Winter's breath

Winter lands in the city
with stiff dove's wings  

It slides under the cars &
creates a whirl of grey clouds

It blankets, spiraling over
fences & roofs, erasing paths & grime

Getting into the groove quickly,
licking every bare tree & fallen leaf with silence

Taking its time
as if the world is flaring, silvery canvas

But its a chameleon
turning clear roads to slippery ice

Some nights, its a vulture
knifing homeless & lost souls on cold streets- 

We fret, with no sunshine
to needle our eyes to light & motion

Forgetting colors & spring flowers
We get intimate with death, melancholia 

& pinched nerves, enveloping our words-
pink, furrowed with blue salt-



Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics hosted by Lillian ~ Theme is "groove".  
I slipped on the ice last night & fell on my side, while shoveling so I am feeling a bit cautious.  Thank goodness, no broken bones or bruises.  I have forgotten how slippery the ground ice can be.

#brava!

we walked on eggshells
around his supersized ego-
         chickens
giving him pass for his lewd-
ness and foxy behavior

it was our season of sickness,
         rut and rust
we were pawns
in his checkered games-

until 1 woman finds her 
footing
core
          earth and iron
speaks up
breaks the silence
of gated mountains,
finds a chorus of women

           #metoo

to build a bridge 
over the deep rivers- 

           checkmate!



Posted for dVerse Poets pub - Meeting the Bar:  Symbolism, hosted by Victoria C. Slotto. Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.   

A tribute to all the Silence Breakers, Person of the Year by Time 2017.

push that button!

snow flurries 
                  tumbled on roof, 
caking windows in 
                  light frost 
dawn comes with blanket, soft, 
                   cinnamon-scented

i dash through oatmeal 
                  with my lunch bag 
insert (time to reflect) 
                  poetry along train stops-
scribbling waylaid verses
                  pickled new
roping flow & rhythm- 
                  it's crunch time!





Posted for dVerse Poets - Quadrille -44 word post with the word, CRUNCH.  
Hosted by De Jackson.  Join us when the pub door opens at 3pm. 
I need deadlines to write and work on my personal projects.   Thanks for the visit.

hiccups along the trail

she sits
                    on the margins
                    of herself

                    listening

                    to creak of wrist bones
                    to beat knuckling her knees

                                       whispered wants of her tongue
                                       pearl studs of dancing shoes

                    waiting

                    simmering thoughts in teapot
                    and letting it steep

                                         through her  s k i n
                                         along    s p i n e

                    trail of veins   
                    between lungs of doubts   

                    finally, it's time   


to build a house
of her belongings                    

   

Posted for dVerse OpenLinkNight, where I am hosting, starting at 3pm EST.   
This poem was inspired from reading David Whyte's House of Belonging
Thanks for the visit.

3 stitches of change

i.

my wings are shy
blooming rust as sky
change is the wind 
whizzing under my feet-
i must jump & glide
or die-


ii.

first snow-
flake upon pine cones-
shadows grow, a bracelet
of wires on changing sky



iii.

sound of train is patience
as i gave him
my free Tim Horton's coffee card-
he stopped his guitar singing and
tucked it carefully
in his inner jacket-
his wide smile changed his face
& mine- 



Posted for dVerse Poetics- Change - Hosted by Paul Scribbles ~   Pub door opens at 3pm EST.  Thanks for joining us.

jellybeans with jazz

it starts breezy
your fingers slick, tingling
on guitar strings
murmur of leaves, falling  


then sharp stab
slurping my skin, milk-moon 
soft, honey-gold
& buttering my eyes
fringe of blue clouds


slam, slam, pour, pour
your ferocious heartbeats-
turn us to mindless waves
ride in - music -


we swish, rolling rhythm
pedals churning-
gathering us to heaven
gates, let's implode (again)-






Posted for dVerse poets Pub -  Jazz poetry with a lovely guest blogger, Amaya.  Come and join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for the visit ~ 

the bird underneath my winter coat

she is light as feather 
on the train, we're matching sweaters
but in my office, we're opposites 
as i pour over my sheets
she is leaning out of glass window
steeled by balconies, her flamingo
skin quivering among boxed flowers & fake grapes- 
her eyes far away, smitten with the lake-

there are city pigeons & gulls 
feeding near the trash bins, but her pulse
is untutored rhyme so she stays away
from gossips around the water cooler-
her sighs are blighted poetry 
scribbled hurriedly on paper napkins 

she leads a secret life,  
craving for sweet berries & a slice 
of honeycomb or mushrooms-
her screams are echoes 
of raindrops until 
every evening, i return home 

where i preen her wings
and we dance and swing  
to wild song of the wind
to hoots of night creatures
until finally
my chord hits a nightingale's note
she's a songstress in velveteen- 

Posted for dVerse poets Pub- Hosted by Kim Russell.  Inspired by the poem, The Heavy Bear who Walks with Me.  The challenge is to write a poem, of any length or form, about an animal in a human way or a human in an animal way, highlighting some trait of the animal/human that either sets us apart or brings us together – it’s up to you, just as long as the poem is new.

daydreaming

it's pink pebble
on palm of frothy shore

ringed by remnants
of corals, shells, dead starfish 

above, sun splashes blue sky
oblivious to the quarrels of birds

palm trees flick 
buzzing wings glinting of jewels

under striped umbrella,
snoring waves rock me to daydream  



Posted for dVerse poets pub - Quadrille  Hosted by Mish- 44 word post including the selected word, ROCK.   It's actually cold and chilly where I am right now.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.

November collections

I collect words
    they smell of coconut oil and thyme

I soak them in water
    warm as silent ocean, soft as clouds

Some of them swim to the
    blue map, ringing of certainty

But some of them gnaw 
    on my insides, growing eyes

Lidded with petals & loops
    raising questions & veins of wants

I breathe the tissue of my darkness    
    reeling in/out of my every heartbeat 

Come out of my mouth 
    before the year grows old with snow-

Posted for dVerse Open Link Night, hosted by Toni (Kanzensakura)  ~  A second offering for Lillian's prompt.   hanks for your visit.

at the streetville of flowers

they came with mops, brooms, 
   buckets on streets,
and swept off the beggars,
   homeless, clueless
addicts slumped on my feet-
   cruising between

my arms, spray-painted by  
   electric green
and psychedelic orange-
   my head, turban
of colorful stories-
   erased to white-  

i'm restored melody
   flowing breezy-
i'm saving grace among 
   eyesores & punks-
i flow as flowers do 
   flowering to the sky

shimmering false-blue hues-
   stop!  it's bleached!
the whole city is tangle
  of rotting bones 
coated with fresh garden air
  for VIP guests

so I stand still
  dreaming of sunflowers
buzzing of insects- 
  collecting rain in pockets-
my nose runny 
  with smog by whizzing cars 

  

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Street Art or Culture, Hosted by Lillian ~  This is theme: I’ve posted five examples of street art for folks and ask them to pick one and somehow write about it. Images in public domain at Pixabay.com. Only requirement is that folks post the accompanying image.