Seasonal poems

swallowtail

must love the taste

of abelia blooms

~~~~

LEAH FROM KANSAS

Bevy 

of butterflies--

monarchs, to be exact,

each time I pass the calendar

photo.

~~~~

taut red skin

tart tang of yellow flesh

no wonder Wm Carlos Wms

couldn't help himself

from eating a plum

~~~~

Flying

by here faster

than the speed limit. Where's

a sheriff's deputy when you

need one?

~~~~

Blackcap

and cardinal

at the unusually-

ignored suet cake. Is something

amiss?

~~~~

Hedge-row

of yellow bell,

japonica, privet--

a neat hideaway for rabbits

and squirrels.

~~~~

Fenced out

by the neighbors

on the south needing tall

enclosure to keep their future

dogs in.

~~~~

After

last night's t-storm

the temps of early fall

are 70 degrees - very

welcome.

~~~~

c 2019 by PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR US

Summer is a-goin' out, fall is comin' in - Poems & photos

Summer
left grudgingly
with an hour's thunder,
wind blowing still-green leaves from two
maples.
~ ~ ~ ~

wisteria
clipped from crape myrtle
sending up a shoot
~ ~ ~ ~

Stretching
for the suet
--to no avail--the finch
finally hops to a closer
branch, eats.
~ ~ ~ ~

A wren

flies to the porch,

then to the flowerbed.

A hummingbird whirrs in to sip

red sage.

~ ~ ~ ~

Baby

lizard dares to

emerge from behind the

porch box; I shake my footstool, it

goes back.

~ ~ ~ ~

across the sidewalk

dandelions facing 'mums

summer into fall

~ ~ ~ ~

brown thrasher

enjoying the suet

alone

~ ~ ~

Mother's Day hibiscus

Deep into Autumn: POEMS

# 315
While I
make coffee, Greye
sits apace staring at
his food dish--patiently--still as
marble.
~~~

#317
I watch
as a goldfinch
takes a long bath in fresh
water. Nearby, yellow maples
drop leaves.
~~~

#320
No birds
singing; so still,
the far-off highway drone
is audible--till a pickup
passes.
~~~

#323
Spider
webs everywhere
there're two objects to start
and end with. In one, two perfect
circles.
Builders
spun while I slept,
designed webs CD-sized
or old 45s--too fine to
capture
photos;
too sunny to
get close. What industry!
Examples of Mother Nature's
beauty.
~~~

c 2017 PL dba lovepat press

Cinquains from past Novembers

I gave Lydia one small African violet and look what happened.

They are in her west window. She feeds them as she waters.

BAKING DAY

Green beans

and onion fight

with the sweet aroma

of pear cobbler & blueberry

muffins.

[2008]

~~~~

MY CHILDREN, THANKSGIVING

One in

Florida, two

at in-laws; least one home

with new baby. Thank God for Mom,

siblings.

[2001]

~~~~

THANKSGIVING

So much

is being made

of tradition this year

of fear. Togetherness--all that

matters.

[2001]

~~~~

NO CROATIONS WANTED

Fifty

miles of razor

wire fencing, protecting

Slovenia from immigration

masses.

[2015]

~~~~

LITTLE RIVER COUNTY, ARK.

Voters

okayed selling

beer, wine, marijuana*

but nixed increasing library

millage.

* for medical purposes

[2016]

~~~~

HOLIDAY DECOR

Soft glow

of the mantel

decorated for fall:

butter churn, autumn leaves, pumpkins,

gourds, nuts.

[2013]

~~~~

FIFTEEN, NOW

Fourteen

new poems flowed

from my pen while 'living'

ten days at Dairy Hollow. Am

I blest!

[2012]

~~~~

~~~~

c 2016 PL dba lovepat press

Haiku for Autumn - traditional and modern

brown thrasher's
daily bath
my daily treat
~~
squirrel finally finds
the fake corn I provide
leaves birdseed alone
~~
two new maroon blooms
on the first-year clematis
early fall's cool snap
~~
windfall pear--
the bottom half
rotting
~~
too cool
for the AC
too quiet
~~
the vet
remembers
my other name
but not me
~~
58 degrees--
me with a jacket
the worker shirtless
~~
sunshine
through the sprinkler
a rainbow
~~
reading
Upstate Dim Sum
such spare haiku
~~~~~
~~~~
c  2016, PL dba lovepat press, Benton AR USA

POEMS FROM THE FRONT PORCH

Front porch, Couchwood; swing behind the column

SLOWLY, THE CHANGE
Purple,
pink and maroon
foliage, suffused by green,
belie oranges and browns in
the flag
[9. 29. '16]

IT'S NO USE, GREYE
Cat looks
into the house,
'meows' to be let in.
But the owner--me--sits outside,
says, "Wait!"
[9. 29. '16]

FUTURE NEIGHBORHOOD
Before
winter sets in,
crews working overtime
to get the new subdivision
finished.
[9. 23. '16]

A BREATHER
Taking
a break from church,
awaiting the 'hundred
percent chance of rain' on the front
porch swing.
[9. 18. '16]

JEWELS
Raindrops
hang and sparkle
on the vintage corn plant
after last evening's surprising
shower.
[9. 14. '16]

A young Billy on the front porch at Couchwood

November sights - short poems

a flower bed in autumn

 

CST again

the flaming sassafras grove

and the frisky squirrel

[2007]

 

 

fallen leaves hide

the birdbath water ... cat works

at getting a drink

[2012]

 

the family of cats

on my front-porch WELCOME mat

are NOT welcome

[2011]

 

yesterday's brilliance--

today, the red-maple's leaves

on the sodden ground

[2004]

 

out-of-season bloom

on the japonica limb

a cardinal rests

[2006]

 

mid-November

a transplanted violet

blooming

[2002]

 

kitchen window

full of begonia cuttings

and violet leaves

[2012]

 

bully blue jay

guarding

 the birdbath

three robins nearby

[2015]

 



Cinquains and Tanka for early November

BEWARE
First day
of deer season . . .
not a good day to drive
the narrow, wooded mountainous

highway.
~~~

WHAT NOW? OR WHO?
Again,
an ambulance
screams by, lights flashing. In
this rural milieu, where does it
end up?
~~~


TIME CHANGE
The sixth
of November--
warm enough to sit out,
but too dark (Central Standard Time)
to see.
~~~

IN TWO-THOUSAND-TWELVE
Absent
for 10 days; when
I return from the trip,
the Encore azaleas are still
in bloom,

the mums
still radiant,
but the moss rose? Leggy.
The feral cats I left unfed?
Still here.
~~~

TANKA
leaf-vacuum truck
whooshes up the fallen leaves
from this mountain street
but by this afternoon
twice as many will be down
~~~

SHADOWY
Cat walks
across a strip
of sunshine on the floor--
shadow he makes as large as a
tiger.
~~~

New poem: an acrostic for autumn

PL- summer '15

 

T oday's fog

H indered visibility.

E ager to sit out in the

 

C ool, 69-degree morning, a

H alcyon start to

A day a ways out from a

N ew season--autumn, fall-- with

G abby birds flying

I n and out of the trees,

N aturally attuned,

G etting ready.

 

S o, too, in earth's cooling, I

E dge toward autumn tasks:

A im to finish the

S idewalk

O ut to the street,

N eaten the flower beds . . . .

 

 

PL - 9. 10. 2015

"It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring:": poems about rain

from Google Images

 

CINQUAIN

The rain

falls silently.

For one who likes to hear

the sound, the puddle's ripples must

suffice.

~~

 

HAIKU

robin

drinking from the birdbath

during the rain

~~

 

the skies

of the approaching front

holding two inches of water

~~

 

raining

but bushes are ice-covered

this late=fall morning

~~

 

CINQUAIN SEQUENCE - WCDH/'13

Coffee,

pen and journal,

a metal rocking chair

under the deck roof--and rain. Thank

you, Muse.

 

Speaking

of Erato,

I bask in this mountain

venue. The rain intensifies.

My thanks.

 

~~

~~

c 2015 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press

 



Chorales in cinquains

chorale - a simple hymn tune

She Surprised Herself

 

After

only one week

in the Ozarks, our friend--

a writer from Ontario--

said 'y'all.'

PL~~~

 

After

the pear harvest,

the south winds wrestle one

recalcitrant fruit to the ground.

My treat!

PL~~~

 

Andy Rooney 1919-2011

 

Though he

had two machines

in his office--to press

pants and shine shoes--he always looked

rumpled.
PL, from the news~~~

In the Mountains

I sell
two of my books--
$30. I spend
thirty-five shopping at thrift stores
for "fleas."
PL~~~

Creation?

Fish grease
and olive oil
mix on the sheet of foil,
create shapes like islands before
my eyes.
PL~~~

Be Careful What You Ask For

She called
out for added
singers in the Advent
program. A dozen teenaged boys
showed up.
PL~~~

Autumn's Fallen

Four leaves--
maple, dogwood,
tulip poplar, sweet gum--
two red, two yellow, now grace my
table.
PL~~~



Cinquains from the Ozarks

 

October 29^th

Views from
two windows show
different hues of dogwood
even though they are planted side
by side.
~~~~~

A friend
wondered why—with
my large, attick-ed home place—
I chose to go to the mountains
to write. 

And yet
she, too, escapes
 to a second dwelling
away from cats and colts and her
neighbors.
~~~~

No squirrels,
 no crows—only
 the intrusive droning
of the nearby park cleaner’s leaf
blower.
~~~~

October 31^st:

After
yesterday’s rain
the flamboyant dogwood-
reds, the fiery hickories lost their
colors.
~~~~

Even writers have fun on Halloween

Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow, Eureka Springs Arkansas. L. to R. Pat L. and Dorothy J., central  Arkansas; Talya B., Dallas and Fayetteville; Tom S., New Hampshire. The photographer was another resident, Joan B. from Ontario.

Cinquains for autumn

Autumn
weekend: Ozarks'
cold snap means bundling up
for outside activities--like
writing.
~~~~
Under-
story maple--
mostly green with yellow--
will soon add its oranges to
autumn.
~~~~
Shutting
out the Ozarks'
brightness--for shame!-- its glare
on my computer distracts from
writing.
~~~~
The first
biker I've heard
during this writing stint--
It's the weekend, so it won't be
the last.
~~~~
I joined
Facebook after
saying I never would.
Does peer pressure exist among
writers?
~~~~

c 2012 by Pat Laster dba lovepat press, Benton Arkansas