Thursday, July 25, 2024

gentle rain


you are the gentle rain       

on burning summer sky      

slow patter on my eyes       

lingering kiss that remains   

you are the gentle rain        


sketching greens as birds fly      

scatter-skitter noise, your sighs  

are calming clouds & quiet plains 

you are the gentle rain               


humming blues with bow tie  

my hands are stirring chai     

winding down, hushed vane   

you are the gentle rain        



Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetry form, Ballata (Italian verse).   The rhymed, rhyme scheme is AbbaA bbaA bbaA .   Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.   Thanks for your visits and comments.

Monday, July 22, 2024

summer plans 2024


we are clouds, rain

and storms


rushing through tracks

and roads


aspiring to be strong

as trees and resilient


as lake-

our elders want


us to leap

barriers and buidings


but this sum-

mer, we are flow-

ers,  yellow-gold , slow-

stitching in bee-laden garden


& finding ourselves


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #204 - Summertime, hosted by De Jackson.  This is a 44 word post with the chosen word, summer.  Thanks for your comments and visits.


Tuesday, July 16, 2024

it begins with

 

blue 

blue iris

blooming blue iris

in spring, fresh as dew

heradling a season of flowers-

delicate pink hydrangeas,forget-

me-nots, red roses and orange-gold marigolds

lavender and purple, mixed with laughter & cries

of children, stories & jokes on mustard picnic blankets-

my balcony circled by bright yellow zinnas & orange calendulas


let me remember the pattern of joy

& the weaved threads of gladness-

sun-wheel of blessings-  

before my memories 

sloppily-slip in the 

rain



Alma Thomas, The Eclipse (1970), acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- Poetics:   Writing Something Beautiful, hosted by Melissa Lemay.  Thanks for your visits and comments.

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Merchants of Venice

 

Dawn rises above the waters

Slapping the Venice Islands to gold

Crossing the arched bridge

Into the Rialto Market

My vest and robes are brown mud

My stall is stocked with fish & spice

From faraway lands, beyond the seas 

Where the sun is goddess of ice


The tides are low as boats

Move towards the Grand Canal

In the square, under the Church bells

The market is noisy & aggressive as gulls

I barter and make deals 

My word is good as gold

I sink my teeth to silver coins

To trade is to be bold


My pocket is lined with parchments

My biggest haul is selling slaves

Caught and weighed in the market

The skin of young men & women

are sold as concubines

Even convents need slaves

for domestic labor in the field, the galleys

are stocked with slaves until their graves


I sell death sentences

That dark gondolier is my slave

No festival mask can hide my gleaming eyes  

As I stake my future in this market

Where I can reap great fortunes

Or where I can lost everything

By misfortune or due the wars 

Midnight or dawn, this business is king


Notes:

The Venetian slave trade refers to the slave trade conducted by the Republic of Venice, primarily from the early to the late Middle Ages. The slave trade was a contributing factor to the early prosperity of the young Republic of Venice as a major trading empire in the Mediterranean Sea.


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - MTB:  It Begins at Dawn, hosted by Laura Bloomsbury.  I had a fortunate experience of spending some time in Venice as part of my Italy vacation.  I learned the good and ugly from the local tour guides.  Thanks for your visits and comments.


Tuesday, July 9, 2024

Thank you, Sarah Connor

 

your muse has black wings but

your words, breeze-light as rain 

falling on heads, pink-pleated & flower-crowned 


may your hours be filled with white

crisp pages & pen, smell of lavender & lemon


tea rising from the warm pot, taste of 

freshly buttered bread, seranade of


birdsongs from robins, calls of owls,  

laughter of children, chicory flowers,

sights of life unfolding


and vibrant river moving, you 

are lifted

out of the silence of your space, out of


the skein of your clothes

the limbs of your books

the roots of your apple trees


(sorry, but the mail bag is full)

you are one with the rooks

rolling bowling calling squalling roiling boiling swirling whirling*

black wings glinting & stretching 


& flying into starlit sky

I do not know the notes of your songs

nor do I know where you are heading to


but the windows are open

and i only know this:

thank you 

for the gifts of wings & words



~~~

Inspired by her lines in Always Fire:

From ‘No mail – no post’:


“No words.

No rhymes, no poeming tonight,

just this blank space,

this white page,

stretching endlessly”


and


“Find me a space here,

tucked into the silence.”


‘This Doesn’t Feel Like Home Yet’:


“A bird sings,

but you don’t know the notes,

this window opens

onto streets you cannot name

and words you can’t decipher.”


*Rooks at Twilight


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- Poetics :  In Conversation with Sarah Connor.  Hosted by Kim Russell.  Thank you Kim for the wonderful interview.  Thank you Sarah for all the time you have shared with us at the dVerse Poets Pub.  

Monday, July 8, 2024

brooding under our balcony


she should be crabby

over narrow space,

heat & falling bed


but robin sits

claiming her space, 

brooding in silence

awaiting eggs to hatch


come rain or strong wind-

ignoring nosy neighbors-

her eyes steady as sun


casting softest of light

on blooming zinnias





Posted for  dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by Merril Smith.   The selected word is CRAB.  Thanks for your visits and comments.


Tuesday, June 18, 2024

a one-day business trip

the train brings me

back alleys of the city buildings

graffiti walls of neglected streets

wheels bound to the south roads

i revel  at the open spaces

of fields green & yellow

of trees lording it over the

rolling empty landscape


the train brings me

to new city with different

highlights & views

the towns are small packages

to be unwrapped with care

the folks who live here

know the folks who are just

passing by, who is 

watching whom from the windows?


the train is a moving bridge

or am i the train

moving foward

and moving backward

after business is done

i note the small stores,

narrow roads, even narrower lanes

wildflowers greet you

as time slows down

my pulse mellows down to rest


the train brings me

perspective the colors of autumn

a nostalgia of the simplicity of life

in a small city & towns

but also a realization that i am

very much a big city person

i calculate the distance from home

in terms of verses i 

pen waiting for the final 

station stop



 

Posted for the dVerse Poets Pub, Poetics, Travelling by Train - Hosed by Punam.  Thank you for your visits and comments.

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

mind the gap

i step into the subway train

as the wheels grind & groan

the comfort of routine descend

from passing buildings & trees

my thoughts wander

wayward as dandelion fluffs

over the skyway of cars

over bridges of street art & protests 


this space is unbothered by time

this dark tunnel is a fog of poems

this window overlooks gravity

& spots a majestic bird of prey flying


carrying me

over faceless passengers glued to screens 

& hurried texts & to-do-lists-

how far do I go?

what unknown stops await me?

my eyes rest on the valley of blue

where the lake calms & cajoles

a murmuration of birds 


until a whistle breaks

rudely intrudes my train of thoughts

my subway stop is here,

my seat is cold metal & plastic

my backpack weighs a ton

mind the gap (subway sign)

footsteps & faces crowd in

the city, whose clock hurries by



                                        Rick Amor (Australian) “The Agent,” 2019 Oil on canvas 81 x 117 cm

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetry in Liminal Spaces, hosted by Dora.  Thanks for the visits and comments.

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

the owl and me

 

The owl gave me a book

I was excited to open it

Is it a book of wisdom?

So I can follow it, a river

ever flowing, a bird knowing

its way home


But when I read it, what came

To me is a cacophony of sad poems

The melancholy of death songs

The owl looks at me

His bulging eyes filled with questions

His huge body carved by half-moon

Unmoved by my restless hands


Then he points to me a pen

Nudging me to write my words

Listen to my tides & heartbeat

Grow my own feet & feathered wings

Map and unmap my journey


I want to fly to the sky, I say 

The owl is still, waiting for me

I scratch the pages with ink

I scour the edges with electric

moods and soulful dances

A flow of energy curls within, crisp as rain

I lose myself in the salt of verses

and valley of melodies and refrains


I forget where I am

Standing on a tree of life 

Singing to the wind - my song



Artist:    Catrin Welz-Stein



Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - PoeticsdVerse Poets Pub - Poetics hosted by Lillian Hallberg.   Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.   

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Sounds

There is an itch in my throat

Dry cough, ugh,ugh,ugh

Bubbles up my cheeks

I gulp it down with water

Trying not embarrass myself

In an open space office with cubicles

All around me, the office buzzes

of tapping of keys and busy fingers, 

Snapping of headphones

I catch snippets of small & serious talk


This is nothing compared to

the summer construction outside-

Snarling buzzing of equipments

Clanging chinging of metal on metal

Whizzing of sand & dust & pollen

Screeching brakes of trucks

Beeping horns from impatient drivers

The city is a hive of buzzing energy


I sigh

At the end of the work day

After being enveloped in 

The chug-chug-grating of train wheels

I step into the garden

Splattered with light and flowers

Chirp-chirp goes the birds

Zip-zoom for the bees

Ringing laugher of children from the park

Humming, tinkling from trees & leaves

My plants are greening & grinning

It is a good summer day



Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- MTB by host Bjorn Rudberg, where we are incorporating sounds in our poem, Onamatopoeia.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thank you for your comments and visits.