cost double
rentals spiraling reaching for the sky
no small wonder it was a cut-rate
they got a bargain they thought
perhaps they were not aware

common knowledge among the locals
it ran empty for quite some while
tenants aplenty but there were no takers

now they had to put up with it
there was a poltergeist having fun
butt of jokes before but they
now turned the tables
they made the tenants run
in circles feeling lost

the tenants genuinely were bewildered
one minute the room was cold
like an iceberg floating by
next minute they were unusually sweating
a heat-wave sneaking in from the kitchen
so they felt!

They had to live with it
Not for the faint-hearted!

For b-young's hosting at Red Wolf Poems # 34
the final call