Travel Muse – Page 17 – lillian the home poet

In the Midst of Glaciers

August 25, 2015lillian16 Comments

Dare I watch? Dare I breathe in this place,
where Nature’s breath and hand
hath created frozen beauty
over hundreds, nay thousands, of years?

Glaciers appear as still rivers
imperceptible flows of time
dip down from mountains of rock,
those dark monoliths of eternity.

Snow compressed, solidified
centuries of generation after generation
braids of blue crystal rivulets
between boundaries of sky and sea.

We float, this ship of humans,
bodies in the midst of your debris
slabs of flesh among slabs of ice
decades of life dwarfed in age and size.

Bits of time shed from the mother lode,
we, the detritus of humanity
make our way through the field of ice
looking backward as our ship retreats.

We are changed forever by this timeless place
one small ship in a glacier glory land
a fracture
in the eons of time.

Top two photos from aboard our ship, very very close to Hubbard Glacier. We had to move through an ice field from its “calving” — to get close this close — and we were privileged to see it calve — drop a huge mantle of ice with a thunderous sound!!!

Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau.Notes below.

Almost to the toe of Laughton near Skagway.

Laughton’s ice shelf. Melting into glacial stream.

Us on hike back down. Notes below.

Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau. We hiked to a beach where we could look across a lake and see this magnificent site. Next are photos of our hike all the way up to the “toe” of the Laughton Glacier near Skagway. We are standing by a glacier runoff stream — the sound alone was wondrous. Others are of us standing on the toe — incredible that we made it this high — right next to the glacier….you’ll see the ice shelf, crack in the ice. Truly an amazing hike — exhausting but exhilarating! We climbed through woods, then over fields of rocks and boulders to get here. 11 miles round trip to Laughton. Alaska: trip of a lifetime!

Denali

August 20, 2015August 25, 2015lillian9 Comments

Oh mighty one, elusive to so many.
Natives call you Denali,
befitting your magnificence.
You rule acres in the millions
set aside to protect your subjects,
God’s wildlife who coexist
and search the grounds for their sustenance.
Your spirit, whether seen or unseen
infuses them with the grace of nature.
We are humbled by your presence.

Alaska: First Glance

August 19, 2015August 25, 2015lillian17 Comments

She wears mist like a silk scarf
draped round her foothills,
wisps of white cloud
wrap round her girth,
this Alaskan mountain.

Her legion of honor stand nearby
black spruce, short in stature
strong willed in spirit,
cling to permafrost tundra,
their tenacity and her beauty
reflected in cold still waters.

Photos taken from our dome topped train ride from Anchorage to Talkeetna, Alaska yesterday.

Hawaii Lava Walk

August 9, 2015August 12, 2015lillian3 Comments

The earth belches and spews forth her fury.
Oh Pele, goddess of volcanoes,
your power and passion are evident
as you hiss and ooze red-hot anger.

You are the earth’s psyche
and we the defiant trespassers,
over cracks and fissures
glass-sharp edges of your hardened crust.

Arrogant though we are
we step gingerly,
awed by your magnificence
as we retreat to cooler ground.

Posted in response to the Daily Post Photo Challenge: Beneath Your Feet. Photos from our 2005 Lava Walk on the Big Island in Hawaii. A once in a life-time experience, to feel the volcano beneath our feet!

Garden Haven

June 22, 2015October 22, 2017lillian3 Comments

A reflection pool lies elongated
surrounded by earth-tone tiles
lacey leafed trees, like still life
mirrored on water canvas.

Serene in symmetry,
myriad shades of soothing green
white clematis peek from vines
cascade down ancient stone walls.

Meticulous care by some invisible hand
so evident in this magical place
we tread lightly, voices hushed
afraid to intrude.

Vivid Bermuda

June 7, 2015October 22, 2017lillian3 Comments

Drums pulse.
Whistle blasts methodical pace
soon frenetic. Eyes open wide
as Gombeys march
then run, then leap into view.
Vibrant costumed anonymity.
Histories joined
African, British, Native American
collide in exuberant dance.
Speed increases, blurs.
Cacophony of primary colors
whirl, jump high, bend low.
Wordless loud stories
of ancestral slaves.

In response to the Daily Post Photo Challenge, how do you illustrate Vivid?

On the Way

May 31, 2015October 22, 2017lillian7 Comments

Spread your wings to glide
through sun streaks’ warmth,
to reach and feel the clouds.

In my best dreams
I fly round and round
the confines of my room.

Catch the upward draft.
A lazy float through clear air
colored only by the sky.

Magnificent quiet follows
as you bank left, shift course
to a new everything.

Strap on wings
hold tight
and soar.

In response to the Daily Post Photo Challenge: to interpret “on the way”.
Pboto from a Baltic cruise.

Wondrous India

May 26, 2015June 12, 2015lillian16 Comments

My career took me several times to India. A land of magnificent colors, beautiful people, and simplicity beside urgent modernity. I was honored to share meals and meet relatives of my students, visit holy places, and experience this wonderful culture.

Wondrous India

Stone mosque bathed in light,
waits in glistening dark sea
an icon of hope.

Cities teem and swarm
with cars parked beside oxen,
new challenging old.

Low tide finds boardwalk
revealed through waste and debris,
pilgrims’ path to prayer.

Land of paradox:
harsh realities mar the
exalted sublime.

Pristine white heron
scavenges beside children.
Innocent dwellers
of this land called India.

Written for a writing prompt to write in a “series.” I decided to try my hand at a series of haiku within one larger poem. I found the aspect of “hiding” the haiku form a challenge. To have the sense of the poem meet the reader, rather than the form itself. UPDATE:

Poetry in Motion

May 14, 2015October 22, 2017lillian6 Comments

Watch closely. The mundane
becomes sublime, if we care to see.
Fields of timothy grass ruffled by wind
black steed glistens galloping through fields
sinewy athlete leaps to float over highest titanium bar
sunflowers smile, heads turn to bask in their namesake’s rays
Swan Lake dancers glide and spin across soft lit stage
gulls with wings spread wide, soar above the sea.
I look up from crowded city streets
to see this artisan’s creation
shift colors in the wind
urban ethereal
beauty.

Janet Echelman’s aerial sculpture, As If It Were Already There, soars above Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway. It’s made by hand-splicing rope and knotting twine into an interconnected mesh of more than a half-million nodes. Whenever any one of its elements moves, every other element is affected. Its fibers are 15 times stronger than steel but appear lace like. Do watch the short videos. They’re breathtaking! We were mesmerized. We’ll go back to see it at night, when it is lit with thousands of LED lights knotted into its threads.

Follow the Clouds

May 13, 2015March 14, 2016lillian11 Comments

Follow the Clouds

Stairs direct eyes, climb to clouds
holy canopy to this house of God
inside wooden warmth minus marble cold
simplicity defines Divine.

Four elderly black women
dressed in crimson choir garb
raise voices in praise
sing hymns as ancestors sleep

I sit ramrod straight, cedar bench stiff
then kneel on threadbare cushions
and for the first time in many years
my spirit soars.

My Photos: Her Majesties Chappel, St Peter’s Church, is the oldest surviving Anglican church in continuous use outside the British Isles, and the oldest Protestant Church in continuous use in the New World. Located in St. George, Bermuda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the interior is filled with pew boxes and ceiling rafters of cedar wood that was long ago, plentiful on the island — and then depleted by ship building and disease. The land to the west of the church was reserved for burying slaves prior to the British Empire’s emancipation of slaves in 1834. We were privileged to worship here every Sunday in February, 2015. Also using this for a photo challenge on CLOUDS