have you seen your light?
have you seen the way it
slips through the crevices
of mournful minds?
you bring the dawn in
murkiness of night
spread your weary wings
to take flight
fearless through the fire
you have left me sun-soaked
surrounded in seeds of hope
For dVerse OLN Live. Lillian is our host.
Image: Michelle Beauchamp
Today we dig the hole. We’ve already spent a day admiring the little shrub of hope my mother gifted us. “Buy a small tree in remembrance of Brian”, she wrote. This young Rose Tree of Sharon already speaks to us in white blooms as if to say everything will be ok. We choose the perfect spot near the fence. My husband loosens the hard packed dirt further with each drive of the shovel. I nurture the soil with a root booster diluted with water. This may be the difference between thriving or fading. We gently pack the soil back in around the tiny tree, making sure it is secure. My husband waters the plant for the first time. I imagine each trickle as a tear for his first born son. I take the angel statue from a sympathy arrangement and give it a new home. Taking a step back, I wonder if there’s anything else we can do to help it weather the storms ahead. Was there anything else we should have done?
summer takes our breath
hope lies dormant under leaves
angel white in spring
Lillian hosts Haibun Monday at dVerse Poets Pub. The theme is “new beginnings”.
the world is in our hands
is it not a gift?
a blank sheet
to compose symphonies
of grace,
one cosmic chorus
born of our own untainted hearts?
let us not be mute
but join in songs of light
when evil seeps
through cracks
A quadrille for dVerse Poets Pub.
De has given us the word “crack” to incorporate into our 44 word poems. Join us!
Image credit: pixabay.com
Another year beckons
Coups and calamities
Landmarks unknown
Patches of prediction
Stepping, stumbling
Your ragged heart fumbling
As history hangs in the fog
Let these mosaic moments
Melt in your mouth
Roll off your tongue,
Roll off your soul
Leap forward
With eyes closed
~Lake Huron, Ontario
Feel free to join us at dVerse for our first Quadrille prompt of 2018.
What is a quadrille?
It’s simply a poem of exactly 44 words, no more, no less, excluding the title. It must include the given word. Grace has chosen the word “leap”. The form is your choice.
Happy reading and writing for 2018!
Don’t forget to order your copy of
“Chiaroscuro ~ Darkness and Light ~ Voices from poets – dVerse Anthology”
Now available on amazon.com and amazon.uk
You didn’t know
That on riverbanks I sat
Sinking in words unspoken
As waves sparkled and spat
Saying more than you could
And I ever would
I back-stroked in sea storms
Dreamed of days blue
While you fought the ebb tides
And this little memento
Means more than an ocean
To me
I am hosting Poetics at dVerse Poets Pub today. Today I am asking you to write a poem about one memento. You may use a souvenir from your travels, a photo, a keepsake from a special moment or event, perhaps a small token that is dear to your heart.
Dig deep
You may have to sift through
The negative ions
Particles of the unpropitious
Become stirred
Let …yourself… rise
You deserve the outcome
Knead I say more?
Today I am your host at dVerse Poets Pub .I am asking you to create your own “recipe poem”, but not of the culinary kind. Instead, write about something more abstract such as “a recipe for love”. You may want to include the language of a cookbook, but that is up to you. Join us! Doors open at 3 p.m EST.
Free Fall
we’re free falling
flying without wings
hands clasped
tugging
at the cord that binds
us to the past
leaving behind the strife
the worries
the discord
and drifting into the
open arms of peace
Photo: Mish
Candy and I are taking a short break. We’ll be back with more photos and poetry in January. Our goal is to reach 52 posts – a whole year of collaboration!
Let Peace Flow
When you see sorrow
of another
Let joy flow from
Your soul
To cover the dark in light
When you hear hatred
toward a neighbor
Let love flow from
Your heart
To cover the hard in softness
When you feel the anguish
of humanity
Let peace flow from
Your mind
To cover the shattered in healing
The Beacon
Adrift I float
No gentle breeze
To send me home
only dreams
To guide me
To urge me forward
Through doubts and fears
I am not afraid
To travel on
Hope shines brightly
A beacon on the horizon
Photo: Mish
Photo: Mish
The sun paints for you
In hues against blues
Reflections of great sorrow
You gallantly cope
Through beacons of hope
For sunrises and tomorrows
Let skies amaze you
Daybreak embrace you
Memories warmly whisper
Layers of love shine
Heal in your own time
He lives in your heart, sister
Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Michelle.
~
At dVerse Poets Pub, Gayle introduces The Alouette, a poetic form consisting of “two or more stanzas of 6 lines each (sestets) with the following set rules: Syllables/Meter: 5, 5, 7, 5, 5, 7 Rhyme Scheme: a, a, b, c, c, b”.
From the abyss, I will emerge
Stand before myself, drained and hallow
Stare at the surface, rippled and shallow
I have been here before
Facing shadows
Gasping for air
As the sun dances on waves
I have been here before
In temped waters, soft and salty
Floating on falacies
And misunderstandings
Bidding farewell
Lost meanings travel the tide
Currents are destined to ride
With freighters and greater things
But I will meet with the ocean floor
Where life begins again
One breath, arms weightless
I will become one with life’s blood
Until my hands find the rocks
And my heart finds the courage
To rise up again
I am hosting Open Link Night at dVerse Poets Pub. No prompt required although you may want to use one you’ve missed to spark your muse. We are a friendly bunch. Drop in, share your work and engage with other poets! Doors open at 3 p.m. EST.
© Candace Kubinec
In the changing seasons, Candy and I wish you hope and peace…
“Come –
see real blossoms
of this painful world”
~Basho~
Today I walk upon mounds of spongy soil where neon blades blend into the dead of brown. I feel the unease of limbo and transition, tree branches bare and waiting. The red maple, with no patience for spring, has already scattered its tiny flowers and they grab hold of the treads of my shoes. Dried out and weightless, they cling to me. Had I not noticed them before their fated plummet to the earth?
A purple crocus blooms beside an old oak tree. They don’t grow wild in these woodlands. A relocated bulb, perhaps journeyed here with an ambitious squirrel. He would never know the joy that his misplaced treasure had bestowed on me. The trail suddenly juts south towards soggier territory but I commit to it.
A pair of ducks set sail across a flooded marsh, still surrounded by autumn’s auburn willow branches, a rare medley of seasons. The mud makes me tiptoe on the trail, searching for composted leaves for stepping stones. I ponder about why I have never owned a pair of rubber boots. The rain has been abundant, flooding streets and parks but I like the shine it is has given the emerald ash trees. These are majestic trees ridden with the curse of the ash borer yet they still bring me peace. All of nature brings me peace.
Cherish the blossom
Life bursts through soils run amuck
Petals slip through fingers
Written for dverse ~Haibun Monday#10: Hanami~ Kansen Sakura (Toni Spencer) has asked us to begin our haibun with a haiku by Issa or Basho, expand on it with our own perspective of “beauty, spring, hanami, journey to view cherry blossoms or other spring blooms, when you notice spring’s beginnings, the renewal and hope in spring…fun times relating to spring.” This is followed by our own haiku.
Spin Me
I have lost all sense of direction
East is moving west
The world is upside down
Spin me around
And point me towards peace
© Candace Kubinec
Words and photo combine across the miles to bring you today’s collaboration.
Overcast
Darkness is a veil
Masking moonbeams
Casting shadows over
Rays of hope
Reach deep
Light is more powerful
Than shadows of doubt passing
Reach deep
And peace will overcome
A beautiful place to find peace…
We are encouraged to climb
Ascend to perfection
To cerulean skies, cumulus clouds
Where reality resembles
A third grader’s painting
In primary colours
This is footing for fools
Surety snaps in an instant
Like brittle branches of the oak
And still we fall gracefully
Earthbound by the weight
Of our own hesitations
Then how does hope grow
In ancient shadows
Of deadwood and doom?
By the healing embrace of the sun
By the beckoning call of the moon
One does rise up
Keeping your toes
Out of turbulent waters
Connecting the ordinary
To the extraordinary
Finding the space in between
If only to breathe
Regrets swell like the tide
Dragging us like rag dolls
Back into the abyss
Swallowing us whole
Spitting us out
Only to con us in again
Moments back washed
Dripping with defeat
Nostalgic thoughts repeat
In the ebb and the flow
Dreams adrift
Seeking shores of solace
Space without substance
Time without tolerance
Minds apart
Stabs in the heart
Form without motion
Endless erosion
Words unheard
Intentions deferred
Reach without touching
Nudge without crushing
Anger intact
Missing the facts
Love without action
Emotions in traction
Nothing but air
Hope and a prayer
Somehow the sun
Sneaks in
Unnoticed, even shunned
By those not ready
For the flicker
Of a flame already snuffed
So many times
By paralyzed thoughts
Of reality known
And dreams departed
Somehow the sun
Slips gently
Making contact, though rejected
By hearts still twisted
With past and pain
Blocking rays, restricting light
As life gives moments
Short yet sweet
To collect and keep
Or resist and release
Hand me a soap box
I’ve something to say
If you don’t want to help me
Push a button today
Like, share or follow
It is easy to do
There’s no obligation
Wrapped around you
But if you can find
The light in your heart
A voice without judgement
That says, “Do your part”
Act solely on kindness
Release any doubt
Place hope in another
Reach in and reach out
This is not my usual style of poetry, but at this point I would tap dance (terribly) on a soap box if it would generate any response. Actually, I am sure I would fall off and land on my patootie. Maybe not the response I was looking for.
Seriously….
I am moved each day by the financial struggle of a fellow blogger, a very nice lady named Cheryl (“Hot Southern Mess”) Yes I know, my last post was dedicated to her as well but I am one stubborn Canadian gal on a mission.
Please take the time to read her story at http://allbuthomeless.wordpress.com/
She holds nothing back, beginning with her “Intro” page. She is not asking for a miracle but one could happen right here.
Please share her story if you are unable or willing to assist her in any other way.
Thank you for listening.
Bless you for caring.
~Mish~
There is a common ground we walk on
Dirt, sand, rock, mud
It doesn’t matter
It is the place for our feet to walk
To rest, to run
Where balance begins
To align our spine, our soul
A comparable posture
That life is hard
It can beat you down
To a place where
Hands and knees
Are only required
There is a common ground we walk on
Gravel, grass, ice, clay
The surface may vary
But the purpose does not
We march, we skip, we fall
To the drum of hope
To the sound of sorrow
In a global orchestra
Parading on pavement
For the same goals
The same desires
To live in peace
Or simply to live
#13. Don’t look to others to change your life. It’s not going to happen. You are accountable for your own destiny. The only one that can change your situation is you.
Life is tough.
I think some people are more fortunate than others to breeze through the first half of their life, without losing a parent or sibling, without going through a divorce, without being abused, without suffering from a serious physical or mental illness. Then there are others who have faced all of these and more.
Life is not fair.
Random things happen to random people. I think it is foolish to think that tragedy cannot strike at any moment. It can. It does. It happens to someone somewhere in every moment. It could be me. It could be you.
So now that I’ve spewed this negativity and doom, I will follow with some hope. Hope is one thing that can always exist. No one can take it away. It is yours. No one can control it. No one can end it for you. If you take hope and mix it with a little action, it equals change. This recipe is a keeper. It can also be passed down. You demonstrate this for your children and wowsers, they will have the best formula for survival on this planet. Keeping with this analogy (humour me here), you can also stir things up that really need to be and watch your life rise to new levels.
I made the mistake of looking at where I was in my life as where I had to be. Someone had to get me out or maybe I needed to stay there. This wasn’t fair. What did I do to deserve this? Someone else had to change so that everything would be ok for me. How dare someone else try to ruin my life or leave my life. I wallowed in self pity, anger, resentment and pain. It took many years for me to realize that no one else was going to do ANYTHING of the sort. That is difficult to accept. First you are thrown this horrible fate and then you are supposed to be the one to deal with it? Seriously?
What it comes down to is that you cannot control the crazy, unpredictable, tragic, shocking things that can happen to you and no, you cannot change everything you want. Change doesn’t bring back the loved ones you have lost from this earth. It doesn’t completely heal the scars that cover a victim of abuse or multiple abuse. Change is a place for you to go. It is anywhere else but where you are…..and if you’re in any type of despair, then anywhere else is good.
mishunderstood 