a flicker between heartbeats

morning sky is grey hawk
of silence

tides are slow, lapping
white foam, waiting for canoes
to ripple the lake's corners

wildflowers stand on tiptoes
to catch sunlight, ripening peach
with rain-drizzled skin

i inhale deeply
        this 
curl of space
whisker of light
        bliss

At Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub- QUADRILLE hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.   This is a 44 word post with the word BLISS.  Thanks for the visit ~ 

between layers of worksheets

the words are morphing  
to pepper and salt
on drowsy cool afternoon

his mind, a waffle bowl
scoops two ice cream,
topping with chocolate bits, sliced 
peaches, berries & bananas

as sunlight ebbs on street curb
his tongue, dry paper, 
gobbles the sweet treat-

crunching the honey oats 
his thoughts unbound, swirling school 
of fish, gold and green as emerald lake

time to take a break 
& chase dreams with fishing nets

by Riusuke Fukahori

Photo from Colossal

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight hosted by Gayle Walters Rose - Thanks for the visit ~
This is a late response to the Poetics Musical prompt last week by Mish.   I chose:
"Chasing dreams with fishing nets" by Rain Delays, Crash Parallel   

monday's train journal

subway train rumbles on
        doors open, chimes

people hop in, and out-
         scarves, hats, jackets,

turbans, shorts, slippers, shoes-
         a sea of hues-

a woman with black veil- 
         pale girl with tattoos- 

an old man, with dirty cart- 
         lad with headphones-

i trace clouds & blue sky
         against gray steel

i am not colorblind,
         there are shades, tints

beyond my sunglasses, 
         borders to scale

in my mind, fenced by words,
         beliefs and faith-

i check them everyday-
         measuring depth,

levels of acidity-
         i seek relief in green

forest, calm acceptance 
         of mother nature-

i pray for roots of empathy, 
         seeds of kindness

to rain whatever hardness 
         is left inside-

slowly, surely, i work
         chipping corners-

here comes my station stop-
         i fold my edges

under red cardigan- 
         the crowd surges, 

giant waves, blurring our
         faces with sands-

Posted for D'verse Poets pub - Border Poetics.  Challenge:  To write about border theme and include the word "border" either in your title or poem. An extra challenge would be to write about the invisible border theme e.g. mental borders or imaginary boundaries.   The form and structure is your choice.

Please join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for the visit.

summer of 2017

We inhaled, slurped, nibbled slowly.  As if to prolong the sensation of awe and grandeur. As if we could not get enough with the first taste of  clean mountain air, the spice of rain on forest floor.  We hiked, grasped for breath and took lots of photos which can never really do justice to the area. We love the different facets of the mountains, blueness of glacier-fed lakes, rivers and valleys with thousands of evergreen pine cones.  And the giant rocks with ice glacier on top, that swallowed our vision.  

The road trip took us to two national parks, Banff and Jasper of Alberta.  It was our first time to visit the eastern part of Canada.  The call of the wild and footprints of the First Nations are dominant in the historic places.   Our spirits were restored, all stress forgotten.   We vowed to return soon. 

river tides are slow dancing

to wind's drumming song, we gaze

at elk grazing, sun-gold

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Haibun Monday hosted by Toni, Kanzensakura.  Thanks for the visit.

of tangerine dreams

i see your smile, shy-tangerine grin
behind the crab apple tree, sunset-stilled
you move slowly to pluck the ripe 
bearing fruits, licked by summer rain 

i taste wine & olives as i walk towards you 
but you're turning to a blur, mist of clouds
my feet are turning to quicksand as
you fade away, dreamscape in a fog-

how quickly i forget, time has hidden you
from me- you, fiery fire of my canvas-
you, deepest blue lake of my thoughts-

every night, even with my eyes closed
i can trace your face with my fingertips,
my love, sleep, until we meet again-

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Free verse sonnet hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for the visit.

I ink flowers on my hand

i have books to green my soul
        rather than wedding ring
i paint words to spark  
        rather donning colorful dress 

i can be   
more than wheelbarrow, a banyan tree 
more than feathers, an arrow for justice

-untouchable-
I am not, just 
a girl dreaming

Note:   I watched Daughters of Destiny:  The Journey of Shanti Bhavan, on Netflix.  I am blown away by Shanti Bhavan's mission to break the generational poverty in India by taking children as young as 4 or 5 years from the lower caste "Untouchables" and providing them with education and boarding up to college (17 years of care and financial support). More information on this non-profit mission here.  

Posted for D'verse poets Pub - Quadrille hosted by De Jackson.  This is a 44 word post with the word DREAM.

Hiking up to Lake Agnes Tea House

my legs are jars of sand
fear's a spider 
climbing my spine, with last
part:  wooden steps

my breath mirrors shallow
lake on ice-capped
mountain, shimmering blue-
beehive of pines-

my tongue throbs for lake's cool
not warm green tea-
below, panorama
winks, bubbling green

Lake Louise from the middle of the hike up to Lake Agnes Tea House.  The trail took us 2 hours to climp up and 1.5 hours to hike down.

• Elevation Gain: 400 m (1300 ft)
• Altitude: 2135 m (7005 ft)

Lake Agnes Tea House

Posted for OpenLinkNight of D'verse Poets pub - Late post for the Quadrille of Fear last week.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.   All photos are mine from my vacation in Alberta, Canada. Thanks for the visit.

Postcard from Lake Minnewanka, Banff

early morning sky

shades blue upon blue

-pale turquoise & dark cyan-

shimmering mirror of perfection

we gaze up

-reduced to pebbles- 

by mammoth giants of rocks

cradling the glacier lake

mountains are murmuring

to the spirits of the lake

we listen

-sussuration of tides-

echoes of resort village 

forever submerged in deep darkness

we scan for

footprints of mountain sheep & bears

but only 

lone eagle watches

from stone-hedged tree

its eyes, glittering

-clear as water-

wild as sunrise

Mount Inglismaldie, Lake Minnewanka

"Water of the Spirits"

Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Shade, hosted by Lillian for Poetics.  
Join us when the pub doors open by 3pm EST.  
During our boat cruise in Lake Minnewanka, we were lucky to spot this beautiful eagle on the tree (top right side of photo).  Thanks for the visit.

Postcard from Medicine Lake, Jasper

Photo by Grace@Everyday Amazing

The Excelsior fire in summer of 2015 left the forest a fragment of its lush vegetation.  Tall skeletal trees, burnt logs and roots, form a silent graveyard.   The rain had stopped the wildfire from wrecking further havoc on the small town of Jasper, Alberta province.   The area is a grim reminder of the harsh realisties of wildfire during summer.  

Around the flanks of the forest, lake rises up to vibrancy during spring and summer. The clouds can be dark from the distance.  But the tides are calm, soothing balm for the place of what was once a firestorm.   What once was a carribou country where the First Nations thrived.   The contrast of lake's startling beauty and emptiness from wildfire surrounding it, is a visual and spiritual experience. The area may not be a tourist perfect area.  Yet here is where life and death intertwined.

cloudy morning
two bald eagles nest on a tree-
wind cries - distant drums -

Photo by Grace@Everyday Amazing

Medicine Lake, Jasper National Park

Alberta, Canada

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - How Wonderfully Imperfect (wabi-sabi) for Haibun Monday, hosted by Victoria C. Slotto.  Join us when the pub door opens by 3pm EST.  I am back after my Alberta vacation.