Shoulder to shoulder
we contemplate clouds, hunt for
silver, my brother
lost, then found, ponders what ifs –
clouds become threads, unite us.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Photo mine)
Is Optimism Enough?
Are you happy?
The question hits
my gut,
slingshots
down the hall
deadends
at optimism
Of course, I respond.
What else can I say…
Sure life needs tweaking…
I am learning to be better…
I can make this work…
Why? What do see?
Thoughts unspoken
but the bell has been rung…
(For Reena’s Exploration challenge: How far can optimism go? Image my own.)
Lockdown Tanka
A grackle shimmers
sun highlighting blue – my mood
queer melancholy –
absent knocks, talks, minutiae
remains discomforting din.
(Photo mine)
Not Meant To Be
He was night dark,
ruminated over death
and loss and injustice
Don McLean on repeat
I was sunshine yellow
joy of living
optimism on steroids
Dancing Queen
If opposites attract
then we were magnets
lured by the mystery
One Way or Another
When night meets day
colours explode
light breaks black
Shame, Shame, Shame
(For Eugi’s Causerie weekly prompt: when night meets day. Image mine)
Out of Body
Kingfisher, my horse
transports me to unseen realms
a fleshless dreamer
seeking oneness, Orenda,
a noetic salvation.
(Tuesday, I borrow from my Twitter account @Vjknutson. Image my own)
Parental Passages
Carefully we construct
security for offspring –
add luxuries to entertain
accommodate growth
play host to revolving-
door friends and dates.
And yet, we are graded
on performance – met
or unmet expectations –
held up against a stack
of other super parents,
silhouettes of perfection.
Still, we celebrate goals,
sprouting family, ignore
the slanders, and ease
into age with a tad of kook,
or wild inappropriateness –
all expressions of our love.
(First edition of this poem appeared Feb/’18. Image from personal collection. Submitted for Reena’s Exploration challenge, choosing the prompt: silhouette.)
Still Digging
Father, as immoveable
as a mountain
taught us to orchestrate
submontane routes
Circumnavigating
his rocky moods
bestowed upon us
a fear of masculinity
Resilience instilled
the necessity of mining
gold from darkness:
still digging.
(Sketch mine)
Right of Passage
Teeth they are a-dropping
grins prideful
palms itching
Hope the Tooth Fairy
is on her game
purse full of toonies.
(for Eugi’s Causerie Weekly prompt: fairy . Photo from personal collection. Note: a toonie is a $2 coin in Canada.)
Daydreaming
Forgive these ellipses…
mind sputters… lost
in woods… indulge
attempts of emergence…
seeking ambrosia…
within shadowy heights.
(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own.)
Colourless Expressions
Consciousness commands
a shift of focus
tired of the clash of colours
stimulation overload
my muse is leaning towards
the nuance of black and white
A study of shadows
and shading
and how light
arouses the soul
Speak to me in subtleties
she whispers
in tones suggestive
of hidden depths
I am listening
And so I submerge myself
clear the palette of vibrant hues
and take up the lowly pencil
seek the promise
in a colourless world.
(For Reena’s Exploration challenge: a colourless world. Sketch my own.)
One Woman's Quest 