Big band galas
Seaside dancehalls
Swing dancing
Men in uniform
Memory-soaked
daydreams like
shots of adrenaline
arthritic fingers tap
to a distant tune.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson.
Image my own)
Upside Down
Upside down
changes the focus
Grim becomes joyful
Serious silly
Upside down
she owns the world
No more lava floors
or tedious chores
She is liberated
a conquerer
Upside down
a sensitive child learns
Is at certain times
a preferable viewpoint.
(For Eugi’s Weekly Challenge: viewpoint. Image borrowed from my daughter’s collection.)
Quantity and Quality
Raised in a battlefield
quantity doled out
in abuse, quality
not yet defined
Now I write myself
out of the darkness
each chapter
an uphill climb
Page by page
reconciliation
no shortage of words
value between lines.
(Image my own.)
Soul Power
How bright is the soul
that dares to stand alone,
who gives voice to injustice
who is willing to sacrifice
self for a higher purpose…
What song might we sing
should such a spirit move us?
(Image my own.
Soul Power first appeared here May, 2018)
Foolish Heart
Compare every love to first
unrequited – a poetess
obsessed – regret, longing
No wonder I lack roots
goodbyes stack up
like cardboard mannequins
There is no presence in yearning
I am automaton, disengaged
heart chained to fantasy.
(Image my own.)
Mermaid Dreams
Descending
into the mythical
entranced
spurred by
severity of
current challenge
Call it fantasy
but attempting
movement is
destroying
my passage
I am pulling,
shattering
this barricade
of a life; blue
progressing:
ocean bound.
(Mermaid Dreams was originally written in December of 2016, two years bedridden. Only in the dreamtime was I whole and capable of overcoming. Dreams are one thing I can talk about for thirty minutes without preparation: my challenge this week. Image my own.)
Bridges
Captivated by bridges
connection previously
assumed impossible
A grandchild’s love
the loyalty of a dog
the kinship of writers
I watch life pass by
flash on sorrow, till
bridges restore peace.
(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)
A Bird’s Eye View
It’s a bird’s perspective I envy –
the ability to perch up high
balanced, no matter the weather
unaffected by the drama below –
I shall never know such calm,
being afraid of heights.
(For Bird Weekly Photo challenge: birds perched up. Not sure of featured image (a sparrow of somes sort), Bald Eagle, and Red-winged blackbird) A Bird’s Eye View first appeared here August 2019
Whose Earth Is This?
Whose Earth is this?
ask the trees reaching
to kiss mountainous sky.
Who cares for her?
ask the creatures all,
grateful for her bounty.
Machines rumble
forests fall – a stand
for progress answers none.
(Image my own.)
Paradise
Paradise:
Where the clouds of yesterday
pierced by the hope of tomorrow
linger over today’s shores.
7(For Eugi’s Weekly prompt: paradise. Image my own.)
One Woman's Quest 