Notes of sand (a quadrille)

The susurration of sea-waves on the shore
leaves the sand salty, sulphury and citrusy
the sun gilds the grains in glittering golden glow
moonlight; sapphire-silvery, sweet
imbues the beach with shimmery, pearlescence
but it is the stardust that imparts
that pepperiness to the sand.

Written for Sadje’s wdys and dVerse quadrille Monday. Today I am the host and we have to write a poem if exactly 44 words including the word pepper or any form of it.

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I can’t take no more

I watch disinterestedly
as Miss ladybug wanders seeking attention
the nimble goldfish giddily flaps and rolls
feeding on the grass, the obese snail eyes the tomatoes
but the last straw is the sneaky cats trying to pat my head!


I am usually good-natured
but this shocking attempt
to usurp my place is galling!
I am off to the railway station
will you send the car to transport me there?

Written for Sadje’s wdys and Eugi’s moonwashed weekly prompt using words from Kerfe’s random word generator.

Dear Mom (a quadrille)

I am me but also your reflection
forever your shadow
mimicking your actions

then one day, will come into my own

and be shadowed by my reflection
the same love mirrored
in two pairs of brown eyes

life is all about mirrors and shadows.

Written for dVerse quadrille Monday and Sadje’s wdys. Today’s host, Merril, asks us to write a quadrille of exactly 44 words and include the word mirror or its other forms in it.

Her lot

On a typical misty morning
when the hush is broken
by the birds leaving their nests
the elderly woman in
an inexpensive apparel
takes her daily route
the prickly cactus, the malicious ants
no deterrent
buckets balanced on her frail shoulders
she is on her same daily run
no complain, no regret
she knows not life outside her village
accepting with equanimity
the lot handed to her.

Written for Sadje’s wdys and Kerfe’s random word generator.

Love’s ebb and flow (NaPoWriMo)

Your name was inscribed in the lines of my palm
our love inscribed in the realms of storms
the coarseness of the sand I feel on your palms
brings the vast seas to my heart, roaring capriciously and then tranquil, by turns.

The tempestuous tides
forever interwoven
with your heartbeats, respond
automatically to the pull and push of the moody moon
the unfathomable depth of the oceans reflects in your eyes
(from the stormy greys to the muddied browns)
hiding subtly the underlying passion
I savour the sweetness of the brackish seas
on your lips, my carnation lips atingle with
a taste defying any definition!

Even when your hand slips away from mine
our lines entwined bind us together
like the sea and the moon that are forever bound
sometimes close, at others afar
leaving my landlocked home awash with sea spray.

Today’s prompt challenges you to also write a love poem, one that names at least one flower, contains one parenthetical statement, and in which at least some lines break in unusual places.

Also for Sadje’s wdys.

Rebellion (a quadrille)

He was gentle;
he gave me wings
and set me free
to fly, to own the sky

Much later;
many years later
I found he had harshly
clipped mom’s wings
and caged her

Aghast, I voiced dissent;
a revolutionary act
I was branded ungrateful.

Written for dVerse quadrille Monday. Today’s host, Kim, asks us to write a quadrille including the word revolution in it.

Also joining in Sadje’s wdys.

Dead end/ Bush pickle (NaPoWriMo)

1.

heavens water me with tears

bent, bare, gnarled; a skeleton am I
seeking supplication from the sky

cloaked in darkness, is the luminescent sun
shattered promises do lie carelessly strewn
who can tell how these rocky paths I shun
the scarf of melancholy strangles my tongue

I fear all is lost, the end is nigh
impossible to turn back time gone by

heavens water me with tears

Written for David’s W3 and Sadje’s wdys.

2.

Pic courtesy Kitchengardenseeds

You are my kind
not the tall, willowy type
you grow not on vine
but a full-girthed bush

short-lived but disease free
easy to tend and take care of
blessing with cukes abundantly
you are my kind, for sure!

pimpled, yet succulent
cooling, crunchy and calorie free
O bush pickle! your summer appearance
makes the hot humid weather palatable

brined or with salt and chilli pepper
marrying your taste with condiments
I love my breakfast/lunch/dinner with you
you are the perfect accompaniment.

Today’s challenge asks you to write a poem that contains the name of a specific variety of edible plant – preferably one that grows in your area. In the poem, try to make a specific comparison between some aspect of the plant’s lifespan and your own – or the life of someone close to you. Also, include at least one repeating phrase.

Shades of yellow

The edges of photographs are yellowed
the memories are a bright ochre
citrus reminiscences flood in
she had held the pale moon in her palms that night.

Her turmeric stained hands are blue veined
her sallow skin a whisper of what it was
life had flitted-fluttered to golden years
but a sliver of regret sometimes causes chartreuse pain.

In blinding yellow an elusive image lurks
the name hovers in the realm of forgetfulness
loving faces crowd out all doubts
with her hand in his calloused one, she knows all is well.

Written for Sadje’s wdys and dVerse poetics. Today’s host, Sarah, says… Let’s have fun with yellow. You can write about the colour itself, or just sneak something yellow into your poem. A yellow bucket, a daffodil, an autumn leaf floating in a puddle. Let’s get to the yolk of the egg and the heart of the daisy. Let’s pour custard, let’s sprinkle turmeric, let’s smear mustard! Let’s yellow. 

Books

Burn them, they said in frenzy/they said about books
condemning ink and paper/ that ignite the soul
memories cannot be abolished or shredded/ nor let one sleep
Tyrants fear writers/ so praise the written word
history is not a set of books/ it is a way of life illuminating hearth and heart.

Written for Sadje’s wdys and for dVerse MTB. Today’s host, Laura has invited us to play with opposites, cleaving them in fact.
Fun Fact: Cleave is a contranym, a word with 2 opposite meanings: i) split or sever. ii) become strongly involved with or emotionally attached to.

Thus we are taking an opposing word pair as theme prompt and writing two distinct poems, which then combine as one larger composition i.e. whilst they are distinct the 2 poems also should converse/relate  with/to each other


A.  Choose ONE of these paired opposites for your two poem’s theme whilst also including the chosen word somewhere in the body of each poem

  • admit – deny;
  • amuse – bore;
  • beg – offer;
  • condemn – praise;
  • fix – break;
  • mix – sort;
  • scatter – collect;

B. And with your chosen antonym pair, write your poem(s) in ONE of these poetry forms:

  1. THE CONTRAPUNTAL – 2 poems that are distinct from one another but together can be read as one poem. They can be adjacent columns or  fit alternately (italicised , boldened, indented to distinguish one from another  if desired)
  • THE CLEAVE  â€“so  similar to the above  to be almost indistinguishable – I’ve seen it defined as 3 poems but ‘the inventor’ only states 2!  Seems the poems blend together across each line to make one poem.
  • The REVERSO – two poems in one with the 2nd one being read from the bottom to the top.