By the Stars
No map exists for the course
that brought me to you. Yet,
with the stars as my guide,
there was but one path.
Once a heart knows the way,
it cannot be denied.
Mine would not stop
until it found its way to you.
This is my response to Quadrille #155 – Mapping out our poems, the prompt from De Jackson at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word map in a Quadrille – a 44-word poem (excluding title), with no required meter or rhyme.
Image source: freeimages.com
Moon and Sun, Together
In our early days,
I was not your secret lover,
nor were you mine.
But when the moon, sun,
and stars seemed to revolve
around one person, some
wondered who could be
the center of my love poems.
Poetry connected us
when we had to be satisfied
with the distance that separated us
and all I wanted was to be in
or at the edge of your atmosphere.
You responded to my poetry
with your own, but broadened it
with music by sharing your favorites,
reflecting the moon and sun back to me.
You may have to coax me
onto the dance floor,
but our song will always be
When the Day Met the Night,
by Panic! At the Disco.
Music continues to be
one of our strongest connections.
This is my response to Poetics: Let music speak, the prompt from Punam at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is write a poem about music that uses two titles from a list of songs from Linda Perry’s albums. I have used “Edge of Your Atmosphere” and “Secret Lover.”
Shared with Day Twenty-six at napowrimo.net (off prompt)
One Brief Look
Comfort and ease are found
within the light of a full moon.
The stars that grace the night sky
hold a brilliance without equal.
One brief look into your eyes,
and all else is meaningless.
This is my response to Ronovan Writes Sijo Challenge #55: Distraction.
Shared with Day Four at napowrimo.net. (off prompt)
Image source: Astronomy Picture of the Day
~ The Cat’s Eye Nebula in Optical and X-ray ~
NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive; Chandra X-ray Obs.;
Processing & Copyright: Rudy Pohl
Sijo (a Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka)
~ three lines of 14-16 syllables each
~ a total of 44-46 syllables
~ a pause near the middle of each line
~ first half of the line contains six to nine syllables
~ the second half should contain no fewer than five
Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure.
Modern Sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.
Read more here: Wikipedia
Mezza Luna
I roll down these dark roads beneath a moon that gives no quarter. Even its half-light provides a beacon that offers comfort to one who is headed home. Given time, it will shine even brighter. But I will be home by then, my heart content, and I’ll be able to share its brilliance.
bare branches
reach for glowing orb
in darkness
This is my response to Haibun Monday 2-27-23: Mezza Luna,
the prompt from Frank Tassone at dVerse ~ Poets Pub.
Mezza Luna is Italian for the moon’s quarter phase, or half-moon.
Image: Moon 58% full at 9:00pm, 27 February 2023
Nebulous
No more, yet no less, sensitive
than those around her.
In tune with her emotions.
A siren calls
from an interstellar cloud,
her song familiar notes.
Then and now.
Her voice imploring,
know this truth.
This star my heart
is meant only for you.
This is my response to Quadrille #169: A Star (Poem) is Born,
the prompt from De Jackson at dVerse ~ Poets Pub,
which is to use a form of the word star in a Quadrille – a 44-word poem
(excluding title), with no required meter or rhyme.
Image source: Astronomy Picture of the Day ~ The Heart of the Rosette Nebula (© Lyman Insley)
61 West Superior
I was beside myself
when I first met you.
I am so to this day,
with you beside me.
And as an American sentence:
I was beside myself when we first met, and so I am to this day.
This is my response to Reena’s Xploration Challenge # 266, using one of the photos she provided.
Shared with OpenLink Night #331.
And this is where it all began (at the library of The Poetry Foundation, in Chicago):
How I Knew I Was a Poet
Photo by Alex Batonisashvili on Unsplash
As Above
So below. Within a shared pulse
star fields merge to engulf
the depth of myriad layers
always there, never concealed.
Light dances as stars celebrate
a quickening pulse, an embrace.
Image source: Astronomy Picture of the Day ~ © Mehmet Hakan Özsaraç
The Colliding Spiral Galaxies of Arp 274
This is my response to Ronovan Writes Sijo Challenge #45: Embrace.
Sijo (a Korean verse form related to haiku and tanka)
~ three lines of 14-16 syllables each
~ a total of 44-46 syllables
~ a pause near the middle of each line
~ first half of the line contains six to nine syllables
~ the second half should contain no fewer than five
Originally intended as songs, sijo can treat romantic, metaphysical, or spiritual themes. Whatever the subject, the first line introduces an idea or story, the second supplies a “turn,” and the third provides closure.
Modern Sijo are sometimes printed in six lines.
Read more here: Wikipedia
the way you do
pull me under, the way
you pull me under
wave after wave
washing through me
until you resuscitate me
press your lips to mine
massage my heart
the way you do
when you pull me under
This is my response to Twiglet #309: the weight of water.
Image source: wallpaperflare.com
The Intent of Moonlight and Ethereal Synapses
A haze struggles to dim a light traveling
the distance that binds two bodies.
Our growing world of disconnect, challenged
by invisible connections. Clouds shift,
strain to cast shadows, oblivious to the aura
framing them. Different wavelengths of light,
thoughts conflicting, gelling. Powerless
to impede, branches sway their hips to its pull,
the flow from one chamber to the next echoing
tidal forces, defying the disconnect, absorbing
those wavelengths in a way not imagined
but realized. The embrace of affirmation, a kiss.
This is from a reading at The Gumbo Bottoms Single Pot Still Poetry Society … Gumbo Bottoms Ale House, Jefferson City, MO (09 Jan 2023).
First appearing in easing the edges: a collection of everyday miracles, edited by D Ellis Phelps, The Intent of Moonlight and Ethereal Synapses is now included in my poetry collection, Glass Awash, published by Spartan Press.
taste of honey
I lust for the beauty of your words
trust in the symphony that is your voice
read to me so I may savor
the honey that rests on your tongue
If you want to try magnetic poetry, you can do it online, here.
You can read more of my magnetic poetry here.
Shared with OpenLinkNight LIVE at dVerse ~ Poets Pub
Background image (honey): pngegg.com
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