Visitors

Bump over ribboned, buckling asphalt, passing driveways scented by pine needles and campfires, waiting for their yearly visitors. Vacant eyes yawn from logs, framed by thin, plaid curtains, and plaqued with dew. Weedy flower beds cuddle welcome signs and hidden keys while kayaks lie in murky hibernation. This week, I wanted to play more withContinue reading “Visitors”

Solstice

summer’s breath blistering sunrise glowing still long past day simmering into sunset lengthening shadows For today’s #TankaTuesday Challenge, I tried a Shadorma, a Spanish 6-line syllabic poem that uses the syllables 3/5/3/3/7/5. The theme for today’s challenge was “The Longest Day”, which immediately filled my mind with images of sunshine, beaches, and summer. This particularContinue reading “Solstice”

Daydreamers

Cast off into adorable wonder free for a moment from the mysteries of plagues and missing friends and mom’s missing hair. Open starry eyes under chilled sunshine meandering through streams and chiseling dreams from sandstone pebbles and bleached birch limbs and moon-rinsed earth. This week’s W3 prompt over at the Skeptic’s Kaddish is from MichelleContinue reading “Daydreamers”

Growth through Words

Last week, I accomplished a pretty neat little milestone on WordPress: my 100th post! I had originally made this website back in 2016 when my first cozy mystery was picked up by a publisher before an unexpected series of events ensued. However, to my own detriment, I didn’t do anything with the blog for years.Continue reading “Growth through Words”

Poem: Waterfall Music

We part the trees at Pattison Park, brave craggy ledges of stone to where the rush of sound grows stark sending sprays of water through overgrown brush. Manitou Falls: wailing water forks and plunges boldly, scurrying down, down to the sandstone Black River gorge, cast under freckled shade to tree-strewn temporary home; to far-off worldsContinue reading “Poem: Waterfall Music”

Poem: Skipping Stones

Stone smooth, gray skip freely speckled, splashed rocks. Splash drip, drop sail softly scattered, splattered falls. Today, I’ve written my first lanturne (or two!) for the Word Craft Poetry #TankaTuesday Challenge. The lanturne is a short form that grows in one syllable each line until the end; it has a syllabic pattern of 1, 2,Continue reading “Poem: Skipping Stones”

Poem: Moon’s Grudge

teasing through cloud lines slinking over my domain blinking stars from sky and breaking apart sheer blue with audacious orange hue I’m joining in the W3 prompt on Skeptic’s Kaddish today. Today, Punam wrote us a lovely prompt poem, which you can find here. These are today’s guidelines: Write about the moon from the sun’sContinue reading “Poem: Moon’s Grudge”

Collecting Mini Milestones

For many of us cancer survivors, the five-year mark is a huge milestone. It’s believed that if you are in remission for five years, with no evidence of disease, that you can be considered “cured”. At least tentatively. Though it does happen, it’s rare for most cancers to return after so long. Many people noContinue reading “Collecting Mini Milestones”

Poem: Ways of Seeing

Maybe some sovereign ellipses, bracketing the earth’s brilliance, mounting unlimited power. Maybe Ares’ spear and shield, his rights chariot-ridden through clouds under his father’s thunderbolts. Maybe drops of ice crystals, floating suspended in the sky, whispering back to trace damp earth. Today, I’m participating in David’s W3 prompt over at the Skeptic’s Kaddish. Today’s promptContinue reading “Poem: Ways of Seeing”