one green pepper
one red pepper
one onion
one sirloin steak
one squirt of olive oil
one dash of salt
one pinch of pepper
two forks
two plates
two hearty appetites
three dogs awaiting a scrap
Dinner : A Numbered List Poem
Demi-Sonnet for a Summer Night
fairy lights twinkle in summertime trees
night magic sparkles on firefly green leaves
darkness of black sky sets stage for the stars
evening’s cool blanket, reprieve from the heat
front porch swing beckoning rest for sore feet
chamomile tea welcomes day’s end with peace
myth’s constellations: such stories they weave
A Demi Sonnet for Jessie
Jessie
her servant’s heart embraced their broken hope
her gentle spirit wielded toughest love
such prayerful presence resurrecting souls
her intercessions strong on their behalf
(and even in their healing, they could laugh)
in restoration, re-learned how to cope
with Jessie‘s guiding wisdom from above
The Wood Thrush ~ A Demi Sonnet
against the backdrop of clear cut pine trees
their homes have all fallen, logs now piled high
it gutted my soul as I mourned for their loss
from one lone hardwood tree left standing tall
the song of a wood thrush brings hope to all
proclaims resilience, brings me to my knees
its gratitude praise song raised to the sky
A Letter to a Place
One of last month’s prompts from Georgia Heard’s Tiny Writing Calendar was Letter to a Place. I am using the tiny Shadorma form (3-5-3-3-7-5) today to revisit this tiny writing topic.
her pen moves
across the paper ~
a letter
written to
the place of her family
roots ~ Goodbye, it says
Say Yes to Oui
I find inspiration in the lids of the yogurt I eat. I buy this brand not just because it’s delicious, but for the messages and the pure glass containers that will root new plant life for me to share with friends. Here is a poem inspired by Say Oui to Time Off!
Say Yes
we said yes because
what we know about us
is that we like a big window
and gray and white
and newness and matching
towels and linens
not odd assortments
and light,
plenty of light
and good music speakers
front, back, and outside
for good 70s tunes
and fifteen trips to France but
not going there
instead, staying close to home
but still away, oui?
and time off
to enjoy it
Making Body Butter
My sister in law and I have been making various salves, lotions, balms, and body butters. It all started in April. She found a recipe for Bergamot Body Butter, and it’s been fun ever since. We each ordered some of the ingredients and a slew of containers, fired up the stove, and got to stirring and mixing, making our own magnesium and shea butter foot creams.
Today’s poem is a simple tricube – three stanzas of three lines with three syllables!
Sister Time Tricube
bergamot
shea butter
olive oil
lavender
mixing bowls
minerals
beeswax flakes
kitchen fun
sister time
May Open Write – Day 3 of 3 with Sarah J. Donovan for Demi Sonnets
Today’s host at http://www.ethicalela.com for our final day of the May Open Write is Sarah J. Donovan, who inspires us to write Demi-Sonnets about something we almost missed. You can read her full prompt here. Sarah says, of Demi-Sonnets:
- 7 lines.
- It’s formal without being, you know, strictly formal.
- They are encouraged to end with a full or a slant rhyme. (An Emily Dickinson approved form.) Instead of a perfect rhyme where the ending sounds match exactly (like cat and hat), slant rhymes have slight variations in sound like hope and cup, bridge and grudge.
- Erin describes them as “aphoristic” and something of an “elongated fortune cookie”
- There’s no set syllable count.
Call Interference
front porch phone call late at night
unfurling starburst: opening show
caught my eye in the moon’s spotlight
petal by petal, revealing its brilliance
conversation ~ a bloom interference
most never see this nocturnal sight:
Queen of the Night crowning waterlily-bright!
The Meaning of Your Name
When I saw Margaret Simon’s blog post on May 1 with Georgia Heard’s calendar inviting tiny writing, my soul breathed a sigh of relief. Tiny writing. Yes, I need a month of tiny writing after the double marathon months of the Slice of Life Challenge in March and VerseLove in April. Tiny writing sounds dreamy right now, like a shade tree with a hammock and a warm, gentle breeze.
I glanced at the topics, and one caught my eye. May 16’s prompt is the meaning of your name. It’s been with me all my life – since I was a curious child who wanted to find answers to things like that.
Kimberly. From the Royal Fortress Meadow.
From the Royal Fortress Meadow
Kimberly
means from the royal
fortress meadow ~
and I’m no princess here,
but I drink my
velvety green
rolling hills
cloaked in wildflowers
crowned with a sunshine-drizzled
scepter of rain clouds
casting a gold-tipped
swing-choir grass breeze
strumming harp strings
across my countryside kingdom
A List of Last Times
I’m engaging in tiny writes this month, introduced by Georgia Heard on her monthly writing topics. Margaret Simon shared it on her blog earlier this month. Margaret also introduced me to the Shadorma form, which is a poem consisting of six lines with lines of the following numbers of syllables, in this order: 3,5,3,3,7,5. I’m using a tiny form for the tiny write topics and finding that it is a breath of fresh air after the marathon months of March with the Slice of Life Challenge at http://www.twowritingteachers.org and April with #VerseLove at http://www.ethicalela.com.
Today’s topic on Georgia Heard’s calendar is A List of Last Times.
A List of Last Times
you hugged me
your body quivered
we both knew
this was it ~
the reason I’d made the trip
was to say goodbye
Common Threads 