nature

Flowers’ Delight

lillian31 Comments

Place me amongst the flowers,
in the midst of petals glorious.

In my next life I shall be a bumble bee,
the queen, of course.

I shall meander regally
from one beautiful blossom to another –

savoring nature’s sweet nectar,
buzzing to my heart’s content.


Written for Quadrille Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today De asks us to include the word “place” in our poem of exactly 44 words, sans title.

Photos taken on Saturday, just outside the high-rise building we live in, in the heart of Boston.

Stormy Night

lillian16 Comments

Clouds meld as sun disappears in night,
form thick starless low-lying scrim.
Thor, maestro of storms, hurls bolt.
Rain streams sidewise,
wind powered slant.

Lonely man on street leans in,
challenged by elements, struggles forward.

She waits impatiently.
Nine o’clock draws near,
time agreed upon, one tryst past.
He plods on,
tears mixed with rain.

Thor’s Opus intensifies.
Relentless time moves moments on.

Clocktower strikes nine times,
signifies his doom.
He stumbles, staggers, stops.
Bereft, done, hopeless.
She’s forever gone.

Written for Open Link Night at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. We are free to post any poem of our choosing. Image created on Bing Create.

The Cold Wintry Thing

lillian4 Comments

The cold crept up.
It surprised us all.
Like a tiger hunting.
It caught us all.

It took us prisoner,
in its icy grasp.
It held us tight
in its frosty wrath.

From now till the shadow leaves
it will linger.
It’s beautiful and terrible.
The icy storm beast.

Yet once it’s past
we’ll wait for it again,
for we love it and hate it.
The cold wintry thing.

Written by my granddaughter, Phoebe Hallberg. She is twelve years old.
Image from Pixaby.com

Rain Walk

lillian9 Comments

Listen.
Tears fall like rain,
the soft spring rain
gentle, quiet 
cleansing the earth, the soul.

Rain begins like a tear
beading on a rose petal
trickling down to 
nourish the earth, one drop at a time.

Clouds thicken,
skies turn dark.
Rain falls harder
and the earth is saturated, muddy.

Drops become streams.
Overflowing banks. 
A flood of tears rises
to wash away our dreams.

Sun breaks through 
Two rainbows arc across the sky
Double surprise, double gift
Slowing the tears.

Summer rain smells fresh;
earth is nourished;
tears are pierced
by sunbeams.

Listen.
Rain will fall again:
On roses, on your parade, on Mondays.
Will you walk in it or just get wet?

Written by dear friend, Lindsey Ein, for Tuesday Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets. Today I’m hosting and asking people to take us on a walk within their poem.

Image by Goran Horvat from Pixabay

Nature’s Glory

lillian21 Comments

There are moments in life
standing in the glory of nature
when I’ve been awestruck.

Humbled by her magnificence
at the Grand Canyon,
Norwegian fjords,
and Mount Fuji.

And once,
under whispering tall pines,
I felt the sun’s rays of grace
shine upon me.


Written for Quadrille Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today De asks us to use the word “pine” or a form of the word, in our poem of exactly 44 words, sans title.

Yes, in our travels we’ve been to the magnificent Grand Canyon, the Norwegian Fjords, and to Japan where we saw Mount Fuji. Photo is from about ten years ago when we were camping with our children and their children, in Mount Rainier National Park.

Questioning . . .

lillian23 Comments

I lie on cool moist earth
waking dreams in outdoor’s chill.
Stars gleam through obsidian scrim,
slivered moon slices ebony sky.
Night’s breeze whispers, lullabies me.
Thoughts float to loved ones
from generations past.
Do they live now,
somewhere out there in the universe?

Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today De asks us to write a quadrille, a poem of exactly 44 words sans title, that includes the word “star” or a form of the word. Image from Pixabay.com

Nature Song, by Lindsey Ein

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‘Tis early dawn and all around
no bird song floated down the hill
O Nature! All thy seasons please the eye
ring out wild bells to the wild sky.
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright
between dark and daylight
a fragment of a rainbow bright.

Fair daffodils we weep to see
the violet loves a sunny bank
they grow in beauty side by side
into the sunshine.
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods
there through the long, long summer hours
the melancholy days are come.

Where, where are all the birds that sang?
The warm sun is failing.
Freshly the cool breath of the coming eve
in the west the weary day
electric essence permeates the air.
Yet one smile more departing distant sun
How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank.
There are moments in life that we never forget.

Written by Lindsey Ein and read aloud at OLN LIVE on Thursday, Sept. 19.

Every line of this poem is from a line in a poem by a poet. Here, line by line, are the poems and author:

Line 1: Flowers: Thomas Moses
Line 2: The River Path: Whittier
Line 3: The Seasons: Grahame
Line 4: Ring Out Wild Bells: Tennyson
Line 5: Vertue: George Herbert
Line 6: The Children’s Hour: Longfellow
Line 7: The Rainbow: J. Keble
Line 8: Daffodils: R. Herrick
Line 9: Proposal: Bayard Taylor
Line 10: The Graves of a Household: Mrs. Hemans
Line 11: The Rountain: James Russell Lowell
Line 12: Solitude: Byron
Line 13: June: Bryant
Line 14: The Death of Flowers: Brya
Line 15: A Hundred Years Ago: Anonymous
Line 16: Autumn: Shelley
Line 17: Healing of the Daughter of Jairus: Willis
Line 18: In Reverie: Harriet McEwen Kimball
Line 19: An Acrostic: F.A.
Line 20: November: Bryant
Line 21: From The Merchant of Venice: Shakespeare
Line 22: Remembrance: Percival

All of the above poems are from “Favorite Poems Illustrated”: 1880’s, given to my Aunt Josephine Brown in 1881.
Image from Pixabay.com

Crocus Me

lillian13 Comments

Born in May these many years ago,
amongst lily of the valley
and gaiety of tulips bright.

I am like the crocus
enjoying first rays of spring sun
in the midst of winter’s final stance.

Assertive, I push forward
first to appear,
even when slicked with chilling frost.

During coldest of times
I burrow in found comfort.
Your arms, ready to enfold me.

Like Mother Earth,
you are my home
in every season of the year.

Written for Tuesday Poetics at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today Sanaa asks us to “become the embodiment of winter. Tell us what you feel during this season.” Crocus Me is where my muse took me!

NOTE: HOPE you will join us this Thursday, Jan 19, from 3 to 4 PM EST for OLN LIVE . . . OR . . . for the first time, on Saturday, Jan 21, from 10 to 11 AM EST.

You’ll find two links on Thursday’s dVerse: one for Thursday and one for Saturday. Clicking on the link will bring you to a live session with audio and video! Come meet your fellow dVersers and either read one of your poems aloud or just come to listen! The more the merrier! We’re a very friendly bunch!

Are We Too Late?

lillian12 Comments

Boldly may we walk,
yet resolutely, carefully.
Minding the soul of Mother Earth,
respecting her fragility.
Oceans rise in anger.
Assault shorelines,
swallow homes built too near.
Heat past simmering patience.
Melt polar ice, bleach coral reefs,
threaten aquatic life.
Can we appease her?

Written for Quadrille Monday at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today, we’re to asked include the word BOLD, or a form of the word (not a synonym) within our poem of exactly 44 words, sans title. Image from Pixabay.com

NOTE:
OLN LIVE will be on Thursday, January 19th from 3 to 4 PM EST . . . AND . . . on Saturday, January 21st from 10 to 11 AM EST. Come to the dVerse home page on Thursday and/or Saturday and click on the appropriate link that will take you to the live session. All are welcome across all time zones! Come to simply listen and meet poets from around the globe OR come and read a poem of your choice. We’re a very friendly bunch so we hope you’ll join us at one or both sessions. Mark you calendars now!

Some Days

lillian14 Comments

Some days
I’d like to be in the midst of fog.
Where mountains,
yesterday tall and imposing,
disappear today.
Where ethereal moist clouds
descend to earth,
enveloping her in softness.
Bring me serenity,
as mist hovers over land,
hides imposing granite walls
too difficult to climb.
Soften my being
with the lightest of rain  that pours not,
rather drifts in swirls round my head,
my eyes, my limbs.
Take me to that weathered landscape
where nature cajoles hatred into oblivion,
and we simply marvel at beauty
we did not recognize before.
Take me there, if not in reality,
then in dense dreams of solace,
just for a little while.
I crave escape.

Written for dVerse, the virtual pub for poets around the globe. Today, from 3 to 4 PM Boston time, we shall gather face-to-face via GoogleMeet at OLN LIVE! Link to join can be found here at 3 PM or shortly thereafter. Just click and come join us! You’re invited to read a poem of your own…or simply sit in and listen…we’re a friendly bunch and it’s quite fun!

Photo from trip a number of years ago to Alaska.