Oh. the Humanity...

Sun Feb 26, 2012
Oh, the Humanity...           (Wordle #45)
She could hear her parents murmur
Mother was especially reluctant to let her go
Father knew she was entranced by people unlike her own
And she should be allowed to go without too much more hesitation

Her senses where heightened
The waiting was downright cumbersome
She wanted the map to show the way
And knew the only possible answer was yes, from both of them

Mother argued - “But it is not like a pelt garment
And the weight can seem like cement shoes...”
Father knew though that this daughter of his was not one to stray far
She would not disappear like smoke from a driftwood fire

It was settled! Next Saturday, at low tide
When the morning fog would be dense
Coral would make landfall, with feet ~ She had heard
A pleasant singing voice, perhaps belonging to a child like herself
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Using my unsteady and heavy feet I climb the rocks of this cove
There she is... I’ve found her, and she daydreams while she sings...
She’s conversing with the ocean, and giving herself answers too!
Not at all what I expected. She even looks friendly. I’ll call to her; “You there...”
JP/davh

http://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2012/02/26/wordle-45/
pelt, cumbersome, smoke, map, answer, sense, reluctant, entranced, dense,stray, murmur, cement
#2 Actions, Attractions, and Distractions
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/actions-attractions-and-distractions.html
#1 Looking for Lois
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/weds-feb-15-2012-httpsundaywhirl.html
Related: Flounder
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/02/flounder.html

Sepia Ring Tones

www.jetreidliterary.blogspot.com  words: choice, destroy, risk, sequel, allegiance

Sepia Ring Tones

There is always a risk opening a box of her treasured memories - the ones she was willing to destroy. It was my choice to be the family historian. Hoping not to have another sequel to add to WWII I rifled through the old photos of the men who had pledged allegiance to fight for freedom. My father-in-law was one such soldier. Without words, tears fall from my eyes as I see my children in their grandfathers’ younger face.

JP/davh


With thanks to www.thehappyamateur.com for the info

Fool Proof

Thurs Feb 23, 2012

Fool Proof

While climbing a gate -
To protect someone else
That little body that visits -
And you don’t want ‘em to fall up or down the stairs

I bruised my wrist - smacked it good (or not so..)
Right into the corner of a wall
Not broken, just an annoyance of mild pangs
When bent in ways it no longer likes to go

I suppose it will be a few days more
That sleep will be disrupted and distracted
By trying to wedge and wrestle that part of my body
I know I’ll live, and perhaps look next time before I leap

But then there will be another day
That I’ll be more concerned with someone else
That I’ll not be thinking so much about me
And I’ll find another bruise half way on the mend

From a time when, if only I could remember where
That an intimate object wanted recognition
Poetic words for explaining that I guess
I am a natural klutz!

JP/davh

sLeep

for Weds Feb 22, 2012  an acrosTic (#5)

sLeep

slow to count sheep
Late into the night
every star shining bright
emotions wrestle - blood
pumping faster than you’d like

slipping through the short cut
Late into the night
every tree limb shadow reaching
entombed spirits slickly
peeping round their carved in stone names

secret rendezvous
Late into the night
eyes on the prize
Eugene says we’ll run away
perplexing parents

so she races a well worn path
Late into the night
Elenore ignores the hoot-owl
entertains the dreams she have under
palm lined beaches across the ocean

sneaking into a quiet house
Late into the night
excited to have returned safely undetected - her breath
escapes in huge sighs
plans - painful is the wait for their final execution

JP/davh


Process notes: while I was originally thinking of myself, using my acrosTic form the direction took a different turn - perhaps it was due in part to Wordle 44 and all the wonderful verse I read relating to 'ghosts'.

Changing Directions

Mon Feb 20, 2012

Changing Directions

I suppose if I were a super hero I’d be Wonder Woman
Because I am always wondering or wandering as the case may be

Through this line, that word or some other door or portal
To a day of reality or fanciful dreams...

Sometimes I like the words I write, lace ribbons tying bows
And other verse are much worse from dark places I rather not go

But all the places fair and those not so mild, I’ll use to make bricks
And inch by inch mile by mile I’ll create a golden path

And end up in Oz and visit with the Scarecrow and the Brave Lion
Take tea with Glenda and listen to the Lolly Pop League sing

But I’ll have to do that all tomorrow, because today the sun has set
Dinner has yet to be set upon the table and instead of being in jeopardy -

When 7:30pm rolls around I think I’ll just enjoy the show
And then get ready  for another day to be a ‘Wonder’ woman

JP/davh

Blind, Listen? and Leave Me...

Reverie Six http://namingconstellations.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/reverie-six-bloody-vikings/
With thanks to Joseph Harker   (my contributions JulesPaige/davh Feb 19, 2012)
fornyrðislag Blind

Fractured face uneven images // flow from broken glass
Dilated dark iris’ reach // out into the dampened dawn
Longing to understand  // listing into images
Tears tug at the corners  // further fogging view

ljóðaháttr Listen?

Unstrung the harp //  hangs heavily there
She used to play for him daily
While the grateful goose // she laid golden eggs
But ever since jack stole the bird
All the Giant does for noise is weep...

drottkuvett Leave Me...

Sharp pointed-pantomime pencil thin needles
Some sun-kissed, more than half in shadow
Continuously-converse barely giving time to contemplate
All the facts much less the fickle actions
Of the autumn haunted-hands, fingers fallen
Veins now distorted painlessly piled in their deaths
Gossip mattering naught - they patience were taught
So they silently ignore the silly evergreens

(I am sure I went afoul of syllable count, but English was never my strong suite.
But at least I attempted all three! - Jules)

Actions, Attractions, and Distractions

sundaywhirl.wordpress.com Wordle #44 - Thank you Brenda! Seeps, ghosts, shadowy, know, scorched, whistle, smudgy, restless, nestled, balance, bizarre, sores, straps

Sat Feb 18, 2012     Actions, Attractions and Distractions

I’ve got the morning to myself and I know just what I can do
I’ll stuff my back pack with a bizarre assortment of necessities
And take my pad and pencils and whistle into the dawn

I’ve got all my questions for my mythical madam scorched into
My smudgy sleep filled brain - once restless words are nestled
Safely in secured sentences just waiting to be asked...

I’ve got to balance myself carefully on the shadowy side of the cove
And watch carefully as the ocean seeps and hope I don’t get saddle sores
Waiting, while I wrestle with my ghosts that host my imagination

I’ve reached my destination and can undo the straps of my sandals
And pretend that a young Minerva has swum directly to me
To satisfy her own curiosity of a human girl child singing songs of the sea

                                                     ~~~~~~~

“You are a curious little thing?” she’ll ask
And I’ll just smile...I’ve lured a mermaid with her own trick!
“Come sit beside me - Let’s compare notes about our lives,” I’ll say

“You are quite lovely with your pearl necklace - do all mermaids wear them?”
“Do you ever want to walk along the beach with feet?”
“Can you speak to the creatures of the deep?”

“You are a brave and bold little girl aren’t you?”
“Some of us wear coral or Cowrie shells...and if we live where it is cold
We’ll don seal skins to keep us warm. As for feet aren’t they awkward for you?”

“You there...” my vision vanishes... I have been found!
A tourist child climbs my rocks... but it’s OK she’s a girl too.
“Hi!” I say remembering my manners - Isn’t the sunrise lovely?”

JP/davh


This is the second of an unintended series, the first called 'Looking for Lois' can be found under the date of Feb. 18th and was written with the #43 Wordle list.

stUff

Feb 17, 2012

stUff

So much to go through
Tumbling piles in every room
Unique objects with history
Found on vacations
Floating on beaches

Sew much stuffed in the mending box
Thimbles, needles, threads, and buttons
Unique relics of another time clipped
From collars and sleeves to be recycled
Frugal was what recycling was called way back when

So much paper work
To be shredded - so much for a paperless generation
Under these similar stars that our
Fathers and mother saw - drifting
Further away from where ever the center might be

Sew much fabric of our lives
Tucked in boxes in attics and basements
Unique urban and country debris
Flotsam and jetsam from the various homes
Families, and friends we’ve crossed paths with

So much for that clock that ticks on the wall
Telling us the passing of hours and calendar days
Unique systems of man to track the sun and moon
Forever pledges are romantic, yet they can gather dust
Forgotten behind dulled ribbons - hidden from view

JP/davh

Sixteen Winters Ago

Sun Jan 8, 2012 Daily
With thanks to the Sunday Whirl # 38 prompt list of: loss, shovel, friends, expected, stop, plum, letters, drift, sweaters, wind, stitches, and yarn

Sixteen Winters Ago

A Blizzards’ expected snow requires a shovel
The snow blower keeps the shaven rows plum as the loss of white
Reveals the drives and walks, the wind laughs returning the drift

Once we are able to stop we can gather in our indoor sweaters
With his tales and mine, our stitches will create a new yarn
That we’ll be able to share with friends in letters or over the phone

Though we’ve yet to receive all that much snow this year -
Unable to get to the fire house because of several feet
In our Blizzard of ’96 - He almost delivered a baby up the street!

‘Always be prepared’ is a good motto for the Boy Scouts
As well as other community volunteers, neighbors and friends
Look for us we’ll be ready with our gear, tea, and hot coco too

For now our sky is blue, the air has a chill, but it isn’t freezing
I’ve just had some tea, and might settle down for a nap
That is after I’ve picked up my needles and knit a few words…

JP/davh

Looking for Lois

Weds Feb 15, 2012 http://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/  #43
trade, charms, customers, confidential, ransacked, blur, interview, sticker, visions, weeping, fog, belt

Looking for Lois

Yes, even at seaside resorts it is hard to find a mermaid to interview
Mostly you’ll find out-of-towners, customers lining the bars in swanky pools
Or those little ruck-shack beverage stands barely nestled in the fog
Of the sand belt lining the shore luring you with their ransacked looking charms

Life can be a blur when your trade revolves around finding filler
As a reporter looking for visions and not getting any juicy confidential stories
At least that’s what I tell myself when I’m not weeping in my Shirley Temples
And all I get for my hard work every week is a sticker for participation

So a grade-school paper isn’t Superman’s Daily Planet
But I, as a native still have my fun people watching
As folks walk around like lobsters because they forgot their sunscreen
Or are so covered up that you can’t tell what color skin they have

Oh well maybe next week I’ll get to be the editor or set the backward type
But for now I’ll just walk around with a pencil in my ear, wear my fake glasses
So I look more serious, and remember to not be too much of a nuisance
In the lobby of the hotel that my family owns, where it is always warm

Maybe tomorrow I’ll sit on the top of the rocks that make the natural break
That protects and keeps our private cove well hidden from most of the visitors
I’ll be that mermaid I want to talk to and make up some mighty fine answers
About why I am so shy...

JP/davh

Forsooth, Forsworn, Foreclosure

Tues Feb 14, 2012
http://margoroby.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/heart-and-soul-tuesday-tryouts/#comments
I want you to write a love poem without using the word love, or any endearments.

*Forsooth, Forsworn, Foreclosure

So soon the sun that began the day slides softly down to set
I’ve no card for you, nothing that is read - nor brownies baked
The mix still nestled in it’s box, still in a bag yet to be shelved

So soon the years have passed us by, each day we think a treasure
With laughter from our tilted sighs at repeated jokes
The mix, our offspring and elders too - what they would and wouldn’t do

So soon another calendar day is back-slashed in its’ square
Along with reminders of holidays, appointments, departures and arrivals
The mix of day to day, of what there is to do whenever we get ‘round to it

So soon the season will change again, bitter cold to warming spring
And there we are still, yet again, as always a pair to be counted on
The mix of our complimentary opposites keeping us keening for each other

So soon this day will become another memory - perhaps with out a reminder
Of what it could have been if I’d brought home chocolate covered strawberries and you
The mix of a bouquet of flowers... perhaps next year, dear


*(the truth, I swear, to close...without holiday drivel - well I tried!) 
JP/davh

No Calamity Jane

No Calamity, Jane
G.I.Jane doesn’t want a Barbie
She wants bullets to flow
Hitting targets and bullseyes
Quick and sure

None of Mom’s domestic chains
Just enough oil for this girl
To lube her gun and no flaws
In her aim

Never mind pop - loud bangs and booms!
She’s got her wings and is thinking straight
Digging deeper fir the treasure; They’ll be
No middle ground

No sitting around wasting syllables
Trying to get rhythm when there’s rotten
To be hunted and good to be set straight
Fight for right

G.I.Jane just wants combat boots
She want sot see the world
And make it safe for the children she might have
One fine day

JP/davh

Tues Feb 7, 2012)
for Reverie #5 Sound and Fury
http://namingconstellations.wordpress.com  Joseph Harker

This was my second try. My first attempt is over at Joseph's place in the comments at Reverie #5

grey

great winds blow chilled air
rushing out of the mouths of
east, west, north and south cloud gods
yesterdays melted snow will be replaced tonight

gravel spread upon the weathered
roads attempts to break up black ice
eating away at the macadam and concrete roads
yielding under the pressures of those tires that dare to tread

geese attempt flight but are forced to the ground
robbing them of the extra distance they seek
easy their lot is not, in suburbs or farmers’ field there may be better fair
yards in the cities are just to small for even a small flock to rest

gusts tug at my muffler, teases my bear cheeks
roiled debris tries to find moors in the mists of my eyes
even blinking constantly, sight is obscured with living shadow
yearning to take even the slightest breath away from the brave

gradually one can settle behind the doors of home
removing layers of clothing - that failed to protect
even the walls appear to groan with the weight of woe from the Four
yaws that seem to remain open tossing their fury while they can

JP/davh

blAck

blAck

blending old fears with unreconciled
longing - I wonder how is it I give my true name
Alone in a crowd - a classroom - one of this nights’ dreams,
captivated by the test I am supposed to complete
kicking myself under the table for loosing my place so quickly

borrowing supplies, fiddling lockers and locks -
lost again in familiar surroundings
Another night, in my bed alone
comfort is an illusion as I twist and turn and
kick the covers off to cool the air and force wakefulness

beasts roam the darkened stage freely
longing to tug at one’s unconscious mind
An unfamiliar voice whispers in my mind
calling and rescuing me from the
knight who doesn't wear white

bowing to the dawn, thankful for the pale morning
light - I venture to see if at the six o’clock hour
Another body might actually be out and about
cautiously I peer out the front window
keenly I spot and watch the neighbor walk his dog

but I think it is just too early for me to rise
let me try and rest just another hour to
Alter the cobwebs that seem to stick to the
corners of my eyes, while in the silence of my home
kind familiar sounds assure me I am safe...I am safe

JP/davh