Risk of burning the moon

here is paint box

where my shadows lurk 

shaped of black candles & stiff

broken wings

i put on the gloves of

anger & sadness within me

this hard seed of hurt

is deeply rooted, rimming

brimming my wildflowers to rot

i risk it all out in the canvas

altar of regrets

dry rust of barren earth

prickled words wombed from streets-

f__k this stupid shit!

the bloom of my skin turn

to knots

to twisted violet

until the violent wind dies within me

pale & half-apologetic

this mirror of myself

a burnt pendant moon

a wintered darkness

i own it, 

& learn to live with it

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics, Taking a Risk by guest Host, Tricia Sankey.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thanks for your 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.

The mangoes of our lives

 

on my palm, you are sun

goddess made by the tropical

gods in their dreams

i cut you

across your seed

lengthwise

as your yellowing juice

drips & tinges

my fingertips of heavenly

sweetness

some would even

cut your flesh into little squares

to be spooned into

desserts light & creamy as clouds

but by the streets & shores

of hardy farmers, fishermen & tradesmen

we holler for you

salivating over

your hard green

skin of unripeness

a tartness to rouse our tongues

to firehouse

of bitter-sour flavor

the earth has pickled in your seed

either freshly picked

or mixed with diced tomatoes,

onions, chiles and

shrimp paste sauce,

a side dish

for grilled fish and fried meats

under cool shades

of coconut trees,

your greenness gives us

roots

salt of our skin

browning under the burning sun

Source

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - How to cut a pomegrante, hosted by Kim M. Russell.  Join us for a fruity prompt when the pub doors open by 3pm EST.

this poem

 

has lost count

of wilting lilacs leis

& awry summer spells

has curious eyes

for rust peeled colors

beneath glossy covers

has locksmith hands

on old clock 

while you

between teacup

stirrings & musings

wait for a phrase 

to cleave you         right

        as        light

 

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille #129, A Curiosity of Poems, hosted by De Jackson.   This is a 44 word post with the given word - curiosity.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thank you for the visit.

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.

Waltz

 

Scribble a summer day

Lilacs scents in the air

Birdsongs fill morning steps

Serene blue is the sky

Paint me a carefree noon

Blue iris blooming joys

As children's red balloons

Buckle kites, straying toys

Compose an evening tune

Setting sun on my tea

The rising flower moon

Pink star we hope to see

Lilacs

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - MTB hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.   I tried to waltz in my poem.  Thanks for your visits and comments.

watch

 

he walks with his wounds

underneath his jacket, protesting

words on placard, his voice

a war song in the streets

above the din, old tower bell 

chimes 

clock wound tight

as wings of departing birds 

echo

tides of moon

i keep a storm watch

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by Lillian.  This is a 44 word post with the chosen word - Wound.  Thanks for the comments & visits.

Spring of contradictions

 

I.   spring is a simple

     daisy 

     or dandelion or daffodil

     tulips rising slender 

     wonders & joys

     easy and sweet as magnolias

     mysterious as cherry blooms

     i smell life

     vibrant as cardinals & blue birds

     hopping & pecking on grass for worms-

     beautiful & red earth you are

     enough for me

     

II.  a white flower bud,

     wrinkled & bent as green grass abounds-

     a tree shrub, still bare

     limbs & not one leaf sprouting on its

     arms shiver in the cold wind-

     amidst shadbush & thriving red maple trees,

     one baby bird 

     falls off the nest,

     waits & shivers into emptiness

     i was wrong,

     spring is as complicated

     as spring snow, dooming

     what little life there is

     to ice & stone

     merciless or merciful, what

     is your purpose?

     i cannot decide

     

     

                                                         

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - MTB:   Palinode.   Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  A palinode is a poem in which the poet retracts a view or sentiment expressed in a former poem.

Moontide

 

I thought him first a ferryman, but I was wrong.

He wore the night as one walks with a cane.  

Slipping on an ancient body, he was an old 

hand to assist you in your crossings.

Next, I thought of him a sentinel & maybe I

am right.   He watches the night closely as I count

time striking at midnight before the new year.   His

black suit scarcely moving in the wind.   His eyes

an orb of midnight oil, brooding as crows

Casting shadows in this street in middle

of the town square.  I first ran into him,

waving my passport, asking him where was Kipling

station.  He pointed it to me in the map & even

gave me tips to reach the airport.   I thanked him

as if he was a locksmith.   He brushed it off, saying

the city can be a puzzle

if you don't know north & south, east & west

in his grave watchman's voice.

That's me, confused as a lost cloud

With a ring of copper keys on my hand.

He said, a bunch of keys confused him.   He prefers

one fishing line & hook.

I was getting on my way when another man

approached him for help on directions.

He said that I am not a wand maker but I can show

you where to fish, where the water pulls, how to reel 

in a catch  

It now occured to me what he really was.

He is a tide maker.

He listens to the currents & shapes the tides.

He catches the moon and puts it

inside the street lamp.

And he holds the one silver key to close & open it

To whoever knocks at his door

and ask him 

Please, give me back my secrets.

Fictional character's voice inspired by the digital collage of Catrin Welz-Stein here.

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics:  Exploring the Narrative Voice, with guest host, Ingrid. Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.

mo(u)rning tea/ anniversary

 

before the birds sing

& yellow daffodils unfurl

pour yourself a teacup of mint & jasmine

& write your story of regrets on the pages 

of notebook:  line by line

the words appear waiting      as if motionless

the verses turn wanting        as if suspended

you know all of them, lingering at edge of light 

beautifully absent

but you have learned something by now

you have not mourned them   

you burned your bridges

Posted for dVerse OpenLink Night,hosted by Mish.   Inspired by Tuesday's Poetics prompt on bridges.  Thanks for the visit.