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.

blue summer

the morning sky shimmers, powder
blue, light as flour -
scattered snow clouds
train of lace crowns -

pear trees are breezing open, flutes
ringing with fruits
green, small as thumbs
soon, sweet on tongues

daffodils and white asters sway
peach blossoms splay
summer calls, blurs-
you are not here

Photo credit:  here

Posted for dVerse poets Pub - Form for All, hosted by Frank Hubeny.  Please drop by to learn more about the minute form, starting at 3pm EST. The form requires three stanzas of 20 syllables each. Each stanza has four lines. The first line has 8 syllables and the next three lines have 4 syllables each. If that is not enough constraints, the poem is expected to have end rhymes for the three stanzas that go aabb ccdd eeff.  More information on the dVerse site.

The windows of our memories

the long day shifts, shadows,

calls us, church bells ringing

we chafe, bickering with

each other, reluctant

to let go of summer

games, flowers, dewdrops

we slurp cool water, draw

curtains to the side, breathe

growing silouttes of

twilight, bowstring of hues

as sun finally dips beyond lake,

all our windows opening

to catch the light, we brush

with watercolors in our eyes

to hear murmur of insects

we jar, along with smooth stones

those carefree days have long gone

by distance and choices

i sometimes wonder when

dusk comes, and moon is still-born

if your windows are still 

opening and and listening 

Long window overlooking the back balcony

Good thing the weather was sunny, not rainy.

Posted for D'verse Poets Poetics - Looking Out/Looking In, hosted by Lillian Hallberg ~

Thanks for your visit ~

cupcakes and almonds

stained this page- 

nibbled while broiling words
in my head

-storm, jar, kick-
between spaces 

i jot some verse
hoping 

for crash of thunder,
sudden spill of cornflower seeds

skyward, i garnish
with blue, unflickering

silence
i can bear it now-
echoes
echoing with(in)

Photo credit:  here

Posted for dVerse Poets - Quadrille - 44 words with the word FLICKER.  Please join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST. We are back after a short summer break.

Happy 6th anniversary dVerse Poets!!!!   Thanks for your support and encouragement!

graduation blessings

summer sky pours out:
cart of wild berries,
honeycomb of blessings
and a cargo of rain

just enough coolness
to silver the hollowed bowels
of wilted boughs 
and silk tresses of blooming vines

listen 
to rustling
of crickets & grasshoppers
teething against the hard wood

listen
to restless
conspiracy
of ravens hiding above
black maple trees

listen
to weighless
flowering of seeds
groaning with anticipation
at every hour passing

listen 
deeply to yourself
without haste or sadness
so that this next journey
be a time to find

you
moving gracefully
as doe on field of golden wheat
hushed by clouds




Posted for OpenLinkNight at D'verse Poets Pub - Hosted by the Bjorn Rudberg ~  Please drop by when the pub doors open at 3pm EST ~  See you ~ 

Note:  For my youngest child, graduating from high school tonight.

a sunflower of blessings

early morning sun is a tapestry
of coral pink behind billowing clouds

     may you be nourished
     by raindrops and milkweed
     waltzing through air

     may you be gifted with newness-
     wings of dragonflies, starlight of fireflies
     and voracious appetite of caterpillars

i amble with robins & cardinals 
in the walk to park, too early for the crowd

     may you be serenaded by 
     gentle breeze on water lilies,
     hoots & buzzing of birds & bees

     may the words of healing
     settle on your tongue  
     & grow seeds of kindness  

i sit down on wooden bench
watching a family of ducks, serene by pond
      
     may your basket be light  
     overflowing with laughter
     and dewy sunflowers 

     may your every departure
     lead you to a great arrival 
     of yourself  
   
i cross a small wooden bridge over a creek
happy to find my way home

        

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub- Blessings Poetics hosted by Paul John Dear.  Join us when the prompt goes live by 3pm EST.  Thanks for your visit.  

Haibun: Summer

The sound of the ice cream cart rings a colorful music in the streets.  Children scramble like busy bees to check the flavours of the ice cream and fancy toppings.  I try green ice cream served thick between a fresh bun, instead of a cone.   Soon, my siblings and I will watch a movie and then go to the ice cream house for a banana split.  

Summer is sweet with ice cream in different tropical colors - purple yam, red bean, mango, avocado, coconut, lychee and green tea. With halo-halo as the ultimate dessert, I scoop each milk-flavored shaved ice with gusto. Sweet bananas with tapioca pearls and leche flan (egg custard) are my favorites.  I love the icy sweetness in my mouth. Beats the heat every time.

red roses blossom
into fans with intricate lace-
sun retreats, cool queen-

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Haibun Monday ~  The theme is summer.   Come join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for the visit ~

A joyful celebration

his smile trembled, through pain & tears - Thank you!
to his sister & brother, children and wife
and his last breath, a sigh of gratitude

by hospital bed, they prayed over him, through
early hours, against despairing waves  
as his smile trembled, through pain & tears - Thank you!

his journey with chemotherapy, askew 
frail lungs drowning with water, knifing
breath to be his last, (still) a sigh of gratitude

with family cancer history, he knew   
time's reckoning with younger brother's demise-    
his smile trembled, through pain & tears - Thank you!

beloved family came to visit with no clues
his health was fast deteriorating, wise
till his last breath, we sigh of gratitude

a huge collage stood by his coffin - Adieu! 
a celebration, we'll remember his life,  
his smiles, despite the pain & tears - Thank you!
for his last breath, filled with joy, gratitude



Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Villanille Form, Hosted by Frank Hubeny ~  This is a 19 line poem with refraining lines.   For my poem, I alter the last lines, to give it a twist so it does not wholly become repetitive.  

About the Villanille Form:  The most striking thing about a villanelle is that it has two refrains (“A1” and “A2”) and two repeating rhymes (“a” and “b”). The first and third line of the opening tercet are repeated alternately as the refrains, until the last stanza, which includes both refrains.

With this, the pattern of the villanelle can be illustrated as as A1bA2 – abA1 – abA2 – abA1 – abA2 – abA1A2 where “a” and “b” are the two rhymes, and the upper case letters (“A1” and “A2”) indicate the refrains.

S.T.O.P.

i run on wheels

far and near

slaying deadlines

or i'm slayed

shadows sip my light 

workload burrow

space for rest

s m e l l rainy moss

b r e a t h e deeply

rubies of s i l e n c e

each leaf, s u m 

of r a i n d r o p s

i glimpse blue s k y, 

russet s u n,

sated bees, t o o

f a t   to  f l y 

Posted for the D'verse Poets Pub - Signs, hosted by Mish ~  Drop by when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Photo by Pixiebay .    Thanks for the visit ~

Mixed Signals

I bring sage clouds
You scatter dust

Under moon shroud 
Drawn by gravity

We ignite heat
birthing stars, milky pink

Seeds worm to trees
Creeks nurse oceans 

My fingers stitch silver dress  
You soak coffee cherries 

This was the plan
But reality is, our words 

Collided in needles and brine, 
mismatched signals from old phone line



Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight - Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for the visit.

the day before

we came, browsing stores  
and towers of lore-   
walking
London Bridge, sky's choir,
River's silver floor-
talking
we bought snacks & swore
peace! it was day 'fore
killing



Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Hosted by Victoria Slotto - My officemate was touring London and was on the same London Bridge, the day before the June 3 Massacre.   

The lai is another French form. It’s a nine-line poem or stanza that uses an “a” and “b” rhyme following this pattern: aabaabaab. The lines with an “a” rhyme use 5 syllables; the “b” rhyme lines have 2 syllables. It feels kind of like organized skeltonic verse.

Rising

A child lost, without roots.   Her words were rebellion.  She never smelled flowers.    
Until a kind foster mother came along.   Listened to bruised heart, nursing broken butterfly wings.   

There's a time to bounce back.   Harness energy.  Light, shadows, darkness.   
Storm in her is rising.       




Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by De Jackson.   This is a 44 word post with the word, STORM.  Thanks for the visit.     

underneath, for real

i struggle with words
         bottled, plain as almond milk
i dress them up
         fancy as organic fresh salad & herbed 
chicken with coconut green mango drink-
         cool, instagram-worthy snapshots

i mess with lines, adding zest
        of orange and lime,   
splashing color, slices of avocado
        and sunflower seeds-
they look good as polished nails
        but lacking character & depth-

there are no undercurrents of despair
        nor scars or shadows of uncertainty
i rip the pages 
        & listen to the echoes-

sadness throbbing the busker's strumming-
        anxiety rising from old woman's woes- 
lost voices from widows and orphans-
        sirens from firetrucks & ambulances-

fears bubble, knife-edge at my tongue-
        ink spills, words-tarred 
from guts, bones & spleen
        to real, jagged lines on the page-

  

Source:  here

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight-Join us when the pub opens at 3pm EST.  Thanks for the visit ~

long journey home

your body rots
slow decay, turtle's pace
drinking tea & eating greens, your 
hands are lace-veined, brown-speckled by sun

your memories are rain-
dewed by past, lingering over photos-
fragrance of flowers bring you tears, phone calls
from your children and grandchildren livens your time

is this a blessing or curse
out-living your spouse, friends and siblings?
your aches, back and jaws 
are increasingly painful as years float, blur 

waiting
you are always 
waiting 
for that final blazing sunset

a gift, you'll then say 


Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Wrap it in ribbons (Gifts) Poetics, hosted by Lillian ~ Thanks for the visit ~

needles of wisdom

you carry your burdens with a slight stoop of your frame.   looking at you, no one would suspect, your body aches from the onslaught of many storms.  your face, well-worn book, scratched page by page, shines with love.  time has made a map on your skin, scribbled with grooves, scars and webbed lines.   you mend our broken bones with sap, our shattered hearts with green. your wrinkled hands are salve to our misdeeds and disastrous accidents.   with textured depths and firm roots, you show us your wisdom as we rise, flying with the gulls.   we carry your words wherever we go.

 

wild lilac blooms along

unpaved path, stony with dust-

lighthouse flickers- steady

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Haibun Monday ~ A tribute to the beauty and wisdom of mothers and grandmothers ~ Please join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST ~  Thanks for the visit ~

Brush strokes of grey

some nights, it falls 
cankerous 
roar of crackling firework
hiss of the breaking glass
vicious splat by car tires 

but this late afternoon
rains are gentle puddles
freshly squeezed
coating sky with oil pale hues
sounds of melancholy drift
linger
bittersweet as ruby grapefruit

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Quadrille, Hosted by Victoria Slotto ~  This is a 44 word post with the word SOUND.  Thanks for the visit ~

Today, I let the light in-

the sun is a milk-cotton daisy
blooming along side glorious tulips

              i will not count
              creases on my forehead

the sky sings a breezy fruity tune-
while dandelions sip yellow tea 

             i will not rue
             emerging strays of white hair

the wind brings lake's salty tears-
seed pods open, spraying golden grains

             i will not bother
             creaming my wrinkled hands 

the trees are shimmering glassy chandeliers 
covering cracks, like leavening on dry crust- 
             
             i am grateful -
             another day of beginnings




Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight - Come and Join us when the pub door opens at 3pm EST.