Riverwood

tall red maple leaves are inviting

we walk inhaling the cool light

moss, wood ferns, wildflowers edging 

our pathway of pebbles & grass 

we pass the storm-struck fallen tree

scattering bark, a haven shed

for chipmunks, squirrels, buzzing bees

and birds with wings of black & red

terrain is rugged yet wood-soft

at the credit river, we marvel-

wood duck, mallard, and blue heron

catching fish & blueing sky joyful

Riverwood, Mississauga City, Ontario

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Let's Take a Walk in the Woods - Thank you for your visits and comments.

Keeper of keeps

settle me, leafy & limber as grape vines

upon pillows of leaves, a symmetry of green

i breath in your cool breath, light, green

on greening maple and oak trees, sky

clocks the long hours of daylight

rosy long hours of sunlight

in your greenness, i taste salt

of earth, & summer sun salting 

my skin to brown, to flowering blooms, to pierce

my heart as a pear tree of flowering blooms, so fierce

for what am i without you

empty greenhouse, without you, greening

me with a thread of fire, greening

with threads of fire

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - MTB:  To turn again, about turn again.   This challenge about epiphora, is hosted by Laura Bloomsbury.   Playing with repetition to drive home the theme & message.

Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.

house of green

 

i dance to your sun-

light of green & shamrock

a speckle of butterfly wings

a rustle from birds & chipmunks 

wildflowers of pale pink & blue

forget-me-nots swish to breeze

above, the maple and oak trees

tower & stretch their young limbs

the forest is tended by sky, clouds,

wind & rich soil teeming by small creatures

busy bees are hard at work

here is soft bed of fern & moss 

here is beating pulse of red 

berries, here is musk from damp soil

it is a full house

there is no place like home*

*"There's no place like home"  - Wizard of Oz, 1939 

Watch the video of Riverwood from my Instagram

Posted for dVerse poets Pub - hosted by Mish. I chose this line from the list of movie quotes.   For the long weekend, we went hiking and breathing in nature.  Have a good week.

summer light

The gravel sand clacks under my shoes
I walk up the uneven road, wildflowers
astray with bees and butterflies sucking 
sweet fragrance under warm sun
Each floating seed, spinwheel 
of cotton dreams, I inhale 
   it all

The city's skyline is haze of grey
Against field of green pines
Chickadees flit, soft brown coats
as I color each falling petal
crinkled purple, pink and yellow
until I am sun-smudged, light 
    as air



Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Purifying the Mind, hosted by Linda Lee Lyberg.  Thanks for the visit.

distance is relative & love is everything

I squint
but I cannot see the light 
year travelling at speed of 
186,000 miles per second or 
about 5,880,000,000,000 miles!

It boggles my mind that between falling 
cherry blossoms
a galaxy is revolving
a cluster of white stars are born
a supernova explodes
and nothing escapes the black hole

Against the heavenly sky
We are only stardust 

Yet, in our own world
we are stewards of this enormous 
blue planet

If we will do our job well as kingmaker
it is possible  
a bird nesting site is saved 
a river roaring back to life 
a forest rising from destruction


My eyes are myopic
I don't want to miss the hues of vanishing 
sunlight, the folded wings of 
butterfly, smile of innocent child

I put too much meaning 
on an empty cocoon
broken feather on ground

and the miracle - watching that dew-
drop
on a blooming tiger 
lilies 



Posted for dVerse Poets, OpenLinkNight -  This is a late post for poetics of Theory of Everything and Anything - hosted by Merril Smith.   Come and join us for OpenLinkNight, when the pub doors open for poetry reading at 3pm EST.

Oil Spill in the North River

A deluge of black oil killed a sparrow.
While a canada goose and great blue heron are
being treated from chemical spill.

The snow of the mountains feed me.
Wide is my mouth, awash with fish.
A strong river, I define valleys and foothills.

Sadness is the whale's echoing grunts.
Grief is eerie silence from the dying fish.  Is this
what we wish of death, a poison poured, toxic finis? 

I run alongside the prairies, yellow under 
afternoon sun.  Forests keel under my tides.
A benevolent river, I mark journeys anew.

I dig a grave until I couldn't count anymore-

A great blue heron brought in for treatment at Maidstone, Sask., near the site of a pipeline leak that spilled more than 200,000 litres of oil into the North Saskatchewan River. (Submitted by Wendy Wandler )  Source

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub- OpenLinkNight, starts at 3 pm EST.  I am your host so please come and join us with your poem.   

I read this news over the weekend and this picture struck me.   The Muskoday First Nation has declared a state of emergency.    

Full of sunshine

I was expecting a lot of sun and warm weather lately as it is summer.  But on some nights, it is still cold, along with the rain and dark clouds.

I guess that's the way life is...  you expect certain events and situations to happen, and sometimes it doesn't turn out to be like that.       This is applicable  to my life right now as I didn't get the job post I was applying for last week.  I was disappointed but I think I made the right decision to stretch myself to see what is out there.  I am thankful I do have a stable job and love the people I work with right now.   As to my recent exam results, I will know in about 2 weeks. Hopefully I pass, and I can move on to another challenge.   

All in all, the past few days wasn't too bad.   I was expecting sunshine all the way through, but the rain has been good for Mother Earth.   I see the trees in their full splendour and the garden blooming with flowers (specially my red roses). Yes, life can be full of sunshine.  


So, how was your week?   Hope you all have a good weekend ~
  

picture credit:    happythings.tumblr

In awed of Mother Nature

Vulnerable.   Awed.  Frightened.

These were my feelings when I watched the videos of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan yesterday.   My own earthquake memories came back to me - the swaying of the tall office building and furniture while everyone is scrambling to go down the emergency exit.   It may have lasted  a few minutes or even seconds but feeling the earth tremor and shake always remind me of our vulnerability in relation to Mother Nature.    With one sweep and movement, buildings and houses fall, boats, cars and roads are swept away, trees and land boundaries are changed by earthquakes and its after effects - landslides, floods,  fires and tsunami.

I remember one incident where this lesson was displayed for all to learn.   We had rented a mid sized boat to "entertain and reward" the top sales people in our company one summer. En route to an island for sight seeing, we experienced a sudden downpour and turbulence which shook our boat and made everyone hang on to dear life.   Though we had our safety vests and emergency gear, we were not prepared to be tossed out of the boat and swimming to the nearest shore.   We all kept silent, held hands and prayed for the dark clouds to pass.    All of us in the boat, even the big bosses and top salesmen,  were brought down to our knees as we felt Mother Nature's power and might.   We were no different from the men in the olden times who have felt fear in the face of natural disasters.

Even though we have gained knowledge and progress in health, technology, and science, Mother Nature is still unpredictable, and continues to puzzle us.   With the sudden changes in the weather and the climate, she reminds us that our presence in this planet is that of a visitor - a tenant even.    Just someone passing by and not having a stake or claim in this land despite our land titles.    In one moment, all that we have worked for, our business, our house, our neighborhood, even our loved ones, can be gone in a blink in the event of a tornado,  cyclone, earthquake, volcanic eruption and other natural disasters.

Oftentimes in the aftermath of the destruction, and loss from natural disaster, we learn the value of love, care and helping other people in great need.  And most of all, we learn to live our life passionately as if today is the most beautiful and important day of our life.

What about you?   Have you ever experienced an earthquake or a natural disaster?

Photo credit:


http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010127.html