caught in summer storm
damp hair curls on neck
feet squish inside shoes
skirt billows in gusty wind –
tears masquerade as rain
Author: lillian
With Apologies to the Farmer in the Dell
I rarely write the prompt first…but this time I must. Bjorn is hosting dVerse and we’re to use onomatopoeia in our poem – words that imitate sounds. Think “pluck” or “splatter.” He really wants us to concentrate on the SOUND of our poem. SO – in that spirit, don’t read my poem below. Sing it to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell – if you remember that from your childhood. Apologies in advance to those who don’t appreciate political satire/humor.
With Apologies to the Farmer in the Dell
The donald in the dell
The donald in the dell
hi-ho, the derry-o
the donald isn’t well.
Splitter, splatter, splat
Pluck it, plaudit, pratt
hi-ho, the derry-o
his lies are tit for tat.
Duplicitous as hell
His double-dealings smell
hi-ho, the derry-o
the donald isn’t well.
The donald gathers rats
The rats eat the cheese
hi-ho, the derry-o
the donald is a sleaze.
Ravaged
She sits slumped,
rot gut whiskey bottle
clutched in hands.
Stitch in side, she aches.
Time blurrs
lost in last nine shots.
Pennies by her feet
tossed by do-good passerby
don’t jar her mind.
Can’t think straight or at all.
Too far gone to live
not quite enough to die.
Written for Tuesday’s Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. Jilly is hosting and asks us to take one or two well known adages and significantly change them! Can you find the two I’ve used?
Photo from Pixabay.com Answer Key: Stanza 1 from “A stitch in time saves nine.” and Stanza 2 is from “A penny for your thoughts. ” Explaining further, in case you’re not familiar with having a stitch (pain) in your side: often happens to people when they’re running … or can be a sign of other medical problems too.
The She of Serenity
Nature’s nymph.
Child of the moon, wed to earth.
Mossy slippers quiet her step.
Willow frond skirt swishes in breeze,
natural scent blends with trees.
Seek her healing balm
amongst urban parks, forest glens.
Or retreat within your mind,
savor soothing rivulets of calm.
Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets where it’s Quadrille Monday. Kim is our able and creative pub tender. She asks us to use the word “earth” in our exactly-44-word poem. Photo taken on our trip to Ireland. Pub opens at 3 PM Boston time. Come join us!
Sing Me Some Jazz
Time’s long shadow
scats and sings.
That ole pendulum
forever swings.
Doo-ya doo-ya
doo-ya bop.
Tickety tickety
tickety tock.
That grim reaper,
got no soul.
But shit my honey,
he’s got control.
Doo-ya doo-ya
doo-ya bop.
Tickety tickety
tickety tock
Now listen good
while I’m tellin’ you.
Doo-ya doo-ya
doo-ya boo.
Live it up baby
while we can.
Stompin’ and dancin’
that’s the plan.
Jazz it up baby,
come on now.
Do some lovin’
fore he takes his bow.
Snappin’ and poppin’
and rockin’ strong.
Singin’ doo-ya doo-ya
doo-ya bop.
Ain’t no way
we’re ready to stop.
Sharing with dVerse, the virtual pub for poets, on Open Link Thursday. Image by freepik.com
Immigrants
Our ancestors. Our families.
They sailed through rough seas.
They worked hard, dreamed big.
We are us because of them.
Their identities may fade but
Their determination remains apparent.
Pictured and posed in family albums,
They live on in sepia tones.
Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. It’s Meet The Bar Thursday (MTB) and Frank hosts, asking us to write a Reverse Poem. Read it top to bottom. Read it bottom to top. Line by line. It makes sense both ways. Quite challenging!
Photos:
Left: Hjalmer Siegfried Hallberg, born in Sweden, 1884. Arrived Ellis Island, NY at age 22, in 1906. My husband’s grandfather.
Right: Adam Gruenwald, born 1857 in Germany. Arrived in U.S. in 1880. Grandfather to my father.
And here it is in reverse, including the same punctuation at the end of each line.
Immigrants
They live on in sepia tones.
Pictured and posed in family albums,
Their determination remains apparent.
Their identities may fade but
We are us because of them.
They worked hard, dreamed big.
They sailed through rough seas.
Our ancestors. Our families.
Moon Dipping
Soaking in a creek,
she lingered in the cool moonlight
basking in luminescent shadows.
Clothes on rocks beside her
she imagined star glitter upon her brow,
pretended the soft breeze was her lover
and succumbed to the night.
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Written for Misky’s Twiglet # 89: “soaking in a creek”
A twiglet is a word or short phrase meant to motivate.
Marengo Years
How did a city girl end up a high school English teacher in rural Iowa? From graduating in a class of eight-hundred-fifty, quick-stepping to Pomp and Circumstances so the procession wouldn’t last an hour; to senior class sponsor of thirty-two, holding students back until the prior one was all the way down the aisle and seated – so the band could play the entire song.
Town square on Main Street. No traffic lights. Elementary school kids on decorated trikes and bicycles in the high school homecoming parade. Future Farmers of America, 4-H, and drama club. Six-on-six girls’ basketball and a superintendent who sometimes wore bibber overalls. Houses with unlocked doors and party-line telephones. Church cookbooks and pot-lucks. Friendly people always willing to share, listen, and lend a helping hand. My second time in high-school. More special than the first.
ten foot drifts that year
folks hunkered down waiting for plows –
farm cats warm in barns
Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. It’s Tuesday Poetics and Amaya is hosting, asking us to remember our school days. Photo: Our rented farm house in rural Marengo, Iowa.
Not Your Toymaker’s Daughter
I prefer to live outside the box.
I am not a jack.
I won’t jump at your desire.
I am not a puppet. Or a toy.
I am more like a cat.
Independent with nine lives.
And trust me,
none of them are yours.
De is hosting dVerse today, asking us to use the word “box” in a Quadrille (poem of exactly 44 words, sans title). Image from WikiCommons: 1863 Harpers from Thomas Nast.
Garden’s Delight
He waited in the garden.
Their daily early tryst,
always morning glory.
Impatiens,
burning desire
bursting his bachelor buttons.
Dainty yellow lady slippers
softened her step
coming closer, closer still.
Beautiful bosom
draped in ivy,
touched by morning dew.
Primrose to many,
but he knew better.
Those swinging rosehips,
passion flower in disguise.
Written for Misky’s twiglet # 88, “ivy draped.” There are seven flowers mentioned in this poem, in addition to ivy. Can you find the all? A twiglet is a short phrase or word that is aimed to prompt.
