ice deep

encase me in your belly
down
deep 
basin of the lake

in stillness
hear sounds of
giant turtle, salamander,
turkey vulture-
gathering of burnt
corn, feathers,
bear skin

that crisp orange-yellow
of setting sun
doesn't ripple-melt me

i sleep
in the tranquility of ever-
                                      green 

  My photos of Lake Crawford, Milton, Ontario.
An Iroquoian village lived near this lake over 600 years ago.

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub  - Quadrille,hosted by Lillian.  This is a 44 word post with the given word - tranquility.   

Notes about Lake Crawford:  Meromictic Lake

The heart of the park is the eponymous meromictic lake: Crawford Lake. Do you know what makes this lake a rarity? The lake is deeper than its surface area, so the lowest levels of water are very rarely disturbed, and little oxygen reaches the lowest levels. It’s the unique qualities of a meromictic lake that led to an exciting discovery—where science unveiled local history. Researchers and scientists found ancient corn pollen deep in the sediment of the lake. The presence of corn meant settlements, and thus this began the research, which concluded, that First Nations groups settled in this area over six hundred years ago.

canvas

come dusk, you cross stitch your words 
into canvas, musing if gold threads 
can appear from air.  you marvel 
at frayed hues of butterfly, black wings
of crows, perched on street lines- 
you wait as moon grazes the night sky

imagine- sketching your face in sky
with bonsai trees & feathers, words
buzzing in your ears, squiggly lines
twirling in sand dunes, what threads
can capture, hold this  - your wings
are edging you to unknown - a marvel

of stars & beyond, a marvel
of abyss, uncharted dark sky
you capture what you see, wings
clipped, broken, then free as words
you don't need a map to spool threads
what you need is space, no lines

as you paint on walls, out of lines
where boats tug wispy clouds, a marvel
to catch on shorelines without threads -
now, you are running breathless, sky
is grey, with need to plump out words
bigger than your canvas, your wings

wandering bring me hope, my wings
one day, will unfurl, wriggle past lines
of square boxes, marry words
with panache and spice, I'll marvel
at tiny beetles under sky-
all the hands that nurture, pulling threads

apart, until threads become lines
inking wings and forests, a marvel
to see -sky of birds, my body of words




Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Sestina, Poetry Form, hosted by Victoria Slotto.   This is a my first work-in-progress sestina, so any feedback is appreciated.   This follows the pattern:

1. A,B,C,D,E,F
2. F,A,E,B,D,C
3. C,F,D,A,B,E
4. E,C,B,F,A,D
5. D,E,A,C,F,B
6. B,D,F, E,C,A
7. BE, DC, FA (The envoi of three lines with BDF midline and ECA as the end lines.) Note: The Poetry Foundation gives this variation on the envoi: FB, AD, EC. Use either one.

watching_protest march_

raindrops drip-drop-drip 
on roof as i eat  
words in safety of my home

but i know that smell-
streets crackling-exploding-burning 
with tension-    
                       firestorm

from afar

i wish you energy 
as you walk and let your
                        voices be your drum-
beats, blistering thunder-
claps across
                        mutinous         sky




Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, a poem of 44 words, with the word, VOICE.   My poem is in support of the protest marches happening in other countries like Hong Kong and Russia.

August moon

Half moon, cradle of shadows and light
Needle our eyes to star-burst night
Thump our chests, mired in hemlock & brine

Half moon, cradle of shadows and light
Draw green corn and grain on our palms
Our eyes are blinded by red summer haze  

Half moon, cradle of shadows and light
May we fish abundantly in lakes 
As tides bow, searching for your fullness 



Posted for dVerse OpenLinkNight - Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for the visit.

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.

Grandmother

i could paint you
dainty as lavender
and your cheeks
pearled pink peony

but it wouldn't be a true
snapshot 
unfiltered you
is freckled by sun

with hands
deeply-grooved
by changing sea tides

your words steady
as you crochet 
bedsheet with scent
of earth


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by Mish.  This is a 44 word post, with the given word, FRECKLE.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.

Sayuri-san

what lies beneath your lacquered eyes, are you               

hiding a jewel, onyx as pain from                         

hundred lashes of an errant word. you brew                   

your secrets, guard your wide gold sleeves with cane    

has venom tinged your blood to rust, a bane                        

once, your laughter was black raven’s clone        

as you bargain with harvest moon for bones  

rise, dispel this ghostly ritual at night        

press your red hot lips against the limestone                  

unbound your robe & step into moonlight          

Photo credit: Totomai Martinez

Posted for OpenLinkNight - dVerse Poets Pub, hosted by Linda Lee Lyberg - Form is Dizain.  The basic rules for the dizain are that it has one stanza consisting of 10 lines, with 10 syllables per line, and the rhyme scheme is ababbccdcd.

Curse of the roses

My petals eaten
by bugs & mulched
   by slugs
I am still canvas
beneath harsh summer sun
In my singular stubbornness
my one small bud
opens to sun's warmth
framed amidst
tattered & scattered pieces
Snow white crown
- perfect -
Then the frenzy begins
& buzzing
   & buzzing of insects
until petals are dull
leaves blackening to soot
Do I move to another ground?
Throw my pollen
afar, go
where the southern wind
scatters me
Pull up my roots
My rosehip oil is divine
Break this curse &
replant me,
where I can
hear the hummingbirds
& rain
          drops
   & rain
             drops


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics, Movement hosted by Amaya. Please visit dVerse blog for the full details.   Thank you.

silence is not the answer

If our grandchildren asked of us
Where are the polar bears & lions
And the bison, elephant & caribou
On the plains of red dust
Our leather shoes shiny as sun
What do we say?

If our grandchildren asked of us
Where is the ocean of whales
And mountains with green firs & oak
The blue lake with whooping crane
carefully threading for her catch
What do we say?

We ride along in our new cars 
counting loyalty points, likes & followers
We have no seeds to burrow
only garbage & tons of cheap clothes
We ply away this blue & serene sky
for plastic, smoke & towering condos

If our grandchildren asked of us
Why we are gifting them a dying planet
Will we hear the birdsongs, hoots and grunts
from long lost creatures 
and recall the smell of freshly picked apples?
What do we say?



Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - On Climate Crisis hosted by Anmol (alias HA).

For more information, see link here:  Climate Change, What can you do

Sunshine

you bring the sun
through storms & winter
darkness 

steady me
with an anchor of kelp &
kite of starlight

teach me humility 
in sharing your light to
others

blind not my eyes
with rust of world but
with kindness
soft as child's hands

The Sun by Dale Chihuly

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille & 8th Anniversary.  This is a 44 word post with the given word:   sun.   Join us when the pub doors open after our summer break, at 3pm EST.  Thank you!!!!