Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Sounds of Summer














Sounds of Summer 

Do you hear the ice cream truck's rinky-tink jingle,

the electric fans whirring up a breeze,

and the splash from a backyard pool?

Looking up, the sun's so bright, it makes me sneeze.


The "ffft, ffft, ffft" of the yard sprinkler

is keeping the grass green.

A lazy fly buzzes in the window,

bumping up against the screen.


A motorcycle roars by and, for a moment,

drowns out the robin's song.

It's another reminder to take delight in the day.

Summer is fleeting. It won't be staying long.


Friday, June 17, 2016

Ovillejo Poetry: The Answer, Father's Day, My Flowers

For this post, I attempted to write some poems in the poetic form known as Ovillejo. I was reading about this form, and it was new to me, so I decided to give it a try. I found it to be much more challenging than I expected, but I did finally come up with the following three poems. They felt forced to me when I wrote them, but I think I followed the rules, and it was interesting to try something new. For more examples of this type of poem, read this post and the comments that follow it. Their examples are much better than mine.

Ovillejo poetry is written in the following form:
Line 1: an a rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 2: an a rhyme in 3-4 syllables

Line 3: a b rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 4: a b rhyme in 3-4 syllables

Line 5: a c rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 6: a c rhyme in 3-4 syllables

Line 7: a c rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 8: a d rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 9: a d rhyme in 8 syllables
Line 10: (Line 2) (Line 4) (Line 6)

In other words, it is a ten-line poem that is comprised of three rhyming couplets and a quatrain. Lines two, four, and six are repeated to create line ten.

This first poem is somewhat of a response to all the sadness that has been in the news lately.

The Answer

Best route to peace? Both hers and his?
Kindness is.

What will end hate, dissolve anger?
The answer?

Having compassion is our call.
Above all!

Build a new bridge. Tear down the wall.
Communicate. Have empathy.
Look through their eyes. See what they see.
Kindness is. The answer. Above all!

        *     *     *     *     *

This next one is a small nod to Father's Day this weekend. Happy Father's Day to any Dads who might be reading this.

Father’s Day

Who’s there for you when times are bad?
Dear old Dad.

Head and shoulders above the rest?
He’s the best.

What’s the right thing for you to do?
Say thank you!

On Father’s Day, if you’ve no clue,
give Dad some love straight from your heart.
He has been there right from the start.
Dear old Dad. He’s the best. Say thank you!

     *     *     *     *      *

This last one is about the flowers growing in my yard of late, just because they bring me so much joy.

My Flowers

What brings me joy in every hue?
My flowers do.

What do they do all in a row?
Nothing but grow.

Why do they bloom triumphantly?
To please me.

For the butterflies, bees, and me.
They show off in color and style.
They stay for a day or a while.
My flowers do. Nothing but grow. To please me.

     *     *     *     *      *


So that you can enjoy my flowers too, here are a few photos of what is in bloom lately.














Thursday, June 2, 2016

Are We There Yet?


Are We There Yet?

Summer's here!
Time to take a trip.
Pile all the family in the car.
"Are we there yet?"
"Don't start asking that already!
We haven't even gone very far!"

"Mom, he's looking at me!"
"He looked at me first!"

"Would you two please try to get along?"
"We're bored! What can we do?"
"Play the alphabet game or twenty questions,
or maybe you can sing a song."

I'm not sure who first thought 
that family vacations were a good idea.
"Hey, let's drive for hours together in a cramped space."
It doesn't take long 
until we get on each other's nerves,
and  in each other's face.

I guess it never occurred to us
that contempt 
is bred by familiarity.
After this vacation,
maybe next summer, 
we'll plan to get away together...separately!