Shorties

 

#haiku #haikuchallenge #mpy #NaHaiWriMo #ScifaikuSaturday #tankathursday  #vss365

Jan 1, 2022

Back to sleep
for an hour, I wake anew
— all my past a dream.

#haikuchallenge (anew)

---

grass inflorescences,
mix of grey, green purple husks
— wind frees the pollen

10 July 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

one false stretch
the worm miscalculates
the robin doesn’t

#haikuchallenge (false) 5 May 2021

#haikuchallenge (trade) 21 April 2021

the spider starts a new web
trading closet space
for sunny window

spring switches
ON — virtually
over noontime

#haikuchallenge (virtual) #WorldPoetryDay21March 

walked to Tea Hill

 

Trade frowns for smiles:
start small then try laughing.
(My new facial lines.)

#haikuchallenge (trade) 15 March 2021

 

ragged white sheets
torn by tide, wind, long sun,
blocks bobbing — remnants

(block) 3/12/2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#haikuchallenge (yet)

It’s not time yet
to “spring ahead” the clock
— but soon. ⌚

 

#haikuchallenge (bet)

She ordered seeds in winter
So I did too
— Betting on Spring

 

#haikuchallenge (already)

March first — already
starlings whistle and chortle
waiting for snow to melt

 

crows mob the hawk
everyone else takes cover
— it’s not a game

#haikuchallenge (game)

 

 

this row has grown
an extra stitch, not o.k.
— beginner knitting

#haikuchallenge (ok) feb 24/21

quick flight protects the starling,
the orange cat leaps
at shadows

#haikuchallenge (protect)

 

#haikuchallenge (pause) jan 13 2021

the day pauses
at dusk, finds extra light
from the snow
on the ground

Each crow thinks,
calculates the odds for
snatching that peanut.

#haikuchallenge (think) 31 Dec 2020

#haikuchallenge (celebrate)

christmas lights: you look
at ours and we’ll look at yours
— neighbours celebrate

walks around the park
afternoon naps on the sofa
— both refreshing

#haikuchallenge (refresh) 11/28/2020

 

no more alerts for risk of frost;
warnings now are
“a chance of flurries”!

#haikuchallenge (risk)

 

#haikuchallenge (pay)

Piles of dry leaves
demand you swish through them.
No payment accepted.

 

brave Magawa wins,
wears medal gold, ratly
finds mines,
saves lives

#haikuchallenge #APOPO (win)

https://www.apopo.org/en/latest/2020/08/HeroRAT-Magawa-receives-award-for-life-saving-bravery

that overnight change
of coat from dark to dappled
— autumn starlings

#haikuchallenge (that) sept 2020

 

dis-interestedly
he sits
by still-green leaves
and more pigeons

#haikuchallenge (interest) Cat

 

 

#haikuchallenge (day) #gone

last day of August
— suddenly — no sparrows
looking through windows

 

fruit of mountain ash
(call it rowan if you wish)
turning rusty-orange
as they must, a tree half-dead,
seedlings wilding underneath

#TankaThursday (ash)

 

Which day? (FB):

Diagnosed, retired

to docs, drugs, marked calendars

— now Covid-masked days

 

FREEDOM:

Birds aren’t that free
to choose when to leave a nest
— they’re often pushed.
🐥

 

#haikuchallenge (friend)

The tall grass waves,
leans against the wooden bench
— friends in the garden.

 

(starting with ‘when’; p.s.true story)

When she dropped, surprised,
from my lair-ish hair, she drowned
in coffee — sadly.

 

“I’m quick,” she said.
“And never anxious spinning
haiku on the fly.”

#haikuchallenge (anxious)

The barbs of that rose
lie in wait to stab the skin
of those not bees.

#haikuchallenge (skin)

 

The sun came up mauve.
The sky’s green, leaves are blue.
Revise your poems!

#FBHOTD

 

 

at tide’s low edge
herons find those standing spots
they left last fall

#haiku #birdsreturn

gorgeous arias
ass two little brown birds sing
— no, one just listens

(two)

 

Look under the bed
It’s worth the effort to check
For socks or money

#haikuchallenge (under) #notmeanttobeclever

Spirit animal:
De Vinci’s stoat on canvas
in the lady’s arms,
gentle only with her —
fierce when hungry or cornered.

#TankaThursday (muse) 

Daylight’s growing
like stretching elastic bands
until they’re let go.

#haikuchallenge (daylight) #haiku

 

Keep your cold cash:
coins, paper. No change back.
Go online — use Visa.

#haikuchallenge (cold) #senryu

 

Catherine Baker
Retweeted your Tweet

shadows make no sounds,
don’t have substance, yet are real;
those on melting snow
from still leafless trees, perhaps
are spaces for wordless thoughts

#TankaThursday (sound) #tanka

 

it was a reflex
but may need to be relearned
… smile

#haikuchallenge (reflex) #senryu

the masher crushes
dates, the filler for the squares
— daily lockdown snack

#haikuchallenge (crush) #senryu

With the laptop’s “search”
and one guessed word,
I trust I’ll find that misplaced file.

#haikuchallenge (trust) #senryu

·
Apr 24
#haikuchallenge (original) #senryu

in large houses
some are tempted to save
all original packaging

 

#tankathursday (lock down) #Tanka

Life’s a chicken coop
locked down every night
hens safe inside but
if carers forget to latch
the fox will cause much mayhem.

it’s hot with the sun
— that lit spot on the floor
a cat would favour

#haikuchallenge (hot) #haiku

pulling out stuffing
from old pillows – no reason
just curiosity

#haikuchallenge (stuff) #senryu

 

only one story
on the news – it feels absurd
we’re in this mess

#haikuchallenge (absurd) #senryu April 19

fired-up birds at the feeder,
squirrels race to & fro —
the show’s free!

#haikuchallenge (fire) #haiku

 

“Not too bad” she said,
a tad cagily
(when asked,”How are you?)

 

#haikuchallenge (cage) #senryu

 

the cows wild-danced —
released from winter’s burden
of confinement

#haikuchallenge (burden) #haiku

 

The “hello-crow” learned (at last)
how to also say good-bye
… then left.

#haikuchallenge (hello) #haiku

 

“Strange is
as strange does.”
This pandemic.

#haikuchallenge (strange) #haiku

 

The message
said, ” No one
knows for sure.”

#haikuchallenge (message) #haiku

 

Driving in stakes
with the blunt end of an axe
— for her garlic bed.

#haikuchallenge (blunt) #haiku

 

springwatch for castings …
worm-signs of channeling
through soil, new life

#haikuchallenge (channel) #haiku

 

nests, connecting trails —
snow banks keep small rodents safe
but spring exposes

#haikuchallenge (safe) #haiku

 

the time to make angels
has passed again; the snowmelt
supplants the cold

#haikuchallenge (time) #haiku

each flake cloud-jumps,
parachuting
— spirals crazily
(springtime snowfall)

#haikuchallenge (crazy) #haiku ❄

 

The Queen is strongly attached
to Candy, half corgi,
half dachshund;
they leave together by car;
she stares out through glass at us.

#TankaThursday (strong) #tanka

 

Emergencies
far beyond “seeing is believing”
… from such a wee virus

#haikuchallenge (belief) #haiku

 

 

surprise! no ice

in the harbour – gone

overnight – suddenly spring-y

 

The sun just set here. I think today was the Equinox. Here’s today’s haiku:

 

shadows make no sounds,
don’t have substance, yet are real;
those on melting snow
from still leafless trees, perhaps
are spaces for wordless thoughts

#TankaThursday (sound) #tanka

.

better than teddy bears
if cold and troubled
— hot water bottles

#haikuchallenge (hot) #haiku

 

the opposite of level
is a mountain
or a life

#haikuchallenge (level) #haiku

worryingly,
the sky’s paint job
has started peeling off in patches

#haikuchallenge (worry) #haiku

On the sofa in sunshine,
thinking about
yesterday’s haiku prompt.

#haikuchallenge (think) #haiku

 

·

Zero’s not nothing —
it’s the spot on a map
where you start

#haikuchallenge (zero) #haiku

 

February 2020

 

The moon —
a camera shutter
at slow speed
.
.
(moon)

 

young flamingos turn from black to pink
after eating shellfish —
fun-fact

 

#NaHaiWriMo (feather) #haiku

 

Zamboni machine
before games
smooth like icing on a cake

#NaHaiWriMo (ice/ hail) #haiku #hockey

 

last umbrella tree (grafted elm)
still guards the graveyard
its days numbered

#NaHaiWriMo (umbrella) #haiku

fallen snow trucked away and piled
– – temporary mountains,
long winter

#NaHaiWriMo (mountain) #haiku

snowmelt started
slushy sidewalks
– soaken socks

##NaHaiWriMo (shoes) #haiku

 

 

 

to aid the brain
eat eight raw walnuts
(better late than never?)

OR

to aid the brain
eating eight raw walnuts
never too late

##nahaiwrimo (fav. food) #senryu

 

peace and quiet
broken by enthusiasts
on muffler-free motorbikes

#nahaiwrimo (motorcycle or scooter) #senryu

 

The harbour lighthouse
marks location
… but can’t halt the tides.

#NaHaiWriMo (landmark) #haiku

 

“The Corner” still
is there on the highest hill
but no longer
the hamlet’s centre, now only
a stop sign for commuters.

#tanka (prompt – hometown)

 

 

having less and less to say,

some turn into acorns,

find ways to sprout

 

#NaHaiWriMo (mythology) #haiku

 

The wish-bucket

creaks, comes up empty.

(Wells can run dry for awhile.)

 

#NaHaiWriMo (dreams or wishes) #haiku

 

stranded in the space
between stars …
neither here nor there

#NaHaiWriMo (the space between) #haiku

 

the choir sings

for free

inside my head

… incessantly

#NaHaiWriMo (music) #tinnitus #senryu

 

Lunging
— the kite
makes a break for it

#NaHaiWriMo (kite) #haiku

 

the source

a spring among trees

tangled in wire

no photo for proof

— bubbles of memories

#tankathursday (fountain) #micropoem

Twilight reaches
for the light switch
twice a day.

#NaHaiWriMo (twilight) #haiku

special baking show
live streams …
stomach rumbles

#NaHaiWriMo (holiday cooking) #haiku

 

Some birds can afford

two homes

but don’t use airplanes

to get there.

 

#NaHaiWriMo (bird migration) #haiku

thirsty, again

tulips in a vase,

tender petals

 

#nahaiwrimo (thirst & hunger) #haiku

 

Something’s rotten
in the refrigerator,
not Denmark.

(write a bad haiku)

Fireflies are scarce
in February …
but not stars.

NaHaiWriMo (fireflies)

 

some snow melt
street puddles
long walk home
just car-splashed

 

that cement wall
where he used to play
the clarinet
dischordingly

 

All of a sudden
the days seem much longer
– Imbolc blessings

 

crow doodles

flight paths against blue

… cold sky canvas

#nahaiwrimo #haiku (playground)

---

The old woman

prefers to stay inside,

keep warm

while solving scenic jigsaw puzzles.

Her husband used to frame them.

#tanka #micropoem #winter #hobbies

 

The dentist tried
to fix my broken tooth.
Peanuts anyone?

tall coneflowers
glance through bathroom windows
breezily dance with bees

late green beans,
from the market, steamed
still tender — outside,
red fruit from the mountain ash
checked by crows for ripeness


#tanka #micropoem #autumn #fall

August

Yes, the crickets’ songs

but not cicadas. Can you?

(My lost frequency.)

 

#haiku #hearing

 

May 2019

in training, she
skiddles hedgerow branches,
jumps high twiggles,
gets to the feeder, snacks, goes
back — it’s the squirrel world cup

tanka 🏆

 

moving over
the motionless clouds
in grey water
— the heron

APRIL 2019

Swish. Swish. Tap. Repeats
like a returned bird’s hellos.
The first street cleaner
of spring, wearing a bright vest,
works a wide broom — Swish. Swish. Tap.

tanka #spring #walking #mpy #micropoem 🧹 🐦

MARCH 2019

snow shrinking,

plumbeous skies, showers

— it’s a start

#haiku #mpy #micropoem #spring #InterestingWord 🌧

 

crayoned briefly (pink
edge, purple inside) — small, smudged 
cloud after sunset

#haiku 🖍

 

FEB 2019

RECYCLE:
tantalum is a
CELL
“conflict mineral”
PHONES, LAP TOP BATTERIES
in the Congo (I learned)

prompt – cell phone

clumped gulls
squat on habour ice
like mints discarded
from a pocket

prompt = coin toss

 

not all water
spouts are gargoyles, just
the scary ones

nahaiwrimo #mpy prompt – gargoyle 👺

 

Gandhi’s Salt March
to the sea — He didn’t
need Twitter.

#WatchingMovieOnNetflix prompt – computer crash

For umami-ness, I’ll pass
on the Vegemite … More old
cheese please!

NaHaiWriMo2019 #NaHaiWriMo #senryu #mpy prompt – Vegemite

Side by side they walk
— connected by more
than the leash

NaHaiWriMo #mpy #haiku prompt – sidewalk

the best smell
of my childhood —
baby pigs 🐷

NaHaiWriMo #mpy #haiku prompt – pigs’ feet

A world without
blue jeans and indigo dye?
Dark green instead?
👖

prompt = artificial colouring

“Dear John” text goes
to spam folder — sentimental
algorithm

NaHaiWriMo #haiku #mpy prompt 3 – spam

 

tulip bouquet 💐
opens in slow motion —
activated by light

#nahaiwrimo #mpy #haiku prompt 3 – motion-activated light

thin-walled pipelines

— life circumambulating

through blood vessels

#nahaiwrimo #haiku #mpy prompt day 2 – thin walls ❤

 

if the Earth

wore diapers and if

they were compostable …

#NaHaiWriMo#mpy#haiku#climatechange prompt 1 = dirty diapers 🌎

 

JAN 2019

snake plant flowers stink
but only at night
— I close the bedroom door

haiku #mpy #houseplants 🐍

watching the slow
goings-on of houseplants
(mid-winter)

Falling snowflakes

Bounce off banked wings

Of pigeons —

But keep dropping

#haiku #NaHaiWriMo prompt = journey

DEC  2018

The shock

of a chronic

illness (sinking

in) continues …

#haiku ##NaHaiWriMo #NewYear

#NaHaiWriMo prompt – New Year’s Day 

hand-stitching 

a patch on

an old shirt’s tail —

year’s end

#senryu #haiku #mpy #NewYearsEveEve

the black spider — stymied

by the unused bath tub’s

fine-meshed drain screen

and too-smooth enamel

— lay dead on the bottom,

untouched

#mpy #6Line #SadStory

audiobook

afternoon at home

(eyes closed)

#haiku #senryu #mpy

 

last week’s snow 

hunkers, grows heavy, grabs

at frozen ground

like velcro — but tonight’s 

rain will unzip solids, change states

 

STRATEGY Day #125 (Crapsey Cinquain)

Scotch oats

stirred with water

re-forms on the stove-top

quite quickly — becomes smooth porridge

that soothes.

#mpy #micropoem

on the bed, washed

slips switched —

repositioned

pillows

#senryu #mpy #changes

why CT Scan

and/or MRI – not curious

before

#haiku #mpy #chronicillness

https://www.diffen.com/difference/CT_Scan_vs_MRI

wee

plastic tree

in the plastic tote

gets trimmed today

#haiku 

NOV

last time someone’s

driven past the harbour —

geese turn and bob

#FuneralProcession #haiku

Plan: If you have been recently diagnosed with

chronic

rare conditions,

choose podcasts to expand

past the limited place — listen

for clues

#crapseycinquain #mpy #newstageinlife

hugs, coffees,

Saturday market sit-down

— 4 of us

hobnobbing

#haiku  Nov 24 Chauffered by my sister, I finally (after being away for 3 months) got back to the Farmers Market to get eggs  and also re-join our informal coffee  group for a chat & togetherness . I’d been missing them and the ritual a lot.

wet snow – she shapes

a small ice-person, adds twigs

while taxi-waiting

#haiku 

10 Nov – When rain stopped, I managed to get myself out for a walk before dusk around harbour park and so glad I did. Very windy and a bit wild but I was dressed warmly:

Wind warning’s still on —

crows at the rookery crowd

there before dusk — refuse

to settle yet — too much fun

gust-winging it —

#tanka

bagging dry leaves

from the basement window well

— taking away

summer

#haiku #mpy #micropoem

after three years

suddenly the small-ish crow

with those white feathers

hangs back less, drops faster

to grab the peanut I throw

#tanka #mpy #friend

WHY THAT YEAR?

Last week my old Canon Powershot

started insisting all new photos

get time-stamped

at nine years (minus one month)

in the past.

#gogyohka http://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/gogyohka-poetic-form

Last week my old

Canon Powershot decided

to time-stamp new photos

as nine years (minus

one month) in the past.

#tanka #mpy #TimeTravel

So very many things are not univocal – love, friendship, free will, most poetry, pain, perceptions, what a whale’s song means …

https://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/

OCT

Increasing the Odds

To catch

a leaf for luck

check wind direction, speed,

walk near a tree, keep both hands free

– Look up

#CrapseyCinquin #cinquin #mpy #micropoem

 

 

 

 

 

Building a lean-to

in the woods, an ossature

of spruce boughs

until I feel my way through

this extended sick leave …

#tanka #WOTD #life

First hard frost

and morning’s still — leaves

drop straight down, but

still hard to catch.

#haiku  #good luck 

Less water!

– he says all the time

to me – 

When steaming Swiss Chard

more ullage!

#tanka #learningtocook #WordOfTheDay

https://wordsmith.org/words/ullage.html?fbclid=IwAR0GZeWmw5-moADJLjQAecZavEaI6cvcc5BZi3qhcvPNSbNaJh7WjKv9ax4#comments

younger faces

— sometimes hard to tell

apart

#haiku #senryu #mpy

all sky-blue mugs

warm ground-browns decor —

dark roast delight

#haiku #senryu #mpy

she draws blood

carefully and kindly , “all done!”

— nurse artist

#mpy #haikun #senryu

honkers 

in the right direction

fast overhead

#haiku #morningwalk – oct 10

pink specks at leaf tips

mom’s old christmas cactus

bud-covered again

in the red pot —

the last ragged pansy blooms 

by the doorstep

Sept

new white mushroom

beneath the bird feeder, feeds

on wet seed hulls

old tree roots

hanging from the bank

— the river gloats

Aug

white clover blossoms

are shriveling in the heat

— the small bee frets

 

#haiku #loss

#haiku #mpy #loss

July

young crow learns 

to crack peanut shells

— caws about it

#haiku #lookatme

Clumps of day-lilies …

little kids at summer camp

in orange T-shirts.

June 

Ten starlings graze slowly

like cows among the contours

of low buttercup blooms

in the mowed grass.

#mpy #micropoem #summer #birds #wildflowers

~

summer flowers snag

wet-wipes used to de-germ

shopping cart handles

#NationalWritingDay #banplastic #haiku #mpy

~

thinning radish this

extra quiet morning — inflamed

Eustachian tubes

#haiku #mpy #SeasonalAllergies #gardening

~

The red-winged blackbird

Dive-bombs the crow who carries

On with her business

So I’ll do the same in spite

Of sunny day nasal congestion

#poem #tanka #distractions

The crabapple tree

must’ve been covered with blooms

last weekend – today

drops petals in rain, its show

gone unseen in this courtyard.

#tanka #pink #mpy

May

If giraffes could fly

would they fold

their necks

like blue herons do

or keep them straight

like flamingos?

#tanka #mpy #imagine

https://sketch.io/sketchpad/

 

 

April

cirrus streaks, high

gull circles, pickaboo

moon against

3 pm blue

#17syllables #haiku #mpy #surprise #lookup

~~~

blue jay winging

like the wooden whirligigs

Chester made

#haiku #mpy #memory #birds

~~~

small dogs hide

easily behind cushions

and dream bushes

#mpy #poem #3liner #mydream

~~~

no grandkids,

no pets, retirement nears —

no good reason

but fear responding

to poetry prompts

#tanka #AprilPoetryMonth #needmorecourage

~~~

March

green tea

sunny windowsill

— blue mug

~~~

tree-top robins’

operatic warm-ups

— I can’t compete

#haiku #mpy #spring #birds #WalkToWork

~~~

fewer friends

on facebook, but

more birdsong;

waiting by the door

to see anyone

#mpy #poem #tanka #whatnow

~~~

small dogs walked

before work, and crows covered

with frost — heads, backs

and wings — they all watch me

— some icy spots still

#tanka #mpy #poem #ThisMorning

~~~

like packets of bytes

squirrels race along wires

but slower than facebook

like packets of bytes —

squirrels race along power lines,

me on facebook threads

#mpy #haiku #NaHaiWriMo #internet #connections #facebook

~~

Two ravens walking,

graze like cows but don’t swallow;

hold with their beaks

huge wads of last year’s dead grass

— fly off side by side, decided.

#tanka #birds #March #spring #mpy #nesting

February 2018  https://www.facebook.com/notes/nahaiwrimo/february-2018-daily-writing-prompts/1760640614001012/+

Assorted buttons

in the round candy tin.

Mom’s 20 years gone.

prompt = button jewelry

~~~

colour vision –

are eyeballs filled with

rainbow jello?

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #haiku #vitreous prompt = rainbow jello

~~~

Earth’s “primordial

soup”: Life’s first stirring

4 billion years ago

prompt = homemade soup

~~~

out walking —

the only hat with no pom-pom

is mine

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #absolutelynofashionsense #justme prompt = dressing up

~~~

the race for bed, toes

find the hot water bottle

— old farmhouse

~~~

There’s a reason

her raisin butter tarts

are squares.

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #notalwaysround prompt = fruit pies

~~~

First thing every day –

“they” say – a cold shower

does wonders!

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #whatthebeauticiantoldme prompt = first frost

~~~

After my first joke

her frosty response

froze my tongue

#NaHaiWriMo #senryu #mpy prompt = first frost

~~~

 their appetite

for peanuts in the shell

— my new crow friends

 

 

prompt = appetizer

 

~~~

on a small ice floe rocking slowly — sitting gulls

 

#NaHaiWriMo#mpy#haiku  prompt = a gentle rocking motion

~~~

Icy sidewalks

are like washboards today:

Be Careful!

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #haiku prompt = rub a dub washboard

~~~

We don’t drive

the car all winter. No salt

to wash off!

prompt = washing the car

~~~

onomatopoeia:

“chickadee dee dee”

but their other call’s “Hey Sweetie”

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #bird prompt = chickadee

~~~

yes we have

no daffodils today

just bananas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes!_We_Have_No_Bananas

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #stillwinter (prompt: daffodils in the breeze)

~~~

under bright lights

— her shiny hair

like blackstrap molasses

taffy

#NaHaiWriMo #senryu #mpy prompt = pulling taffy

~~~

so many stars

in spite of streetlights

— even the Pleiades

#NaHaiWriMo #lastnight #mpy #winter #moonless

~~~

A tight squeeze

for me & my knapsack

– corner store aisles

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #senryu prompt = corner store

~~~

looking for

lost marbles in her

low mood

 

~~~

picking up lost marbles

in my dream

— a Black Hole

finding planets

#nahaiwrimo #mpy #senryu prompt = the button of a baseball cap

~~~

Granny’d pour grape juice

into wee cups

for church– I’d watch

from the doorway

Welch’s Grape Juice

invented

so Methodists

could avoid communion

wine

http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/methodist-history-controversy-communion-and-welchs-grape-juice

http://www.welchs.com/our-story/concord-grape

#nahaiwrimo #mpy #memoryofmygranny #temperance prompt = pilsner glasses

~~~

new snow before

notes are composed

(blank song sheet)

#NaHaiWriMo #haiku #mpy   prompt = Indian cotton shirts (which I misread as “sheets” 🙂

~~~

falling snowflakes

melt on bare palms

— boots slip on ice

#NaHaiWriMo #haiku #mpy #walkinghome prompt = beat the heat

~~~

print-outs of j-

pegs of

pastel crayon

paintings of cats by my

pal

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #senryu prompt = paint box

~~~

red Tesla —

suited up, seat-belt on —

are you coming or going?

#NaHaiWriMo #SpaceX #Tesla #Mars #mpy #haiku prompt = wrapped in a quilt, watching a meteor shower

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/07/space-oddity-elon-musk-spacex-car-mars-falcon-heavy

~~~~

Mowing through sheets

of rows and columns:

one spreadsheet error!

#NaHaiWriMo #senryu #mpy prompt = cutting the lawn

~~~

Kate’s calm voice:

“Let me tell you a story”

— Clarksworld’s podcast

at bedtime

#NaHaiWriMo #senryu #mpy prompt = listening to the radio

~~~~~

Cold  walks in snow

Are good for me

So is plain

Cottage cheese

#nahaiwrimo #Mpy #life #beingsensible prompt = cream cheese with chives

~~~~~

white flowers

(smelling sweet like jasmine)

make 2 seeds (beans)

each ripe “cherry”

#NaHaiWriMo #mpy #learn3newthingseverydaysaidmymom prompt = Turkish coffee

~~~~~~

wash dishes, sweep floors:

chores are the railway ties

for life’s train

~~~~~

biting into energy

bars she

buys on the sly

#NaHaiWriMo #senryu #mpy prompt = biting into a Taco

January 2018

small dog stops, pees:

her beard flaps to the sou’west

in blowing snow

#whatIsawthismorning #Schnauzer #haiku

December 2017

Pre-Ground-Freeze-Up Day:

The eerie silence

of newly planted

tall driveway markers,

red-reflector-topped,

waiting to deflect

snowplows away from

lawns and garages.

#poem #CanadianWinter #SyllabicVerse

November

late-fall parsnips,

deep-rooted —

dug up

just in

time

#mpy #haiku #micropoem #winter #gardening #frost

last week’s green tea

leftover in mug — mis-sipped

this morning

#MondayMorningBlues

dead leaves blown

into the porch’s corner,

piled there —

crinkled thoughts

#mpy #autumn #haiku #memories #time #chance

October

one bumblebee left

clinging to late purple flowers

— the big Queen

#haiku #autumn #rosemary

---

look before they’re gone:

the burning bush’s tiny fruitS

are tawny.

#autumn #mpy #micropoem

---

In the still woods

lost under fallen beech leaves

— footpaths

September

night-torn web,

the spider weeps

as she spins again

 — dew drops

south wind all day,

fruit from rowan trees drop —

odd-orange sun sets

(the colour of wildfires), slips

under flat, smoke-grey clouds

smoke from wildfires – Discover Magazine

August

green spaces

where crickets stridulate

with tegmens: combs

and scrapers in stereo

with the sound-box sky

#tanka #mpy #poem #August

draft

two sun-warmed water bugs

bounce off each other’s

ripples like a 3D water

vapour molecules animation

or ?

two sun-warmed bugs on top of a pond

bounce off each other’s ripples

like vapourized molecules

of H2O who refuse

to slow dance

molecules transitioned to vapour

July 2017

the molting crow

with tail holes, miscalculates

— nose-landing

community gardens –

new immigrant asks how

to pick

a strawberry

#haiku #mpy #summer #poem

June 2017

the poplar grove

the red-winged blackbird and

the lone buttercup

are all scolding me

using his jackknife

the single-use water bottle

becomes a rose vase

Pony Tail

oooo Elastic Band

oooooooo Wrapped Twice ~~

Kid Again

#SummerSolstice #gratitude #mpy #haiku

radish seeds 

and the world roll,

but parsnip ones

are flat

#gardening #haiku #mpy #shapes

crabapple trees

show off peacock tails –

hot-pink petals

#poem #mpy

May 2017

the yellow tulip

with reds like a rising blush,

mixed emotions

 #morning #beauty

 

 

---

my beak

turns in spring

from black to yellow, and

though my voice

is shrill and squawky,

still, you really ought

to see me

as a magic singing

daffodil

#commonstarling  #ode

---

not someone’s dog

long stretch and splay on the mossy lawn

at sunset, pelted

and free

wildlife in the city

“The Fox”

(what I saw last evening)

April 2017

let us see

who first sees

a bumblebee

#mpy #haiku #spring

---

---

grackles think

burst balloon scraps

might be worms

#balloons #garbage #birds #danger #mpy #poem #spring

March 2017

High tide smashes harbour pack ice

— my boot,

the frozen crust

of a puddle.

 

---

daffodil-yellow

iron stakes to guide snow-plows

— one more storm

#haiku #morningwalkonboardwalk #notquitespring

February 2017

January 2017

~~~~

sidewalk snowblower —-

like white cake from a pan

——-row lifted cleanly

#mpy #micropoetry #haiku #winter #snow

~~~~

Hopeful mother

called it a dry sense

of humour.

.

December 2016

Dusk – New Year’s Eve

Say if

leafless trees are

tweezers to place slivers

of new moons and glass shards of stars

in space.

.

.

[An Adelaide Crapsey Cinquain]

November

I tweeted my poem;

You read it —

Quid Pro Quo

worm gently

anesthetized — earthly

remains tagged

#Dave #mpy #haiku #earthworm #micropoem

October

squirrels bury acorns —

until the wheelbarrow broke

we planted

tree-loads

---

in this gale

careening crows &

wrenched-off leaves

— Eschering

 

September

His disappointment

at finding no filling, just air

— Apple Fritter

#coffeeshop #SaturdayDrive #donuts

□ I am not a #robot

— the declaration we make

when we sign up

for #newsletters on-line;

yes, but …

#micropoetry #truth #poem

dusk — young moon hangs,

toddler escapes from a hand,

harbour terns plunge-dive

#eveningwalk

August

late-summer flings, field

flower-kids, long wavy skirts —

grasshoppers winging

grasshopper winging

flower child

---

 

10 am, face-down,

white moon sets — I’m now 60

what’s next?

a morning moon

 

#haiku #micropoetry #birthday #lifeisanadventure

---

Almost Sixty

Squirrels don’t care

when humans say

chipmunks are cuter.

People over sixty

are squirrels

— I figure.

squirrel

---

~~ That big cloud above our heads ~~

You say it’s the size

of this small city

#ItDoesNotLookThatBigToMe #haiku

Aug 3 – prompt = prayer

cupped hands, smiles —

freshly picked ripe raspberries

shared with co-workers

July

Shepherd’s Purse

in bloom on a breezy day, plays

with the pint-sized pup

&

most grasshoppers

don’t need to land

as precisely

as most airplanes

&

white clover

in bloom — of course bees

have noses

July 7 prompt: LIZARD

lizards don’t chatter

or have that much hair

so that’s a chipmunk

June

June 25: DISCOMFORT

June 24: LOST AND FOUND

JUNE 23: WAITING

those writing

novels don’t reply

to emails

June 22: WALKING STICK

 

June 21: PASSPORT

 

June 20: TRY IT; YOU’LL LIKE IT!

low-tide herons

hold the waiting pose

— yoga class

June 19: SUITCASE

June 18: OH THE SMELL!

June 17: EXPERIMENT

June 16: ELEMENTS

windy hilltop

large orange butterfly sails

by — father’s day

Actually for Father’s Day on June 19. Drive to Bonshaw Prov Park. Probably a viceroy.

June 15: LABORATORY/IN A JAR

=====here’s a ladder —

== trapped in my sink,

a large spider

June 14: TELESCOPE

fox ignores

crow, 2 days dead

— first poppies unfold,

blood-red

 

 

June 13: BUNSEN BURNER

June 12  MICROSCOPE

June 11: IN A BOOK

 

 June 10: YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER

bees U-picking

blueberry blossoms bring

their own baskets

 

 

shooting

mental videos —

bumblebees pollinating blueberries

#haiku #nahaiwrimo #micropoem #happiness #awareness #bees

June 9: ANGER ON THE FIELD

 June 8: THE OCEAN IN A STORM

 

June 6: HER LOVER’S EYES

 

June 5: GREEN

June 4: HORSESHOES

 

June 3: GALLOP

June 2: BUCKSKIN

June 1: BRIDLE

Hypotheses

promote action,

including new hypotheses.

HAY(NA)KU 

May

May 26- prompt is “naive”

Happiness

courses cost

lots. Results vary.

HAY(NA)KU 

May 25- prompt is “opaque”

assumptions

are dangerous

— nobody knows better

May 24- prompt is “pluck”

Pointless?

With paper I

mailed someone

a good poem but didn’t see

that the last line

got orphaned

on the second page —

will they notice?

---

May 22- prompt is “quinoa”

the colour of cooked

red quinoa —

the hare

crosses the road

or

colour of cooked

red quinoa, bubbling past me

— the hare

David Lynch & Quinoa video

---

---

May 22- prompt is “rash”

grass rash, erupting

leaves all over – Earth’s

spring skin allergies

May 21- prompt is “sweat”

May 20- prompt is “truth”

May 19- prompt is “umbrella”

tree leaves, hanging

out to dry– the world’s newly

3/4’s green

May 18- prompt is “verbose”

May 17- prompt is “wave”

May 16- prompt is “xyst”

red clay road

walking through old woods

— xyst dream

May 15- prompt is “yoghurt”

May 14- prompt is “zoom”

care-less gray cat basks

on left-lane sunny asphalt

— drivers swerve

May 13- prompt is “alibi”

why on earth

didn’t she go — her mom’s

internment

May 12- prompt is “bamboo”

chop stickstake practice — 25 yearsmarried

 

May 11- prompt is “curious”

Exposed at low tide the crow feasts on something slimy and featurelessI can’t identify – a sea slug?What will I find?

alternate version after suggestion from a friend re using “memory” in last line :

A green, featurelesssmall thing exposed by the tide— a feast for that crow;I stare at it — a sea slug?some memory?

 

tanka

---

May 10- prompt is “diaphanous”

 

dandelion clocks

cover all the field’s slopes —

hat-less grey locks

 

 

---

May 8- prompt is “flip-flop”

 

SPRING CLEAN-UP

 

two bee larvae

starve when I knockoff one willow blossom’s pollen,bagging plastic litter from a ditch— cosmic laws of balance

 Can a tanka have a title? Let’s call it a “head note” …

---

May 7- prompt is “gush”

buds gush

from twigs, creating

stars ignite

May 6- prompt is “homesick”

May 5- prompt is “indigo”

Indigofera‘s “blue

gold” then BASF’s patent

and blue jeans

I had no idea of the history.

---

May 4- Prompt is “juggernaut”

ink pot, stoneware,

low spring-tide exposed, silt-filled

—words long gone

Tides explained.

Example.

---

---

May 3- prompt is “kid”

May 2- prompt is Labour

you made it cozy (new

shingles, paint) but I wanted

to move — old photos

May 1- prompt is “may”

there’s no smell (you say)

from the sprig of May flowers

in the blue mug

these

April

---

April 30 is LAUGHTER

the script calls for laughter —

she gives us the glorious

crash of big surf

Christine Baranski laugh

---

April 29 is HAPPY HOUR

April 28 is DELICIOUS.

April 27 is FLICKER OR FLICKERING

“you’ve got email”

the hypnagogic tab flickers …

wake-up vision

April 26 is PRISTINE

April 25 is STORMY

April 24 is the COLORS

the colours she wears,

last fall’s de-chlorophylled leaves

— except for the socks

---

April 23 is SERPENTINE

mine has a snake

leaving Lear’s limerick

because of a flute

Poem in a Pocket Day

Limerick: There was an Old Man with a Flute

---

April 22nd is INTERNATIONAL EARTH DAY

April 21 is PECULIAR

dormant buds, no;

drastic birdsong, walking

disconnect, here —

Vimeo?

April 20 is ENCHANT or ENCHANTED.

she’s still

in thrall

to her

last cat

---

April 19 is EARTHQUAKE.

plough shears

are plate tectonics & Richter scales

to earthworms

---

April 18 is FIRE

April 17 is VOLCANO.

April 16 is GORGE.

April 15 is WATERFALL

April 14 is CREEK

April 13 is FAVORITE FLOWER

April 12 is MEAGER

April 11 is GLITTERING

April 10 is PRICKLY

… would small birds exist

if there were no trees

with sharp needles or thorns …

The prompt for April 9 is MELODIC

a lone albatross glides

and like a guitar pick strums

high air streams

over oceans, makes

low but very long sound waves

April 8 is ABANDONED.

April 7 is ICY or ICILY or World Health Day

April 6 is FAVORITE PET OR CRITTER

8 legged and black

she pretends to be a spot

on the linoleum

but hedges her bets, knows

I won’t knowingly step on her

The prompt for April 5 is FOREST.

Pine tree needles tickle

the wind today—making it roar

like big waves breaking

against the arc

of a shore.

April 3 is HIGH COUNTRY.

April 2: GRASSLANDS.

pull out the Timothy stalk

past its “short, blunt ligule”

— chew on the base

image from Project Noah

more about T. grass

April 1: BEACH.

the crow flies off

with  the leftover fish fillet

and the smell of it

Your March 31 prompt is: METICULOUS

Your March 30 prompt is: LYRICS

Your March 29 prompt is: DOOM (what a verb that is!)

Your March 28 prompt is: GONE not present : no longer at a place: no longer existing: no longer living

our dead dad comes back

from around some wall, he’s

glad, me too and we hug

I recall, understanding

— see his hair’s still black

Your March 27 prompt is: ALMOST

Your March 26 prompt is: GASTRONOMIC

under pine trees,

along an urban fox’s route

— a crow’s head

Your March 25th prompt is: TWEET

Tightly-veed —

The pigeon

Speeds in wind

Like a fighter jet

---

Your March 24 prompt is: METAPHYSICS the branch of philosophy that deals with the first principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space..

heavy with atoms

smooth and black, for years the stone

keeps me company

from Lion’s Roar -Leading neuroscientists and Buddhists agree: “Consciousness is everywhere”

---

Your March 23 prompt is: EARTHY

Your March 22 prompt is: COSMIC of or relating to the universe or cosmos…

not until sunset

do I remember the date

yet my heart now

aches as I think of you

R.I.P. Mom

---

Your March 21 prompt is: INCOMPLETE

you don’t email —

I walk a new route at lunch

see school kids play

---

Your prompt for March 20 is: ELEGIAC (especially of a work of art) having a mournful quality.

blue bags on the vergedon’t know how many volumeshard covers cut offwith an x-acto knife

outdated knowledge – ink

on paper, rev. 1958

 

They came with our new house. And published the same year the house was built.

---

 

Your prompt for March 19 is: MADNESS

Your March 18 prompt is: ATTRITION he action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure.

Your March 17 prompt is: CRACKER

Your Prompt for March 16 is: RESIDUE

Your Prompt for March 15 is: IRREGULAR

Your March 14 prompt is: INTIMATE

Your March 13 MURKY

watching The Good Wife

on Netflix — I feel dull, slow

and glad to be so

March 12 prompt is: ORGANIC

two chimpanzees

holding hands and the heights

of old trees

Your March 11 prompt is: HIERARCHY

March 10 prompt is: ABSOLUTE

It quacks duck-like

and you haven’t answered

my last nine emails

---

March 9 Prompt is: SPATIAL of or relating to space

my brain is a curled cat,

there’s ice and not enough grit

on the boardwalk

Your March 8 prompt is: IMPERMANENT

pomanders smell

clove-ish, last forever —

online poetry groups don’t

---

Your March 7 prompt is: SECLUSION

 

 

sunshine hitsxxxxthe old recliner chairxxxxxxxxxxxin the new house —xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI note the time

 

 

 Additional inspiration from epistemic 

 

---

Your March 6 prompt is: FREETHINKER a person who rejects accepted opinions.

---

 

 Your March 5 prompt is: CATALYST a person or thing that precipitates an event.

our thoughts make us

who we are — our only chance

is gratitude

 

 

---

 Your March 4 prompt is: EXTINCT

friendships erodeand/or keep changing course —frozen metaphors?

---

 

Your March 3 prompt is: GESTALT an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.

gull conga-lines

reel over ice floes at sunset

— day’s last dance

 

---

Your March 2 Prompt is: TRUCULENT Truculent eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.:

my brain is a curled cat

there’s ice and not enough grit

on the boardwalk

 

Your March 1 Prompt is: METADATA Metadata is data that describes other data. Meta is a prefix that in most information technology usages means “an underlying definition or description.” Been in the news a lot lately, but the word itself fascinates me. Enjoy.

more grey hair

smile less automatic

eyes softer —

her life’s metadata

---

March 2016 Prompts

---

February 29 writing prompt: ZYZZYVA (a genus of tropical American palm weevil, the last word in many English dictionaries, and the last word in NaHaiWriMo’s two-year odyssey through 790 daily alphabetical writing prompts using all the letters of the English alphabet).

February 28 writing prompt: ZYDECO (a Louisiana musical genre that blends blues, R&B, and indigenous music).

unleashed, two dogs

rock n’roll in snow

— their own zydeco band

February 27 writing prompt: ZWIEBACK (a type of cracker or hard bread).

one block away

the world at his small store

— sells me new crop olives

February 26 writing prompt: ZUCCHINI.

“…nursing a zucchini

…the size of a small child”

— novel image

Note: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

February 25 writing prompt: ZOO or ZOOKEEPER or ZOOLOGICAL.

No cat or dog

Anymore —Just you, me

And that house-fly

February 24 writing prompt: ZONE.

grey pincer-shaped clouds

crawl across

pale blue, squeeze a sun-dog

… snow by noon

Example of pareidolia .

February 22 writing prompt: ZODIAC.

February 23 writing prompt: ZOMBIE.

half submerged

harbour grey rip rap, or —

ducks, their heads

under wings

February 21 writing prompt: ZITHER.

That man’s just bought

a used guitar

— I used to sing, remember?

February 20 writing prompt: ZIT.

---

Hickeys include

pimples — but that’s not all

I learned.

February 19 writing prompt: ZIRCONIUM.

French fries squashed

into restaurant carpets —

Would linoleum work better?

February 18  writing prompt: Zip/ Zipper

murder at dusk  —

====crows intertwine with trees

in the grove

====like a zipper

February 17 writing prompt: Zinnia

We had a cow

named Buttercup

— but no Zinnia.

February 16 writing prompt: Zinger

moving houses —

we do some verbal sparring or

else we’d pop

February 15 writing prompt: ZINFANDEL

Call me Zinf

Andel — a new story

sprouting.

Feb 14 writing prompt ZINC

Time corrodes

but galvanized pails

take longer

February 13 writing prompt: ZIG ZAG

zig zag stitches on hems

— dreams unravel,

leave us naked

February 12 writing prompt: ZEUGMA (a Western term for a word that has a meaning with what comes before and after…  Explained more here (with examples).

I tweet haiku —

finches at backyard feeders

have their own reasons

February 11  writing prompt: ZEST.

recipe calls for zest, find

piled lemons at store

— imploding galaxy

February 10 writing prompt: ZERO.

using Ø helps

differentiate from O

— is there an app for that?

=====

=====

Note: Some of the issues. 

February 9 writing prompt: ZEPPELIN.

Why on Earth

are olive pits shaped

aerodynamically?

 

February 8 writing prompt: ZEPHYR (a gentle breeze).

lost in the sky, years later

sea turtles choke

— yellow balloons

Note: balloons

reading Basho’s Narrow Road

on my recumbent bike

in the breezeless basement

between snow storms

the Monkey Year starts

February 7  writing prompt: ZENITH

raise arms

intertwine fingers, turn

palms up — give  back

to the sky

 

 

Note: with Mimi

 

February 6 writing prompt: ZEITGEIST (the defining spirit or mood for a particular historical period or location).

 

Dalai Lami looking good on You-Tube,

Hi-Res & [Eng-Subs]

—I re-tweet

Note: New Year’s Message DL

Feb 5  ZED / ZEE (the letter itself).

           I’ve just realized

how z could be hammered smooth

—    to make “realised”.

Mom says “Why’s a crooked letter

—–& you can’t straighten it

—So, why not Z?

=======—house on windy hilltop

==== —he adds diagonal studs

to brace walls

Feb 4   zebra

Equus quagga are black

where melanocytes turned on

— white where off

Feb 3   zeal/zealot/zealous

she’s got no zeal

for writing about anything

besides crows

Feb 2  zazen (meditation)

black-robed corvids blink,

do zazens on bare branches

— walking by, I bow

---

Feb 1   zap

clinging together

mismatched socks from the dryer

zap opposers

 

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