Tag: FOWC

The Standoff

Men prefer a reserved lady,
Mother was quick to admonish,
ashamed of my hot temper,
the tear in mud-soaked stockings
the call that came from the boy’s mother.

But I was born with a fervid passion,
a sense of justice igniting a fire within –

Women need to stand up,
I lectured her, to declare our rights –
a concept that fell on closed ears.

She’d continue to take father’s abuse,
apologize for under-salted broth,
or too thick gravy, for lingering
too long in conversation at the market,
or letting us kids dare to raise our voices.

And I’d continue to clock any boy
who dared to say that girls can’t….

Neither of us able to reverse
the inequity we suffered.

(For Ragtag Community’s challenge: fervid; and Fandango’s, reverse.) Image from personal collection.

Advocate for Wonder

I know what infinity means:
it’s one hundred plus one.

Voice of innocence
serene her sense of self
of life’s complexities.

Should borrow from her,
embrace that confidence,
but worry intervenes.

How do we preserve
the wonder of youth,
save her from cynicism?

That it is! I reply,
my smile a warm hug –
vow to be forever advocate.

(I submit this poem, inspired by my six-year-old granddaughter, to three challenges:
Ragtag Community’s, serene;  Fandango’s advocate; and Reena’s Exploration challenge.  Image from personal collection.)

Love-In

Dreams big
this budding leader,
astral charts
painted on her walls,
thoughts always adventuring.

Eight summers
we’ve camped together
grown our minds
and spirit –
an inter-generational
love-in.

(It’s summer camp time at Grandma’s again.  Written for Ragtag Community’s prompt, astral, and Fandango’s, camp.)

Feathered Presence

Fierce and majestic,
the bald eagles scour
the river, while I,
in awe stand witness.

Last year,
it was a mated pair
whose white crowns
commanded audience

Now, the offspring,
perches princely
claims this tract
and my allegiance

Feathered grandeur
and piercing eyes
a royal presence
somehow coherent.

(Inspired by the promptings of Ragtag Community: prince, and Fandango’s: coherent.  Also linking up with Granny Shot It’s: BOTD.  The image is from personal collection and available through Society6.)

Firewall

Fear builds wall
deflects possibility;
I pray for purpose
block revelation

afraid truth,
unkind, will
shatter equilibrium

Once faith-filled
meaning flowed
like blissful
divine guidance

but life changes,
challenges –
virus suppressing
vitality

I set my walls
ineffectively,
it seems

need to adjust
these filters.

(For Reena’s Exploration challenge: meaning and truth, and Ragtag Community’s: flow; and Fandango’s: firewall.)

 

A Lacking Response

Confronted with the confines
of your hate-centered speech,
I choke on disbelief,
mind sputters, stalls,
conversation moves on
and all I can manage
is an impotent withdrawal.

(Submitted for Ragtag Community’s prompt: sputter, and Fandango’s: manage.  Inspired by the hate rhetoric passed about on social media, often initiated by those I otherwise respect. How do you respond?)

Looking Back

Years when children,
perpetually in motion,
required a referee –
Mom’s energy replete

so ephemeral now –
time having vanished,
weariness lingering,
savouring memory blurs.

(Inspired by my grandchildren, and the prompts of Ragtag Community: ephemeral, and Fandango: referee. Image from personal collection.)