The Freeze

 

In winter’s doom, the rain awaits

For torchlight moon, to rise, elate

A myst of diamond pellets prance

Begins in waves, accumulates

 

In dreams of green and blossom blast

Awakened by the snow of last

We shiver, quake in arctic breath

And slip and slide to portals past

 

 

In response to “Poetics: Games Night” where Sarah has asked us “to choose 3 names from the list of computer game names below, and somehow or other wrangle them into a poem.”  I have incorporated five of them into this Rubaiyat, which I will also link to our most recent challenge in Poetry Forms.

 

Notes: The rhyme scheme is AABA. I did not choose to use the unrhymed B line sound from the first quatrain as the main rhyming sound in the next quatrain, therefore it is not interlinking. This is an option for the form.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shallows

 

I gather dreams here

where withered leaves lay steepless

seesawing on the surface

of the pond

blue heron freezes for the hunt

I watch his stilt legs bend slightly

swift snap, a sun-blessed breakfast

fish wriggles before the great swallow

my dreams are cast

 

 

It’s Quadrille time at dVerse Poets Pub. I am pleased to be your host as we “steep” 44 words into a poem. Join us at 3 p.m. EST

 

Collaboration for Peace – 50

Photo: Mish

 

Dreams of Peace

 

we hang our dreams from

broken branches of hope

where they flutter listlessly

until the breath of peace

whispers aside the clouds

and we dream once more

 

© Candace Kubinec

 

Check out more of Candy’s poetry at rhymeswithbug.com

New Mexico

 

 

Pieces of my heart

Wait for me here

Where time has chiseled rock

Like a sculptor

Offering masterpieces to the heavens

But they’ve seen it

And I feel like an angel

Poised and perched upon a mesa

Waiting for my wings

Wondering how I ever knew

What the sun was

Until I felt it here

Warming every pore of my skin

 

My thoughts run deep

Into canyons where they dance

With shadow and light

Reflecting dreams transpired

Before they were ever dreams

I inhale the sweet scent

Of pinon pine and cedar

The stillness moves me

Silence embraces me

Reality chases me

But I will be back because

Pieces of my heart

Wait for me here

 

For dVerse poetics, “Adventures in Traveling”.

Head Trip

 

Her thoughts drifted
With shaving cream clouds
Reshaping themselves
Like her dreams

Baby blue backgrounds
Beckoned her
Softer landings
Welcomed her
With raspberry tarts
And bubble milk tea

Embracing the orb of night
She took to the sky

S   l   o   w   l   y

Rising gracefully
To the stars

 

 

 

De is hosting over at dVerse Poets Pub today. We are writing quadrilles of exactly 44 words incorporating the word “bubble”. Fun stuff!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Now

 

 

time does not freeze frame

wings not wasted meet the sun

dreams happen in flight

~

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/now/

 

Earthly and Heavenly Conversations

 

“Hey! I can make my own waves in the water!”

      “Where are your shoes? I told you no.”

“But look…”

      “I told you NO.”

“Ok, I’m getting my shoes…oh I have to stop to get all this sand off my feet.”

      “Where is your towel? I told you to bring your towel.”

“I forgot it.”

      “Don’t pick that up. It’s dirty.”

“It’s just a straw, for my flagpole on my sand castle.”      

      “Put it down. Now!”

“But I want it. I need it. The flag is the best part.”

 

 

“So, by the way…I made my own waves in this world.”

      “How did you do that? I told you no.”

“Just look.”

      “You didn’t listen. That is good.”

“ I always listened to you….always did what you said until I was tired of wiping the sand off my feet. I needed to feel it.”

      “You threw in the towel? I dreamt of your success, your master’s degree in…something. “

“Oh I know…I have never forgotten your dreams.”      

       “I was afraid of failure…mine, yours…yours being mine.”

“I remember one time when I was little and we were at the beach… I couldn’t build my sand castle because I needed a straw and you said it was dirty. The straw was part of my…”

      “I know….part of your creation, your idea. Are you still making sand castles?”

“Yes, Dad. Every day that I can. I want them. I need them…and my ideas are the best part.”

 

~

 

When Victoria C. Slotto at dVerse  challenged us to incorporate dialogue into our poetry, I was surprised and overwhelmed when this prompt took me on a very personal journey.

 

The Irony

I would not have soared
If it were not for you
Finding fault in my feathers
As I flew

Your doubts became my updrafts
Scrutiny sculpted wings
Lifting my heavy heart
To higher ground

I made steps
From your stone grey eyes
And they have served me well
For taking off
Propelling me gently
Into turquoise skies

~

Inspired by Gabriella’s poetic prompt for dVerse as we reflect on vocations.

Wild Water

 

 

Don’t ever lose what you came here for

Dreams lost between fingers

Float aimlessly so

Haunting you, taunting you

Forging the flow

Of what you cannot

And what you will sow

Like they know

Hah! Like they know

~

Don’t ever lose what you came here for

Thoughts and faint hearts

Will easily dissolve

Diluting, polluting

Your streams of resolve

Diverting your course

To bowers and bays

That lead you astray

Hah! Sail away

Weekly Photo Challenge: Achievement

Trusting the life line

Releasing dreams to the sky

Happy face icon

~

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/achievement/

If Wishes Were Whales

All that I wish for
Lies by the sea
Swept in by the riptides
Between ridges in seashells
Gold dust under the glow
Of the 3 o’clock sun
They collect in my bucket
Of dreams to come true
They have nothing
To do with you
And if wishes were whales
My dreams would come true
To see both smiles
That look like mine
Bursting in laughter
Uncontrolled
Peace in hearts torn
Relief for minds ravaged
Stars in the sky
Sun in my eyes
To trample a trail of my own
Have strangers for tea
Stand spellbound and free
On an isle in the sea
Watching the humpback
Rise to the surface
Just for me
If wishes were whales
My dreams would come true

Organic

It becomes monotonous

Like picking up sticks in the yard

Leaves falling

Right in front of you

Disintegrating dreams

Lie dormant in the compost

You turn them over

Break them down

Doubt their purpose

Throw them back into the dirt

Not even noticing

That this is your soil

The soil that you toil

To plant yourself once again

 

Inspired by this week’s poetic prompt, “In the Corner of Your Eye” by MarinaSofia.

Check out what you’re missing at dVerse.

Harvesting Dreams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You wait for things to ripen

Age to perfection

Like some amazing golden moment

That’s only purpose is to shine

So brightly in your eyes it hurts

If only your fantasies were like

Autumn pears

You could squeeze them

Turn them over in your hand

Decide whether or not

You would really want to

Sink your teeth into them

 

 

http://dversepoets.com/2014/08/30/harvest-open-link-night/

 

Upwards

Image credit: “Breaking Away” by Joel Robison

 

 

There is little to lose

Rising above the rain

Stepping over asylums

You built for yourself

Come on up

Strange how it happens

You muster up a strong front

Setting you asail

Over cimmerian shades

To worlds unclouded

Places you know

Inside and out

But have never been

 

Again I am inspired by the amazing photography of Joel Robison

http://joelrobison.com/index.php/category/blog/

For dVerse

Where Earth Meets Sky

Image credit: Joel Robison

 

I sit here writing

About the possibilities

The sun setting on the horizon

As if it is so far away

Thinking I have to reach

Dreaming about dreams

When all I have to do

Is believe

That rainbows exist

The earth meets the sky

Thoughts merge with reality

And change is not work

Change is just catching up

To the truth

 

 

To see more of Joel Robison’s  extraordinary photography, visit  http://joelrobison.com/index.php/category/blog/

 

For dVerse

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

~

 Dreams drawn in ink

Patiently waiting to

Come to life

 

 

Just a short time after taking this photo from the shore of Lake Huron, the cable on this boat was my lifeline as I para sailed for the first time.

Click to enlarge

50 Things I’ve Learned in 50 Years……#4.

#4. If you’re not thinking outside of the box, you’re living in a very small place.

As a child, the world seemed so big and never ending. My dreams were more like goals. Anything seemed possible. I didn’t hope to achieve them. It was only a matter of how and when. I  had nothing to compare them to, no similar situations to remind me of what could go wrong.  There were so many options, so much to see and do, so many places to go.

I listened.

I observed.

I believed in many things.

Then something happened.  It’s interesting that as I grew older, my mind began to filter out ideas that didn’t seem as logical or achievable….as least not to me, anymore.  Reality shoved it’s way into my tranquil, sunshiney space, ready to rain downpour on my parade, with  a few too many “in your face” experiences of loss, disappointments and heartache.  I was angry, resentful and mostly, just sad.

Later on, I think reality had overstayed it’s welcome. I was tired of what I had to do, what I had to face, how I had to live my life.  It wasn’t until I was 40, that I found my youth again. The doors flung open and I emerged like a giant clumsy child.

I’m baaa…aaack!!!!

Who says I can’t have fun? Who says I have to do things a certain way?  Who says I have to get old?  Who says people are everything they seem. They are not. I was ready to explore again, but this time a little bit of knowledge came along with me.  That can be useful.   I was ready to let go of everything holding me back and  move forward  “into the great wide open” as Tom Petty puts it.  The biggest surprise to me was how happy it made me.

The more open I became……

the more I listened,

the more I observed,

the more I believed.

How familiar that feeling was!

We were born with open minds. It is not our experiences that close our minds. It is our reactions to our experiences that close our minds. There is no right way of doing things. There are just many ways of doing things. That’s what makes people interesting. That’s what makes LIFE interesting.

Take a look at the Grand Canyon. You cannot see it’s boundaries…..the never ending space that beckons you to think past what is in front of you.

Think past what you know or where you have been.

Stay open. It’s fun.

Climbing mountains in my mind…..

Every time I see a mountain, I want to climb it.

Admiring it from afar is not enough.

It seems too easy.

It beckons me to touch it’s windswept surface.

I completely lose my sense of judgment as I eye up the rugged rock  basking in the sun.

From a distance, the idea seems so achievable…a piece of cake.

With that in mind, I imagine what I’d take with me for the ascent.

Protein bars and water should suffice. What more would I need?

The beauty seems to outweigh the danger as I admire the jagged peaks reaching majestically towards the clouds or perhaps….heaven.

It is raw.

It is untouched, waiting for soft hands and trusty hiking boots to politely interrupt it’s desolate existence.

It may be towering, but many have climbed a tower.

One foot in front of the other, I surely know how to climb.

What is the source of my hesitance?

A tiny but ever so present voice telling me no is all that stops me.

The voice of reality as we have been taught.

A whisper of sensibility branded in my brain, reasoning me down from my earthy ideas.

“Someday” is all I can say.

“Somehow” is not in my vocabulary for I   have already scaled the mountain many times in my sleep, in my dreams ….. in my mind.