Early autumn

a string of birds fly
dotting the clouds with specks
black as dried tarragon sprigs

veil of autumn approaches
stitching tighter days of summer 
into yellowed cocoon

taste of decay will come
faster than my fingers
can count: 

plum-peppered leaves
under shadows of trees 





Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Quadrille - a poem of 44 words with the word SHADOW.

Thanks for the visit~

Feathers from different folks

I.

sun is a harsh pillar of salt
while the moon is a white cross
you bear between faint heartbeats
& featherless shoulders

II.

scars on where your breasts
were are red still, but you are regal
a queen with baby hair
needing no peacock feathers 


III.

hope is a bubble 
without feathers, soaring with sea-
gulls, light as tumbleweed


IV.

your touch is feather 
as you kneel down with a ring-
my heart, a river of joy
as sun drips, slow as candle wax
the golden light, warm as honey    




Posted for D'verse Poets Pub- It's OpenLinkNight.   Join us when the pub opens at 3pm EST. A "feathery" post for the Poetics I missed last Tuesday.  

Sands of our time

We marveled at the Grand Canyon spectacular views.   Against the massive giant rocks and lime stones, we are but a grain in the wind, a heartbeat in the sands.   Yet, we have come here in Las Vegas to reconnect and cement our youthful school days.    Like the river, some of us have aged well, swimming in the trials of our journeys.   For some of us who have drowned in the scars of past abuse, we gather strength, filling our empty hearts with rivers of love.  And finally, we recalled our 8 school friends who have gone to another journey. Through tears and laughter, we danced and sang the nights away.    We are lucky to have this friendship:   a river in sea of moving sands.   Nourishing our bond in this short window of time - a sisterhood to cherish.     

desert brush is deep

drum of silence, broken by flutter

of pinyon bird's blue wings

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Haibun Monday, Winds of Change, is hosted by Kanzensakura.   I am back after my short trip to Las Vegas, USA for our girls reunion.   This picture was taken from our trip to Grand Canyon last Friday.  Thanks for your visits.

Wishful thinking

I would give away chewy gums
at each subway stop.  They're a sight
to refresh - fruity, fluffy, minty -

Sugar-free or spicy, choose and hum
the colors that you like - sand-white,
hot pink, striped blue, spiked neon-

Juicy plums to banish one's gloom
Bubbly balls to brighten one's light
I'd gather your sad stories of treason

and stick them with my gaily inked thumbs
These chewy gums are rad, bursting 
sunflowers on sunshine-less morning

Picture credit:  here

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight - Thanks for the visit ~

A late whimsical response for Mish prompt:   Wishful Thinking.

Haibun: Night sky

The sky is deep lavender, wrinkled by red dust and orange stars.   We scout and trace the fireflies hiding behind the palm trees.   All the windows are open, and we can hear the last echoes of the dinner's conversations.   Soon, all is quiet murmuring of breeze, and even the buzzing creatures wait for the evening show.   Yes, here it is -  the moon rise above the heaving sea tides.   Red and yellow trenches, plump with silver iridescence.   Your gaze is filled with wonder at the sight.    I look at you, my heart racing in excitement.   Words tremble at the tip of my tongue.

green apples on grass
mulched & decayed by bugs-
summer, a quicksilver




Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Haibun Monday is hosted by Kanzensakura (Toni).   I am out in the afternoon for a family reunion but will be back to visit and comment.  Thanks for the visit!

Summer bride

They're frilly skirts to my morning bouquet
Leaves with seedy wands, trailing wisps and spray
Their sheen, glossy-green, sun-crinkled
against riot of raspberries,   ruffled-wrinkled

As I walk, my hair is nest of blooms, cress,
Queen Anne’s Lace, and pleated wheat. No regrets, 
no doubts.  Morning tangs of fresh lemon, stillness
that brims as I stand beside you, summer's fullness  

Picture credit:  here

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Meeting the Bar. Walter is our host and we are working with rhymes for this prompt.    Join us when the pub opens at 3pm EST.   

Fishing for the moon

You are the fisherman crouching- 
rod, reel, cast nets, tackle, pliers- 
wearing boots and jacket to ward off
the chill of cold misty morning

Your face is quartered by floppy hat
with every flick and spin of your line
we are drawn to your bait 
until we're hooked to your side

You read our faces by single lamp 
Undisturbed by our weighty life dramas
But the funny thing is
you never reel us in, inside
your darkness, your mountains of mystery- 
your net is empty by dawn
as if you're satisfied with what you have-

we catch ourselves
waiting for your boat every midnight
always at a measured distance
content with star-gazing,  
feeding us with your flickering light,
and our dreams of a hundred cranes in sky






Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Poetics:   Moon-muse.  Please join us when the pub opens at 3pm EST.  The prompt is to write about the moon as person.

Potpourri

In a large bowl, I arrange the dried leaves
And brittle pine cones inked by blazing sun 
Here is the bark of the tree, stamped with ash
A red flower stolen, plucked for lady's hair
And bay leaf, sprinkled of coriander seeds
Here's a purpled husk, bereft of buzzing insects
A white flower fluffy with vanilla flax
And curl of tamarind pod, stiff with long ago rain

I hold skin of yesterday's summer days 
thin parchment, furling under blue-grey sky 
.... and the fragrance of you


Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight, Hosted by Bjorn Rudberg.

Join us when the pub opens at 3pm EST.   Thanks for the visit.

The Empress with Silk Clothes

I strike a coquettish pose
With my red robes & gold slippers

And thoughtfully exclaim
What fine and colorful clothes you have! 

How imposing you look.  Show them
Your beautiful clothes

Light as air, soft as feathers 
Visible only to the smart ones

You are most intelligent ruler
As I kneel before your soft belly

and puckered knees for your shoes
I marveled at your gleaming crown

as I, the empress, hum your favorite song
as you stride out into the streets, eager

to strut your expensive, branded clothes
Your vanity equals the sun's fiery show

The crowd and critics will lament & tear
their hair out

Trying hard not to stare at your torso
so they don't look unfit for the job

Your ego is intact, even after the parade,
scalloped hair gelled by pride, your knees stiff as ever

I wait faithfully with your other clothes
satiny black, snow-crusted with diamonds

And soothing your ire with tea
Placating your pain with more sugar

I, your empress,
am your mirror, another fool who wished for gold

Trimmings, who knows this:
Being naked is a hard truth, a pill I can't swallow

(I mean, I will parade naked with no clothes
if someone pays me a good amount of money) but he

My Emperor, has the balls to show them
how it is done to those ignorant folks

I feed him now with exotic fruits
in between musing the details 

of his amazing clothes
and firing those two incompetent tailors

It was their fault, you see
It was even the child's fault, crying at that

But he has got nothing on!
Everyone is blind not to marvel at these clothes.

I, your empress, nod while patting 

silk embroidered clothes

wrapping my naked ambition 

sharp as eagle's claws

Inspired by photo:   The Emperor Has No Balls, Trump Statue:  Here    This was supposed to be short but I had fun imagining the scenario.

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub- Poetical Spouses - By Guest Host, Kim.  The challenge for this week’s Poetics is to take a character, fictional or non-fictional, and re-write their story from the point of view of their husband or wife. To avoid any accusations of libel, no living people please!

Crashing waves & rebellion

The sound isn't sweet murmurings
It is coarse with passion
Loud, booming bass
Shrill, cawing of black birds

An alarm raised
By night watchers
A giant beam of light
By tower guards

Towards other ships
Encroaching your land & peace
Towards tyrants & traitors 
Wrecking havoc on your country

It is a roar of sea storm,
bleached by oil and chemicals
It is the heartbeats
of a million slayed elephants

for the love of earth
for the love of country
of mother towards children
erred of ways, unrepentant

It's not silent hymn of tears
But a cacophony of broken heart





Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Hosted by Walter  Wojtanik, Sound of Love.   I wrote from an activist point of view having watched people demonstrations against governments, and documentary on slaying of elephants.