Portrait

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It’s that time! National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) begins tomorrow, with daily prompts from the NaPoWriMo blog. As in the past, we have been given an early bird prompt. Today’s prompt is to write a portrait poem. I hope I’ve done it justice. 

Portrait

I want to draw.
I want to draw you.
I want to draw you in.
I want to draw you into my life.

I want to paint.
I want to paint you.
I want to paint you in sunlight.
I want to paint you in sunlight and gouache.

I want to write.
I want to write you.
I want to write you a poem.
I want to write you a poem of love and concision.

I want to show you your true beauty.
I want to show you true beauty.
I want to show beauty
in my portrait

of you.

Groundhogs and Shadows

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I did not see a groundhog yesterday, shadowed or otherwise. Nor did I see my own shadow. I stayed inside, shying from the cold and wind and rain. 

My doggo, on the other hand, made several forays around the fenced yard, but did not report back on what critters or what shadows he may have encountered. He usually plays things close to his vest that way. A pup of many barks, but few words.

More winter, or early spring? I must wait and see. 

earliest of blooms
dandelions tucked beneath
unmown grass shadows

dVerse Haibun Monday prompt: Groundhog’s Day

It’s time

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We can’t straddle fences 
once the barbed wire goes up. 

We can’t walk a fine line 
when the lines have blurred into nonexistence. 

We can’t look the other way 
when there ceases to be any other way. 

If we concede that this is the best we can hope for,
we are forsaking hope and forsaking one another.

It's time.

We are only as helpless as we allow one another to be.

Fire in the Ballot Box

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Burn the ballots, ban the books, bash the ones who disagree.
When did it become the norm to forego common decency? 
Ignore the truth, assert your lies loudly and repeatedly. 
And God forbid you dare to challenge ye olde patri-assity.

Why do you try to stop the votes, what do you fear so mightily?
Why must you foment rage and hate, distrust and blind antipathy?
Why lurk in darkness, wearing masks to veil your true identity? 
Why hide behind your guns and flags, then call it Christianity?

I am not Dem nor GOP, to none do I pledge fealty.
I aim to act with common sense, with self respect and dignity.
Far from perfect, none too wise, often lacking clarity.
Perhaps we’re more alike than not. Let’s strive for peace and harmony.

Equinox

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It is the autumn equinox, where light and dark balance equally for a day before the scale tips to favor longer and longer nights. 

Two days post surgery to repair a detached retina, I am sporting a bulky protective eye patch, my field of vision impaired to half light and half dark. I trust that this scale will tip toward the light as my vision is restored. 

There are so many cycles in nature and life, ebbing and flowing, waxing and waning. I am thankful for all that I see. 

two parts make a whole
dawn to dusk, then dusk to dawn
in perfect balance

In response to dVerse haibun Monday: Equinox.

Thanks for the Favor

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A book is not about the cover that protects it.
A gift is not about the paper that wraps it.

A favor, though, is about all that surrounds it,
and not merely about the favor itself.

A favor is a gift of protection; of connection;
the resurrection of feeling secure and loved,
and the knowing that someone has your back.

A favor is about the wrapping; not mere trappings,
but the tapping into kindness and caring and 
feeling seen and warmed by the soul of another. 

When you do someone a favor, know that you, too,
will be fortified by the community you are 
helping to create and maintain. Know that you, too, 
will be enveloped in the love and wellbeing that comes
 
with the honorable act of giving.