Seas, Islands, and Sharks

Even when I have difficulty, or when it’s been a long day, responding to prompts and posting to my blog is a hobby of mine (as you know), so here is a little poem.

Seas
Of trial —
Words are the islands
On which I find safe shelter
Here.

 

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For FOWC: Sea and partially inspired by DVerse’s Habun Monday because I used the idea of “shelter,” but I’m not linking up because this isn’t a haibun.

Here is FFFC: #182. The picture reminded me of my ex and me because we would do jigsaw puzzles in the park together (that’s another of my hobbies — puzzles). Before we were dating, we would use that as an excuse to sit really close to each other or “accidentally” brush our hands together. It was one of those cute but ridiculous things. One puzzle had a bunch of different sharks on it, so that is what this cherita is inspired by.

 

I thought the pieces fit together, didn't you?

A couple dozen sharks with so much ocean between them,
Several times we tried to finish the picture

We never did finish that thousand-piece puzzle.
Now it's too late, for time flows forward.
There are plenty of other "sharks" in the sea.

Wallpaper

Linda G. Hill gives us the word “wallpaper” to work with for SoCS today. As I had absolutely nothing to say about wallpaper, I decided to do am image search and see if anything from that inspired me. The pictures most near the top were of cell-phone wallpapers, which I didn’t even think about; I was thinking about literal decorative sticky paper on actual walls. Traditional wallpaper, I guess you could say. 🙂

The wallpaper on my phone is a photo taken from the pier at one of the local beaches. You can see the shoreline on the lift side of the photo, but most of the image is blue sky and ocean of a deeper blue. I remember when I took that picture: I was there with a friend from high school (we’ve more or less lost touch now), and we were going to eat burgers and drink milkshakes. I remember, doing that scared me so much because I was near the beginning of my eating disorder recovery journey. Thoughts like, “You want me to go to the beach, and eat a burger, and drink a milkshake, in the SAME DAY?!” were prominent. I refused to wear a bathing suit, so we didn’t go swimming, but we did eat that stuff, and we had a really fun day. At least I wore shorts and short sleeves. I remember, even though it was a huge challenge, that day was a major win for me!

I’ve come a long way, even if it doesn’t often feel like it.

 

You've come a long way, through the wind and the waves,
To find a blue sky and a safe place to stay.

The steps and the strides might be tiny or wide,
But in taking just one, one can be satisfied.

Remember the places from which you have come,
It has been a long road, and although you're not done,

Sometimes the wind and the waves want to play:
A milkshake and fries aren't too scary today. 

Wave

For FOWC and MLMM’s Photo Challenge #423.

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water element
whether in wave or river
agile — powerful

Photo credit Darrell Whiley

Landai for [name redacted]

When I think of you, this beating heart
Swells, like an ocean wave flowing toward the shoreline,

Without you I feel a bit adrift,
A little sail-boat unmoored, alone on the ocean

I love you like the waves love the sand,
Even if I know I'm made for depths and great journeys --

You will be there with me in each gale,
Yet staying means I'll never get to where I'm going.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

 

A rather melancholy group of landai, inspired by FOWC: Swell. Sharing with Friday Writings.

This Summer Solstice

For DVerse’s Haibun Monday, for which the theme is the summer or winter (depending on which side of the equator you live on) solstice. I’m happy to write for this. 🙂

Will the sun stand still? I'm not ready for the days to start shortening, gradual as is may be. It's scary because I want to stay happy. This past week has been a medical miracle, a blessing, and/or a stroke of luck; but like the solstice it may only be brief. Mood, like time, moves like the waves at the beaches -- which I might like to visit soon.

scorching heat
walking -- grains of sand
salt water

Photo I took while driving (I was a passenger) in Hawaii, 8/2019

The Good Life

Brian’s prompt for this week, which I am once again trying to complete on Thursday, is “the good life.” It was nice to reflect on what makes a good life — a good life does not have to be an easy life. It was also a timely reminder that I already have many aspects of “the good life.” 🙂 At the end of each day, before going to sleep, I thank God for many things, every good thing that I can remember from the day — and most days I have a litany. This poem is also for DVerse and is a cinq-cinquain.

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Breathe in:
Salty sea air,
Relaxing on the sand
Feeling the sun as the waves break —
Take breaks

Sometimes.
Other times life
Requires the daily grind,
Work giving oneself a purpose,
Reason

To wake
Each new morning,
Other than the coffee
(Although that always is a plus
For me) —

Even
In Eden ere
The first sin, Adam worked
As a gardener helping all life
To grow —

Reasons
To face each day,
A purpose found in life:
Actions to take, imprints to leave,
To love

Photo by Barnabas Davoti on Pexels.com

I think having a doggy would make “the good life” even better. 🙂

This Ship

I am finally attempting a decent response to Brain Vos’s prompt this week: to use one of his sets of unfinished lines and finish it. His lines form the first quatrain of my poem.

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Though captains come and go,
the ships can still sail on.
Though ships have found the bottom,
the destinations are not gone.

Through swirling storms of woe,
the North Star still exists.
Through batterings of the waves,
one escapes from ocean’s fists.

Though waters may be calm,
night lingers on the sea.
Sky shows a glorious star,
shining from a place of victory.

Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

Swimming Lessons

As a response to this week’s “Throwback Thursday” about learning to swim, I wrote a sevenling. NaPoWriMo day 15.

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The little girl loved the water,
But only where she could touch the bottom —
Splashing and “head-bobbing” were summer fun.

It took her years to learn to actually
Swim, the only classes she failed more than
Once, and the ocean is more or less off-limits.

The waves are much more enthusiastic than she is.

Photo by Emiliano Arano on Pexels.com

Elusive Trips

Today, even a response to SoCS has been elusive. I kept thinking about my trip to Japan when I was 16. I could also write about my family’s trip to Hawaii in August of 2019 (the last vacation Before Covid), or about the many times I have tripped over my own feet. The goal, though, is a poem, not just a rant. Maybe this counts?

Hawaiian ocean
Memories of blue —
I really miss it

(here’s the water)

Or I could even write:

Mother-daughter bond:
Feed me pie and shut up and
Tell me I’m pretty

 

(we went to a spa and then ate quiche, chicken pot pie,
and chocolate pie)

 

 

 

 

 

Being Salty

We are writing salty Quadrilles at DVerse today, hosted by WhimsyGizmo. Mine is also a sevenling. I wrote a draft in my notebook and then typed it into a Word document to play around with getting it to have exactly 44 words. It’s been difficult to write anything today, but writing is an indelible part of me, so… here you go.

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There is much one could write about:
The salty irresistibility of snacks like
Pretzels, popcorn (forget movies), chips