Whose legs these are I think I know;
Encased in jeans all winter, though.
Today I’ll shave, first time this year!
The spring reveal: legs white as snow.
Spring Reveal
6
Category Archives: humanity
AtoZ: H ~ Family Get Togethers
high histrionics
hard to handle holidays
have a highball, hon
H is for Holidays
#AtoZChallenge: 26 posts in April, topics to proceed alphabetically. Creating a theme for one’s blog challenge is optional. My theme for 2021: a three line alliteration each day (5-7-5, haiku-ish) with the first letter of each line the same as the letter of the day.
Force of Nature
The self-proclaimed matriarch deigned to hold sway
though the mothers before her had not yet passed away.
A whitewater rapid propelled toward the sea,
A true force of nature, one might (quietly) say.
The matriarch’s offspring like eddies were spun.
In fast-swirling waters to slick boulders they clung.
Two generations deeper the river was carved.
“A true tour de force!” might have (loudly) been sung.
The matriarch lived a great-grandchild to see.
Still white-capped, less rapid, still bound for the sea.
A force to be reckoned with up to her last breath,
then the matriarch’s mantle was passed down to me.
My waters run smoother, though the currents run strong,
and the offspring of offspring with my blessings flow on.
As to my own reckoning, may I kindly be seen
as a force (mostly) for good, when the mantle moves on.
late harvest
Sunday school teacher
white-haired and diminutive
lessons lost on youth.
Revolt – ing
Don’t turn your head and dab your eyes.
Face square the scene, then raise your cries.
Such treachery we must defy,
prosecute and rectify.
The People’s House they desecrate.
Within its halls they defecate.
Seditious cowards’ acts of hate
true patriots will not tolerate.
capitol
tear gas, shattered glass;
bloodshed, no shred of honor.
Winter in my soul.
ruthless
Beware of snakes
selling snake oil,
especially
if you
frequent
the same dens.
Room to Think
“Welcome to my house!” The little boy pulls aside a low hanging branch and gestures into the shadow of an old growth cedar tree.
“What a lovely home!” I look around the imaginary room: the evergreen walls, the mossy drapes, the soft carpet of aromatic brown needles. The boy grins.
“And that’s your house over there!” He points to another tree, and then to a fallen limb. “And this is your thinking bench.”
“My thinking bench?”
“Yes. When you want to think about things, you can come out here and sit on this bench.” I sit on the limb and marvel at this three-year-old’s creativity, and it occurs to me that every home could likely benefit from a thinking bench. See? It’s got me thinking already.
roughhewn cedar bench
space to breathe unfinished thoughts
warm breeze stirs the mind
Day Six: Ekphrasis
Day Six of NaPoWriMo.*
Today’s prompt asks us to
“write a poem from the point of view of one person/animal/thing from Hieronymous Bosch’s famous (and famously bizarre) triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights.”
I used a different painting, Franz Marc’s “The Fox” for my poem, but with the same concept of using the subject’s point of view.
Here goes:
Outfoxed
As cities crumbled in disrepair,
we watched from forest shadows,
not understanding what forces cause
a species to implode.
As flora died in poisoned air,
we retreated into denser woods,
left to fathom such machinations
that place greed above survival.
With no place left to seek reprieve,
we huddled amidst brambles,
hiding from blind ignorance
that sought to take our lives.
And then the whole world shattered
into a million pieces.
We raised our heads to face our death,
and instead were met with
blue skies free from factory smoke,
waters clear as young fawns’ eyes,
fish emerging from the depths.
plants burgeoning in replenished soil.
We snuggled in comforted embrace
as nature reassembled,
as order rose from chaos
under Gaia’s healing eyes.
New Reality
Day Three of NaPoWriMo.*
My offering:
New Reality
I despise the vile duplicity,
the partisan stupidity,
the rank and file idiocy that
purports to be our polity.
I’m aching for tranquility,
serenity, simplicity,
stability, integrity,
sincerity, morality.
I’ll cease my lame profanities,
I’ll work to restore sanity,
take every opportunity
to dignify humanity.
I’ll learn to live sustainably;
this planet my new deity.
I’ll protect its viability
from human greed and vanity.
I do not know my destiny.
Will I go down in infamy
or die in anonymity?
It matters not one whit to me.
I’ll fight the fight tenaciously
with love and light and empathy.
The world will right inequity,
our fate lies in our probity.
*National Poetry Writing Month, Day Three
I didn’t stay completely true to today’s prompt, except for the part that said, “try to play as much with sound as possible, repeating sounds and echoing back to others using… rhyming and similar words.”
