what the gods saw

 

he was sugar-coated

in gold

to behold him

a god

when the sun strikes his

muscled chest and legs

he posed

still as a sky cloud

caught between currents

as painters around him

buzz as bees circling, hungry for

honey

even though he is a skilled actor

poised as delicious cake puff

he could not veil

his eyes

she saw what no else saw

her fingers became his mirror

her brush became his 

raw 

poetry

in her canvas, he was a

bird in a cage

colorful feathers flickered out

& weighed 

down by black ink, her 

oils dripped

dripping

until it resembles

the swelling tear 

clouds

his eyes

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Meeting the Bar, hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.

Thanks for your visits and comments.

a grandma's recipe

into the glass jar,

i assemble the shredded

red cabbage and pour

the brine

of spices & apple

cider vinegar

with sliced carrots & garlic

& finally

with summer's last bulb

of sunshine

i close the lid

on pickled condiment jar

until one cold autumn night-

we open and inhale its zesty

earthly flavor

on our plates of crumbling taco shells

& home-made soup of creamy 

butternut squash-

i taste home

Posted for dVerse Poetics - Concrete or Abstract, hosted by Ingrid.  The writing challenge:   I want you to write a poem using only concrete nouns, subject matter and imagery. For the purposes of this exercise, the following words are banned: soul, love, lust, dreams, sorrow, suffering, heartache, wonder, etc. 

Thanks for your comments and visits.

Waning crescent moon, Nov. 1

 

garden bed sighs

of dead petals & fallen leaves

we let the echoes of

departing birds 

pingpong our words

as daylight careens into shadows

and veil our tawdry  

sunflower-lit crown

let's scarf down 

into the autumnal darkness

& slow dance under

second-hand star lights 

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub- Quadrille, hosted by Lillian Hallberg.  This is a 44 word post with the chosen word, careen.  Thanks for the visit.  

mirror reflections

in the mirror,

your face 

is staring back at me

a line across your forehead

furrowed as mine

your eyes hardset as gravel

your thin mouth snarling,

a loaded gun

i fear the words tipping

out of my own lips

a thunderbolt

of energy, sharp gust of adrenalin

uncontained

i tie my curly hair back

as if to rein in myself

amidst the rising

fear and frustration

but when i put my hand

over my heart,

i

know

it beats 

differently-

soft as raindrops

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - OLN, hosted by Linda Lyberg.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.

the puppeteer

 

covers the small stage set

with canvas, his aged hands

folding away wires, strings,

brushes & paints on shelves

clanks

in meticulous beats as his

pocketwatch, precise

as his master list of lists-

autumn night settles in 

with ghostly musty air

his robe is 

immaculate in its whiteness

as he pats the summer's gold coins 

in his pockets,

he closes the room

muttering words only the wind

hears, 

the shop

floorboards heave, a big exhale,

a little movement, here

& there, a twitch & spasm

finally

the puppets are stirring awake

each wrinkled pumpkin face

with zombie eyes

is a flicker of energy

as they search 

scramble

for their chords & clicks

for their sinews & sticks

(where are our memory cards?)

shaking, jerking, falling tragically 

as the moon

watches

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics - Halloweeny Humans hosted by Lisa Fox. 

A commentary on the way social media giants manipulates and spins our lives with algorithms, sending us deep into webs of addictions and superficial lives.  

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

view of the lighthouse, she

 

wakes up early in the morning

light feet, folding neat her mourning

clothes, sunlight

flickers through the window, swelling

with strange joy of queen bee's dwelling-

the skylight

strokes her skin with sepia gunny

paints her dark-rimmed eyes with honey-

no floodlights

can dim her firm hands to move past

her grief & hold laughter to last-

the firelight

grows despite each stormy night, sure

as stern clock, she waits by the moor

with starlights

~~~~~

From the dVerse Poets Pub

moonlighting

i pull the curtains aside to 

witness the glorious light, you brew

the moondust

over the bubbling sky, darkness

is poised, letting us string stillness

in moonbeams 

under yellow maple trees, we

write poems, sip our tea and plea

with moonsongs 

let the grey clouds wander & slip

let the lake waters rise & dip

the moonstones

shine our faces bright, stark blue

touch our feet with stars, we flew 

with mooneyes

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetry Form:  Compound Word Verse.  This is a 15 line poem with the verse (aab rhyming scheme and 8-8-3 meter).  See the example here.  Thanks for the visit and comments.

scattered

we are stonewashed 

          by                river 

we are blistered grey

                       by              wind

yet you warm 

gaping hole           inside         our chests

           with tenacity of sunflower

bowed black

    seeds    all      stewed                 out

but standing tall,           unyielding

rid   our eyes

of                  ash

stir our words:       worthier           gladder 

<bravehearts>

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by Sarah Connor.  This is a 44 word post, with the chosen word, ASH.   Thanks for the visit and comments.

Autumn

 

i.

the day the leaves

turn sulpher red, tangy

tangerine, gingerbread mums-

the day i fall, into you 

ii.

inhale deeply  

crunch, crinkle, wrinkle

before the northern wind passes

& still the fallen leaves 

iii.

exhale the city smoke

& dirt from whirling machines

i wrap myself with russet blankets

and read your letters, ambered in time

iv.

birds fly as sunlight wanes

on maple trees gleaming with autumn

hues, bright as orange pumpkins 

adorning our doors, with toothless grins 

v.

another season to mark 

from summer to autumn:   i

embrace the changes

(in) me, (in) you

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Hosted by Bjorn Rudberg - Cadralor, a new poetry form.   Join us at 3pm EST for more information and check out other cadralor poems.   Thanks for your comments & visits.  

Our mother under the sun

 

we are scattered pebbles and wild grains spilling

we are wayward leaves and crushed jasmine leis 

you lift our hands to warmth, with light that shines 

the brightest of all, the sun, we spread our wings to fly

to you, smothering us in your motherly embrace 

to you, forgiving our ills, transgressions & doubts

we are broken trees & cracked mirrors of ourselves

we are forgotten children & cast-offs of the citystreets

yet you raise our faces to the sky, not even rainclouds

can eclipse your heart of gold, humble yet so holy, we 

cannot imagine the terror of your absence,

not even for a day, we strive to hear your words

in prayerful songs, we offer our misfortunes to you

open our hearts so we may be gatherer of seeds, 

dancing to flutes and drums of devotions

peacefully sitting in our lotus pose, our faces flowing

with gratitude, despite our lables: outcast, leper, poor

with you, we find our wellspring of faith

in silence, suffering with us in our nothingness

in darkness, comforting us until our dying breath

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Poetics:   Exploring the genre of Panegyric Poetry, hosted by Sanaa Rizvi.

A tribute to Mother Teresa and her kind of service and charity. 

judgement day

Brimstone was cast into fathomless edge as a lantern flickers

down, fading out.  

Lightning strikes at godless trees.  Violent wind plucks

eyeless wings.

We watch our skin bristling darkness, caking our eyes

yellow-red, cunning with stubbon will

as our fervent beliefs. 

(Hero.)

(Fallen 

angel.) 

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Quadrille, hosted by De Jackson.   Kindly join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.   This is a 44 word post with the chosen word STONE.   Thanks for visiting.