Category Archives: poetry

Writing 201 Day 9: Cold, Concrete Poem, and Epistrophe/Anaphora

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Wintery Shape in the Snowscape

OH NO

THE SNOW!

YOU KNOW IT’S

COLD WHEN

YOU LOOK OUTSIDE

AND SEE THE SNOW. AS SNOW

 FLURRIES FLUTTER AROUND AND

DRIFT ON DOWN ALL TOO SOON COVER

THE GROUND. SNOW, SNOW, AND

MORE SNOW! STARTING IN NO

VEMBER OR DECEMBER,

THAT IS THE WAY THE WEATHER

WILL GO; SNOW, SNOW, AND MORE

SNOW. AND THAT SCENE OF EVER WHITE

SNOWFALL IS SIMPLY NOT ALL; FOR ALONG

WITH THAT SNOW WILL COME WINTER STORMS

 AND BITTER, FRIGID COLD. THOSE DAYS, WEEKS,

 AND MONTHS OF SNOW AND WINTRY COLD

CAN SEEM TO GO ON AND ON. EVEN SO,

ON CLEAR DAYS WHEN UPWARD

YOU GAZE YOU MAY SEE THE

 SKY IS A BRILLIANT HUE

OF VIVID BLUE BENEATH THE GLOWING EYE OF THE SUN.BUT THEN STILL ALL THAT PURE WHITE SNOW AND MORE SNOW UNTIL WHITE IS THE ONLY COLOR YOU KNOW. EVEN STILL WINTER DOES HAVE ITS’ THRILLS WITH SNOWSHOEING, SKIING, AND SLEDDING DOWN HILL.AND ON A BLUSTERY COLD AND SNOWY DAY YOU JUST MAY CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY ALONG THE WAY WHEN YOU SPY IN THE SKY AN UNUSUAL VIEW OF AN ARCHING SUNDOG OF A VIBRANT ORANGE HUE. IT IS A WINTER RAINBOW; A SIGN OF HOPE JUST FOR YOU.THEN BACK TO THE SNOW, SNOW, AND MORE SNOW! OH THAT SNOW NEVER SEEMS TO QUITE END UNTIL FINALLY COMES WELCOMED SIGNS OF SPRING.

Writing 201 Day 8: Flavor, Elegy, and Enumeratio

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008

Flavor of Autumns Past

Pungent scent of oak, pine, and maple trees

Penetrating the autumn air.

Remembering also the birches, cedars, and elms

Adding their aromatic flair.

Clasping to the limbs are leaves of deep and changing

Colors; apple red and tangerine orange,

And bright splashes of dark lime and lemon yellow grandeur.

Sweet memories of walking, strolling, and

Wading through clusters, piles, and layers of fallen leaves.

Autumn is harvest time as the last

Of the vegetables and fruits are plucked smelling fresh and sweet.

Pumpkin, squash, and ripened tomatoes

Are reaped from the gardens while the clinging apples

Are pulled from the orchard trees:

Granny Smiths, braeburns, bright red delicious, and

The yellow delicious apples too.

The last of the corn, the wheat, soybeans, and hay

Are reaped without further delay.

Then all enjoy the harvest and a feast on Thanksgiving Day.

Enjoying the warm winds from the south

And the west; a strong and yet gentle, tantalizing breeze

Before the colder north and eastern gales

Rush on in and strip the swaying trees until they’re bare.

For by then autumn is gone and winter

Has rushed in with its snow, layers of ice, and frigid cold

As temperatures drop to zero and below.

Amid the snow and that freezing cold, we take the time

To celebrate Christmas, favorite holiday of old.

Then to restore hope of warmer days to come, a hint of

Spring is in the air as the snow melts

And the ground is bare. Also soon, the snow turns to rain

And the world becomes green again.

Summer then arrives for all those young at heart who like

To camp, hike, swim, and dive.

Such enjoyment of long days, abundant sunshine, and

Celebration of Independence Day.

Like the musical beat of a favorite song or poem which

Entails its own melodious rhyme,

Each season with its own scents and flavors enters in its own

Predictable and expected time. As

After autumn, winter arrives, and then comes spring

Followed by summer and then autumn

Returns again with its own aroma and charming flavor

 like an enchanting and familiar friend.

Becky’s Haiku: Pine and Grief

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053

For a different road

I pine letting grief obscure

This journey of mine.

 

I have just attempted yet another haiku challenge from Ronovan Writes blog using the words “pine” and “grief”. I am enjoying the challenge of trying to use such seemingly different and even opposite words in such a short poem. These prompts from Ronovan can really be a challenge to the mind.  If you like poetry challenges and haiku’s then I invite you to also accept his latest challenge at this link: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/10/12/

Becky’s Haiku: Harp and Clear

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014

In the woods, I hear

 the musical harp of a

 lark so loud and clear.

 

I have just attempted yet another haiku challenge from Ronovan Writes blog using the words “harp” and “clear”. I am enjoying the challenge of trying to use such seemingly different and even opposite words in such a short poem. These prompts from Ronovan can really be a challenge to the mind.  If you like poetry challenges and haiku’s then I invite you to also accept his latest challenge at this link: https://ronovanwrites.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/

 

Writing 201 Day 5 Map, Ode, and Metaphor

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052

Ode to a Journey to Wyoming

One day I awoke to prepare once again

To go on journey to visit my friend.

I have traveled this same route several years ago

But the adventure of going on a trip never grows old.

 twice I have endeavored on this solo journey of

Traveling from Minnesota to the land of Wyoming.

The familiar towns and landmarks along the way

Are dear old companions who greet me and wave

While silently proclaiming, “Yes we are still here;

So glad to see you travel our way this year.”

I passed through several small towns and by farmsteads too

And oh my, Lake Heron is a splendid sea of blue.

I drove by several state parks along the way

And note, “I must visit there on another day.”

The morning was full of bright, illuminating sunshine

As I drove along the interstate crossing the first state line.

Onward I drove with my intent eyes peering into the horizon

As I joyfully anticipated revisiting my high school friend.

And lo, how we both know that we don’t visit enough

As times can be hard and cost of travel just too much.

With the consistent rain through the summer months,

The ground has remained emerald green; deep and lush.

For usually, the further I journeyed westward from home,

The atmosphere became more and more arid while I drove.

But on this trek the land remained moist and green much longer

And I chose to enjoy this and not ponder and wonder.

So forward I drove and gladly journeyed

Into the horizon; a vast green and blue sea.

Near the end of the day my traveling was done

As I paused beneath the vaulted ceiling of a glowing sun.

While it slid down settling in the distant west,

I knew it was time for a long night rest.

I opted to stay at on a hilltop of green sloped wonder

In a motel overlooking the winding Missouri River.

For the wide flowing blue stream curved this way and that

With an iron scalloped bridge uniting one land mass to the next.

Next morning arrived and soon I was on the road

Anticipating new places to see and sights to behold.

“I can’t help it,” I chided myself with a frown,

“I must visit once again that old ghost town.”

Soon I found the right off-ramp and pulled in

And found myself wandering the old streets again.

I strolled past the old schoolhouse and the church too

Wondering what life was like back in say…1882.

I drove on nearing the Wyoming border

And noticed the rugged mountains coming closer.

After another long day’s drive,

To my friend’s house, I finally arrived.

I was there for a week, treasuring each day;

And we embarked on a few adventures along the way.

Such a sweet time to spend with a dear friend,

That my heart ached with sadness at the week’s end.

Turning around I started the long journey home

Thankful for friendship which nourished my soul.

So now, ode to a Journey I took to Wyoming,

I have a new treasure of memories inside of me.

Poetry 201 Day 4: Imperfect, Limerick, and Enjambment

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453

Imperfect Journey

One bright

morning, I

ventured on a

long

autumn drive

To see

the vibrantly

changing

trees

along

the

riverside.

But this once

blissful

and

carefree

day was

marred

by

closed

lanes on

the highway

As rows of

cars

became

stuck, unable

to

move;

just

sitting

side by

side.

Poetry 201 Day 3: Skin, Prose Poem, and Internal Rhyme

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041

A Day in the Sun

Skin; that external organ which covers my entire human body; it cleverly contains some small openings so that I can hear, taste, smell, and see. My skin is pale white and even paler under florescent light. How I sometimes do wish, I wasn’t as white as a fish. Certainly more sunshine would be good for me. Stay outdoors a little more during those sunlit hours and soak more of that sunshine into me; and let it cover my head to my feet. On a bright and beautiful day with the sunlight brightening the way, I did try to take some extra time and venture more outside. I wandered along the county road passing houses, a church, and the new high school.  I traveled to a nearby gym, walked on a track, pedaled on an exercise bike, and considered taking a swim.  Then I wandered back outside. Back into the glistening and warm sunlight which has brightened the sea blue sky. Deep inside I rejoiced as I felt gladness at this choice of spending this day outside being exposed to nature and the soothing sunshine.  I traveled along the road again at a leisurely pace and not really wanting my journey to end; there is no need to race. I heard the wind in the swaying trees and my bare skin was tantalized by the softly flowing breeze. In the spring if I am lucky enough, I might pass by a lilac bush, and oh how its aroma gives my senses such a rush. With the soft touch, my exposed skin feels the flower’s velvety coolness. Happily I tarried along the way not wanting to miss the warmth of this day.  For the sun’s reaching, transparent beams have engulfed my arms, my legs, and all of my bare skin from my head to my feet. Feeling satisfied and pleased, I think to myself, “how, I have had some warm sunshine covering me, and soon I’ll have a fine tan: I can’t wait to see.”  But lo, oh no that is not what I see. I looked into the mirror and much to my shock and horror; I am now as red as can be with my sunburned skin peeling most embarrassingly. Oh, woe is me!

Poetry 201: Gift, Acrostic, and Simile

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015

Gift of the Changing SEASONS

Sunshine warmth, bright flowers, and long days

Evening walks beneath a canopy of an orange sunset glaze.

Afternoon sunlight dwindles and steadily shortens;

Soon brilliant and aromatic autumn marches in

Onward into winter’s snowcapes and then the newness of spring

Never halting, the earth’s vast landscape is forever changing.

Seeing Time like a friend as through life we continue journeying.

Welcoming AUTUMN

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003

Acorns dropping from the old oak trees

Uncovered and bare branches sway in the chilly breeze

Thick needled pines remain a deep hunter green

Untouched by time and the approaching winter season

Maple, elms, ash, and birch all sway and soon follow suit

Now changing hues and peaking as their leaves drift upon my shoes.

Solo Journey

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011

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5 Holy Bible NIV

Each new day I face the unknown

Seemingly all by myself; all alone.

I follow a path I can’t fully see

Where danger sometimes eludes me.

It is an ongoing trek into the future;

A solo journey I continue to endeavor.

Since my youth, I have been walking this path

And only the Lord knows how long it will last.

I try to travel in sweet content and joyfulness

Trying to remember God is near, and through him I’m blessed.

But some days are harder to strain and see

The love and goodness that the Lord is showing me.

I sometimes miss the sun and rainbows in life

As I face obstacles and endure strife.

Because I’m too worried and too wrapped in deep doubt

As if I’ve been swallowed by a thick, foreboding thundercloud.

I stumble in the pit of that deep dark night

Yearning to see a comforting and glowing light.

Something to rekindle my lost and trampled hope;

Someone to help me rise with courage and cope.

I stumble around as my mind and heart cannot see

And then fall down ever so continuously.

Finally, I pause to rest and lo, I find a friend

For Jesus had come seeking me yet again.

For in this world of worry I can find peace

When I stop to remember Jesus is with me.

For he promises to never ever leave

And that no one can snatch me from thee.

Out of the darkness I emerge again

Seeing the rainbows and the sun.

So as I continue this solo journey on my own,

I’m again reminded that I am not really all alone.