Thursday, May 28, 2015

A fish-poem assignment run amok

Bing image
A wee silverfish
hides in a china cup
in the cupboard's dark.
 
Thirsty in springtime,
I reach, finger a delicate piece
for morning's coffee.
 
Oh, blech! I exclaim
and drown the interloper
under the tap,
 
wash and dry the frilly cup,
fill it with black liquid.
Later, at Goodwill,
 
I spy a sparkly circle--
stones the shape of silverfish--
amethysts and opals,
 
emeralds and rubies
encased like stained glass
in metal. No errant
 
piece to escape
and nest in my china cup
like a silverfish.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

blogging about birds: poems

Google image
 
HAIKU
#170-15
 
up early
but not before
the birds
 ~~
 
#165-15
 
CINQUAIN SEQUENCE
"On the Front Porch"
 
Hearing
a flutter,  like
a flag flipping, I look
up to see a crested bird fly
hither
 
and yon--
on the swing chains,
the wind chimes and the bricks.
"What are you looking for?" I asked.
it flew.
~~
 
# 166-15
 
TANKA
 
the nerve!
a mockingbird
mocking me
calling
"kitty-kitty-kitty"
~~
 
#174-15
 
TANKA SEQUENCE

brown thrasher
thrashes
and thrashes
in the birdbath
fluffs, then flies

followed
by a redbird
who sits a spell
(testing the temp?)
before bathing
~~

c 2015 PL


Monday, May 11, 2015

Blogging with a poem about writing and cooking

Left Brain, Write Brain
( a villanelle)

This morning, seeking strong iambic line,
I'll heed a heady hankering to cook.
By suppertime, both food and lines will shine.

Thesaurus on the table where we dine,
its dog-eared pages ready for a look
this morning, seeking strong iambic line.

Beef bouillon cubes lie melting into brine
for cabbage, prairie onions from the brook.
By suppertime, both food and lines will shine.

I boil potatoes, eggs to cut up fine;
doorbell unplugged, the wall phone off the hook
this morning, seeking strong iambic line.

I bake fat oatmeal cookies, sweet outline
of finished meal--at least in Rombauers' book.
By suppertime, both food and lines will shine.

The brain lobes, left and right, somehow combine
to write and cook--how little time it took!
This morning, seeking strong iambic line,
by suppertime, both food and lines will shine.

c 2015 PL, written while living in Arkadelphia, 1997-2002


Sunday, May 3, 2015

(Mostly) Modern tanka for May

MODERN TANKA do not have to stick to the traditional 5-7-5-7-7 form if the image(s) can be seen in fewer syllables.

muffled radio
and hammering
at the nearby building site--
my outside coffee/news place
contaminated

May 8, 2012
~~

FOUND tanka

"The marathon . . .
a learning experience
that keeps on teaching . . ."
never enter another
without a post-race goal

- idea from Celia Storey, AD-G,
May 12. 2003
~~

small, 2-college town--
without PhD after
your name, you're no one
especially in churches
with large music ministries

[traditional form]
May 18, 1999, Arkadelphia
~~

bouquet of clover
privet and honeysuckle
plus dandelions
   the strong scent
   reminds me of Mother

May 12, 2010
~~

thumbing through GLAMOUR
in the Texaco station
waiting room
hurry fellows,
it's beginning to rain

May 18, 2006
~~
~~
c 2015, PL, dba lovepat press