Can common sense be taught –
friendly snapshots coercing shifts?
Novices proclaim innocence,
blame their peers, but remember
When humanity is a foreign concept,
and sensibility a second tongue
The underdog suffers, and
who knows what is to follow?
(For Eugi’s Causerie weekly prompt: underdog. Image my own.)
Don’t believe in soulmates
just soul power – the ability
of human yearning to actuate
love’s potential –
Of course, I’m far from a rookie
bear the scars of infatuation’s
fallout, prefer kindness
and respect to romantic fluff.
(Tuesdays I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson.  Image my own.)
If they call you vermin
show them moxie
no explanation needed
Best path is paved
with honesty, avoid
potholes of popularity
Authentic self
travels further
without camouflage.
(Image from personal collection.)
Legends surface
graze at river’s edge
nuzzle our consciousness
Ancient prophecies
born of primal instincts
Crow’s caw a warning
Spirit speaks
calls us to witness
to record this passage
The predator
at our doorsteps
phantom fierce
Targets indiscriminately
threatens the cherished
sleeps with one eye open
Now is not the time to freeze
neither distraction, nor dismissal
will disable this animal
It circles, begs a host
Please don’t open the door
History knows we need a valid plan.
(Submitted for Eugi’s Causerie Weekly Prompt:Â cherish. Image my own.)
Mistake
Beg forgiveness
Repeat
Appearances sanitize past
Push dirt under the rug
Smother recall
Reason can be fraud
common sense out of order
Suspicions merit
an ear, listen
over din of betrayal.
(For Reena’s Exploration Challenge #135: quotation. “Always listen twice. First what’s being said, then who said it.” Image my own.)
Discontentment –
that restless inability
to surrender to distraction –
not easily masked
Wired, I am, for intrigue –
a dramatic actor displaying
mystery, baiting an audience
Denial dons noise-cancelling
headphones, blinders –
invested in illusions
Harmony the end-goal –
no point disguising,
discontentment ignored.
(Forgo the Mask originally appeared here Dec, 2018. I am linking it up to Eugi’s Causerie Weekly Prompt: harmony. Image my own.)
The place remains in my dreams
like a movie set preserved…
Have assigned each room
a critique – disclosed the crimes
Yet, it remains, like a beacon
draws me to it, begs reflection
What if I could go back
now that I can breathe
Now that I’ve laid claim to maturity
would I discover a sudden windfall
makeover conditioned motifs
reevaluate ceiling heights
with resources to remodel
heart open, connected
might I uncover abundance
like a personal embrace.
(For Reena’s Exploration Challenge: featured image.)
We purchase boards
imagine roots –
dream bigger
ignore the dawning
The higher the fence,
we tell ourselves,
the better the privacy.
Work hard, earn big.
And the longing grows
it’s the heart that seeks roots
hungers for connection
love like sunshine
Would knock down walls
throw open the doors
bask in the expansiveness
of kindred moments shared.
(For Eugi’s Causerie Weekly prompt: sunshine. Image is my own – a common merganser basking in sunshine.)
Heart, craving expression
seeks the aid of paper –
A message with pizzaz
a testament to love
But my pen chokes
on the word itself
refuses the pronouncement
soul balking at the possibility
I toss the note…
…maybe next time.
(Tuesdays, I borrow from my Twitter account @Vjknutson. Image my own.)
She amassed children while
he pursued accolades
Family photos display
northern shorelines
tanned faces, white-toothed grins
parents not represented
Lost her childhood
at the bottom of a ravine
laid beaten and shattered
no one came to rescue her.
Guess that’s what drew her
the his light; money, she hoped
would not abandon her.
But muck tracks the same
and children need feeding
and absent a co-parent
she sleeps most days.
Offspring learn independence
a product of adults’ disarray
outlasting the fickleness of fame.
(For Reena’s Exploration Challenge: prompt is the last line of the poem. Image my own.)
One Woman's Quest 