Fool

Fool

I’m just a fool 
who likes to spend her time
experimenting 
with rhythm and rhyme.
I’ll never get rich 
in this word game.
I won’t find fortune. 
I won’t find fame,
but I have found 
a kindred soul or two,
not a lot, just a few,
who also like 
to put words in a string,
creating pearls of wisdom, 
making lingual bling.

Spring's Reception Line

Spring's Reception Line

Cheerful, welcoming daffodils 

edge the sidewalk,

(forming spring's reception line).

They bob their heads

in greeting, saying, 

"How do you do?"

I answer back, 

"Spring is here! Life is fine!"

Pink Trees

Pink Trees

Spring trees bloom in shades of pink

that bring to mind bits of my childhood:

Pinks like the pearly inside of a conch shell

that we held to our ears at the beach;

like candy valentine hearts 
that say, "KISS ME" and "BE MINE";

like exotic flamingos at the zoo;

like Pink Panther cartoons;
like rose-shaped soaps 
in the guest bathroom at grandma's house;

like the soothing coolness of calamine lotion;
like Canada wintergreen mints;
like fluffy, fragrant powder puffs;

like sweet cotton candy from the circus;

like the tiny triangle of a kitten's nose;

like a box of Mr. Bubble bubble bath;

like nail polish that my fourth grade teacher wore;

like pigs scrubbed clean for the county fair.

It's no wonder these trees bring me such joy.

They reappear every spring and give me back my youth.

I took these pictures several years ago at the park near where I lived at the time. It's too soon for the pink trees to be blooming here yet, but it won't be much longer. I can't wait.

Tricubes: Therapy, Peaceful Pond, Elusive, Sleepless Night, Curtain's Up!

Tricubes are a form of poetry that was recently discussed in Robert Lee Brewer's poetry blog. According to his column, "the rules of Tricubes are:

• Each line contains three syllables.
• Each stanza contains three lines.
• Each poem contains three stanzas."

I've been practicing this poetry form and having some fun with it. There are no rules for them as far as meter or rhyme, but I like adding rhyme to them. They are quick and easy to write, so I wrote several. I posted them with some of my photos to help bring them to life.

Therapy

Yellow birds

adorn shrubs.

Time to eat.

Red berries

draw them in,

juicy sweet.

My green eyes

watching them:

life complete.

Peaceful Pond

Turtles perch

on a log

in the sun.

Ducks circle,

bottoms up,

splash for fun.

Bullfrogs croak.

Sun goes down.

Day is done.

Elusive

Enchanted

dragonfly,

grace in flight.

Gossamer

wings reflect 

the sunlight,

help her to

flit away

out of sight.

Sleepless Night

Train rumbles

far away

down the track.

Keeps going,

chug-a-chug,

can't turn back.

Lullaby

late at night,

click-click-clack.

Curtain's Up!

Theater 

marquee lights

can't compare

as sunset's

orange glow

fills the air.

Neon sky

steals the show

on town square.

Hidden

Hidden

Crocus buds wait to bloom

beneath the layered snow.

Dormant seeds left behind

wait their turn to grow.

Bunnies burrow below the shrubs,

huddled against the wind.

Frogs retreat to frozen mud,

submerged 'til season's end. 

Winter's blanket covers all

in frozen, muffled white.

Then spring leaps out from under it.

Surprise! Surprise! What sweet delight!

Young Girl's Retreat

It's 22 degrees here today and everything is covered with snow, so I thought I'd post something to get my mind (and yours) off the cold. I wrote this quite a while ago. It is based on summertime memories I have of playing near a creek when I was a child.


Young Girl's Retreat

Driving by, you would have missed it.
It was a small creek, not much to see,
but from the seat of my bike, it was an oasis.
It sauntered through a corn field,
bubbled over rocks, gurgled peacefully.

I leaned my bike against the guard rail
and scrambled down the bank.
I stirred up dragonflies from the weeds 
and took a seat at water's edge
on an old wooden plank.

Turtles sunning themselves on a log
were startled by my noise
and slipped into the murky green.
Minnows in the water 
darted into the shadows
hoping they hadn't been seen.

Dirt filtered down from the road above
when cars rumbled by.
I'd swing my hand through the air
at the nearby buzz of a pesky horse fly.

I'd float little boats down the stream
made of Queen Anne's Lace.
They'd swirl and dip and careen
in a wet, frilly flower race.

I'd toss stones into the water
just to hear them splash.
Flip crawdads over with a stick.
They'd flip back in a flash.

I left my troubles there
on the banks of that stream.
Midst the cattails 
where the red-winged blackbirds flew.

I'd return home with not a care in the world, 
except for maybe, too much sun 
on my cheeks and nose
and a bit of creek mud stuck 
to the bottom of my shoe.

---from Musings 2013, copyright © 2013 Williams County Writers Group

The Dancing Rhino

I saw a short video on Facebook that showed an orphaned baby rhino and a lamb who became friends and played together. I loved it so much that it inspired me to write the children's story poem below. You can see a longer version of the video and read more about the true, real-life story of the rhino and lamb who became friends here. (The names of the rhino and lamb in the poem have been changed to protect the innocent.)

The Dancing Rhino

Rex the baby rhino wanted to frolic
like his friend Lily the lamb.
Lily leaped into the air,
as if she were on springs--as if she had wings!
Rex lunged, lurched, and lumbered.
WHAM, SLAM, WHAM, BAM!

Full of glee and enchantment,
Lily bobbled, bubbled, and bounced.
Clumsily, Rex heaved his weight.
He thundered, trampled, and trounced.

"Stop! Stop!" cried the birds at poor Rex.
His stompings shook the trees.
The birds tumbled from the branches.
"Stop your stompings," cried the birds, "Stop it, please!"

Rex felt sad to be scolded.
He wanted to dance and prance,
but he was too big and clumsy.
He couldn't do it--not a chance!

Kind Lily encouraged her friend,
knowing patience and practice pays off.
She showed him how again and again,
giving no heed to the grouchy birds' scoff.

Soon Rex was light on his feet.
He frolicked with sweet Lily by his side.
Who knew a rhino could learn to dance?
Shuffle, shuffle, step, step, glide.