Beautiful As Antique Brass

This is for Linda Kruschke’s paint-chip poetry #37, where she gives us a few prompt words and a theme. The theme this week is “When I’m old.” Update: I am also linking with DVerse OLN.

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When I am old, may I be
Beautiful, as antique brass.
May life still be
Fresh as the wild huckleberries
Which grow under the
Wide, Montana sky,
The state where my grandparents live.
May the turbulence which comes
From storms of cumulonimbus clouds
Provide rain and light, to make
The ground on which I plant my life
Verdant; and if
The grass is greener in the past
Remember: yellow is
The color of happiness, and candlelight.

My Self-Portrait Looks Too Much Like You

Today for DVerse Poetics, Sarah invites us to come and take a selfie. So, this is a self-portrait poem, which I wrote today and which I was and am unsure about sharing but whatever!

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I have my father’s eyes.
Blue, which can pass for green
Depending on what I’m wearing —

I have my father’s eyes
In their color, their appearance,
But far from their substance

Because I see beyond the surface:
He is content with the placid sea,
He has fooled himself into thinking

He rules — he drowns reason
In another liquid, functions,
But how well does he think he’s hiding?

He has tried to sweep
It all under the rug — this family keeps
Secrets — don’t tell me I don’t see!

I have my father’s eyes.
Blue — for the sobering insight
Does anyone else sense the tsunami?

 

 

Smiles

For Ronovan’s décima challenge this week, we are remembering smiles 🙂  By the way, I’m feeling pretty happy today.

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Pushed out of usual surroundings,
It takes some time to recognize
What good remains under one’s eyes,
What beautiful music still rings.

The dull ache of loss, grief, still stings:
Perhaps it is taking a while,
To find several reasons to smile.
It’s better not to overthink.
Right now, is there some joy to drink?
Even a sip, sight, not denial.

Pancakes at my house a few months ago

Temperamental

This is for paint-chip poetry #33, and it was partially inspired by FDDA #20, since the temperament described in the poem is maybe an exaggeration of mine but closer to mine than I would like to admit.

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Her emotions can go from happy to envious
More quickly than a wind gust.
She’s glad when someone else is accomplished,
Yet also wants the better end of
The wishbone, and of her many wishes.

If she begins to go off the deep end don’t forget
To breathe, get oxygen, take time for a lap swim.

Remember, in the garden, is basil green with envy
No; it helps the heirloom tomatoes to grow.

Now that I think about it, this poem also, in a way, reminds me of yesterday’s Gospel reading (Matthew 20:1-16), which ends with, “Or are you envious because I am generous?”

Rowing

Inspired by MLMM’s photo challenge #328, I wrote this cherita,

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Rowing the boat across something so pure and pristine —

Are you rowing on freshly-fallen snow?
A blanket underneath a remarkably blank, white sky?

And the other man with you — is he Charon?
Is this Styx? Are you rowing into a void,
Which none of us knows and none can avoid?

Photo by Jayant Kulkarni on Pexels.com

A Deer Drinks from a Birdbath

For FFFC #79.

A deer drinks from a birdbath,
Antlers reach the tree leaves
But his feet don’t leave
The ground — the sound
Of the songbirds’ singing
Intrigues him,  and he marvels
At the beauty of other beings.

Wanting To Stay

This is a décima for Ronovan’s weekly prompt, which uses words from paint-chip poetry #32 (!). The new paint-chip prompt will be released on Friday (tomorrow) morning, so my response is just in time!

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Feeling peachy, beautiful day,
Found a sand dollar on the beach,
Under blue sky, as the waves reach
Along the shore, wanting to stay.

This excursion keeps stress at bay;
The salty air is like nectar,
Seaside having lots to offer,
I want the whole enchilada —
Coral under sea, which I saw
Mimicked in my lipstick’s color.

Peter’s Boat

I wasn’t going to post this, but it’s the closest thing I’ve written in the past 2 days that fits the DVerse Poetics prompt about boats, “Come sail….”

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What are you doing, Peter,
Walking on water?
What are you doing,
Believing in a miracle?

This is what people say,
Who in the boat would stay.

What are you doing, Peter,
Intimidated by surroundings,
When you could easily
Keep walking,
If you remembered
This endeavor’s beginning?

picture found in an image search (i.e. not mine)

Aloha!

This quatrain is for Fandango’s two prompts, FOWC: Precious and the Dog Days of August day 1: Trip. It’s silly but definitely describes my mood yesterday, and I would love to go on this vacation again.

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Precious memories from a trip to Hawaii:
Beaches and food trucks, a spa day with pie,
An ocean away from daily life in the city —
Feed me some pie and tell me I’m pretty!

All the photos were taken by me last year. In addition to the quiche and pot pie, we also ate peanut-butter-and-chocolate-cream pie. That was a good day! 😀

Look!

Look at all the beauty
At the end of the world:
Carefully walk upon the rocks
And see, one tenacious tree;
Continue along those rocks
Following the mesmerizing moon,
The weakly-glowing, yet beckoning
Orb — the rocky path,
The end of the world,
Becomes a gate to mysterious more.

Thanks to FFFC #74 for the image and inspiration!