Riptide

Riptide 
Kelly Letky

when the moon rises from sea in silver blaze & catches you crossing
the fragile bridge from girl to woman

when each paper you hold gives you fine bladed cuts at the same spot,
& door that you want to close keeps losing its key

when the clock refuses to move its hands when northern & southern
wind squares off in sky & you are torn which road to leap into 

when i fret too much of unborn words too long
i turn off the voices around me, dive under the flood and let it run free



Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Featuring Kelly Letky's Photography
& Poets United

Two masks

daylight stitches your face unmoved by wheels
tar-washed by city's million clicking heels
you look for a summer bouquet to melt
this metallic mask to jade, soft as teal 

~0~0~

Artist:  Dale Dunning

the night is a trigger, itching for key

to peel the mask away as bony tree

what price did the fat moon exact from you?

not pearls but your bare heart, black-steeped in tea

Posted for D'verse POets Pub - Ruba'i and Rubaiyiat,  Hosted by Bjorn Rudberg

Thanks for the visit ~

Star-struck

Neon minted, dance of starlight
descending in flare of simplicity
descending in boat of storm
a temple fiery with language, pales

in the stampede, the deluge
dins and palpates, churning of jar tombs.
Rising, the sea breaks ground, 
recipient of dead flowers.

Pollinated with pesticide 
in pregnant pauses & throes
cats twisting in gold dust 
merrily dancing in their skin.

Neck to groin, clad in vintage
sea is ochre, orgasming in cove
sea knows time raws all 
to nettles, pieces, vacancies.  

Neon minted, dance of starlight
descending in flare of simplicity
descending in boat of storm
a temple fiery with language, pales

in vision, intricate rim roaring
late evening into pools of aurora 
padding to center of fire 
this sea - where nothing stays still.    


This is my own interpretation from this cryptic poem provided by Marina:

Ne-om aminti cândva târziu
de-aceasta întâmplare simpla,
de-aceasta banca unde stam
tâmpla fierbinte lânga tâmpla.

De pe stamine de alun,

din plopii albi, se cerne jarul.

Orice-nceput se vrea fecund,

risipei se deda Florarul.

Polenul cade peste noi,

în preajma galbene troiene

alcatuieste-n aur fin

Pe umeri cade-ne si-n gene.

Ne cade-n gura când vorbim,

si-n ochi, când nu gasim cuvântul.

Si nu stim ce pareri de rau

ne tulbura, piezis, avântul.

Ne-om aminti cândva târziu
de-aceasta întâmplare simpla,
de-aceasta banca unde stam
tâmpla fierbinte lânga tâmpla.

Visând, întrezarim prin doruri -
latente-n pulberi aurii –
paduri ce ar putea sa fie
si niciodatã nu vor fi.

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Homophonic translated hosted by Marina
Photo credit:   Colossal Blog

Upon finding a map of endless possibilities

A labyrinth
grew under her breast bone
warping her memories
weaved of yellow flowers
whose center arcs to sun's gaze 

Time unraveled
thread upon thread of palest grey
no needle could stitch
back where & how it started-
she was lost ship in deep wide sea

As wind cloaked the night
stone-washed, silted with weeds-
she saw the stars
dotting the sky silver keys
lighting a diamond-shaped map

Beginning with her face
redrawing & stitching 
her arms & legs, calligraphy on
canvas expanding with each breath -

She never felt lost again

Artist:   Hinke Schreuders

Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Play It Again - Inspired by  Jorge Luis Borges - become lost in the maze of language, magic & endless possibilities - Kerry's Challenge
and Poets United - Thanks for the visit ~

Rain walk

you are walking on air

between raindrops

feasting on changing colors

of leaves, one heartbeat

at a time

as one black umbrella opens

up after another

“Follow me”

says your guts

this is the path

you want to cut out

for yourself:  dream-chaser

oxygen rushes to your lungs

knife-winding & halo-storming

like that first time you flew

kite to crown the sky

by Joel Robison's Photography

Posted for Poetry Jam

and D'verse Poets Pub - Joel Robison's Photography (2)

Of paper wings

there is a road map
your eyes are searching

underneath white starched shirt
is your wild heart

no one hears it but you
pulsing river tide

hungry for smell of freedom
wide-angled as blue vein sky

and when the night
fragments your chest to water 

ask the bird for feather bone
ask the moon for verdant light

somewhere a corn stalk is ripening in its time 
you have wings

paper-light, fashioned out of tiny scars
the mirror doesn't show it

but you are beautifully 
made, always 

Joel Robison's Photography

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - We are writing about Joel Robison's Photography ~  I am pleased to be the pub tender for Poetics ~  Do visit and check out amazing images and words ~

Two triquian

Wind

These pages

unravel a knot, blue

storm underneath ink & silver lines.

I tether on metal, waiting for perfect sage

to point me my journey, foot by foot

But all I hear is wind

lion-maned.

Blue Storm, Iceland by Jerome Berbigier

August Sky

colorless

clouds dust my skin opaque 

chattering endlessly until i 

hush them to slide into moonlight arabesques. 

cold snaps last summer blooms as i write

away.  words, they keep me 
from drowning.

Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Sunday's mini-challenge - Triquain
Seven line poem with the following syllables: 3 - 6 - 9 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3

Shared with Poets United

Homecoming

Sticky sweet as hand-rolled rice cake
Baked in clay pot lined with banana leaves

Salty soft as goat's cheese
Mouth watering purple yam stirred in milk & sugar

Tangy crisp as sliced green mango
Mixed with tomatoes, onions & shrimp paste

Sun dew fruits - watermelon, papaya,
star apple, melon, atis, chico - nourish my eyes

And most of all, riotously decadent halo-halo*
colors swimming in finely shaved ice

And I would suckle your brown breast
Milky as young coconut, newly axed by bolo**

By the man along dusty road,
His deeply wrinkled smile welcoming me home 
  

*Halo-halo ( ‘mix-mix’ ) is a popular Philippine dessert consisting mainly of finely-shaved ice and a delightful concoction of preserved sweets such as young shredded coconut, beans, boiled banana chunks, macapuno, sago, gelatin, leche flan and topped with crispy popped rice and a glob of ice cream, among other yummy tidbits. Picture credit here.

** bolo is a large, heavy, single-edged knife or machete for hacking

Posted for D'verse Poets pub - Homecoming ~ It's all about food ~ 

Dusk

westward wind tarries 
sea-floral fragrance

rain clouds
slinging its glorious mane

a darkening 
of trees sway below gibbous moon

tide recedes
crooning last summer's song

time slips
hushed and gentle like the gazelle. *


Title and last line from Dusk, Gabriela Mistral.

Posted for Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Sunday's Mini-challenge- Gabriela Mistral
and Poets United ~  Thanks for the visit ~

long shadows of sunset

stole my breath & words-

I drank as a daughter *

Her mother's milk, milk of the palmtrees *

*Drinking, by Gabriela Mistral

Grace @ Florida Vacation

August thunderstorm

pewters sky

mud-silver

Grace @ Clearwater Beach, Florida

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - In 40 words or less  ~   Thanks for the visit ~

Sea-charmed morning

Grace @ Clearwater Beach, Florida

~0~0~

sun-licked waters 

over blue-drunk sky

I tread 

eager for wiggly fish

and though each tide

repeats an old song

bounding waves

break against my feet

soft feathers 

of green-stemmed blooms 

I cannot count

nor put them in a vase

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - In 40 words or less ~  Thanks for the visit ~

Sam's Superman moment

Lake Panasoffkee, Sumter County, Florida

As another air boat rain-ripples the marshlands 

baby alligator, Sam, asks his mother, if he can come out 

& play with his friends, dragon & black swan.

Wait until all is silent except for the birds, his mother said

So he waited until the sun steeped the emerald

reed-waters to bright orange & yellow hues

At night, Sam swims along the grooves & rocks

With his friends, lake is a spaceship or pirate ship

marauding an island of bats or black cats.

Suddenly a raven sweeps above a palm tree croaking:

There's a boat nearby with nets staking your kin & skin

But Sam doesn't realize the danger & soon he is caught

In a large cup with orange flowers

painted on it. Or was it an old liquor bottle?  Sam scrambles

to escape though his mouth is duct taped.  His tail flips-flops

to find an escape route.  He smells smoke nearby

& realizes his dragon friend had set the boat on fire.  By the door, his

other friend, the swan is motioning him to jump on his back & soon

Sam is airborne over the water-mulched trees
      Where time is a graceful arc of pelican's wing

      Where every cry of the bald eagle is fierce & free

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Telling a Story

We went to the marshlands over the weekend where we saw alligators and wild birds. Such a beautiful wild place & hopefully it will continue to remain untouched by men ~ But we did see a baby alligator on display for tourists like us ~

*I am currently vacationing in Florida so it may take me a day or two to return your visit*