Broken Rib

October 18, 2021October 19, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 52 Comments

Broken Rib

I wash all thought of you
from my mind.
Routinely.

Still, you surface
like the broken rib
of a long-forgotten wreck
left behind for better times,
as if the light of day will change
your waterlogged story, erase
the memory of our stormy past.

This poem is my response to Quadrille night: ashes to ashes, the prompt from Sarah at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word ash in a 44-word poem (excluding title), with no required meter or rhyme. Wash from your mind any thought that “wash” is not a form of “ash.”

**Returning to this after a couple of hours, I see that I could have
written it this way and included “ash.”

Broken Rib

I wash all thought of you
from my mind.
Yet, you surface
like the broken rib
of a long-forgotten wreck,
as if the light of day will change
your waterlogged story,
erase our stormy past. If only
it had been reduced to ash.

Image source: National Park Service

This Heart

October 4, 2021October 5, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 24 Comments

This Heart

Neither glass nor stone,
not impervious nor shattered,
the heart that beats deep within me
has known the ache of life’s trials
and the elation of reward revealed
when most needed. The greatest
of those rewards was found
when it started beating for you.

This poem is my response to Quadrille #137: Throwing Poet Stones, the prompt from De Jackson at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word stone in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

The stone and the glass hearts in the photo were found on the shore of Lake Ontario
(Click image for larger view in new tab)

Worth Any That Came Before ~ quadrille ~ with audio

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 40 Comments

Worth Any That Came Before

65 years ago

One memory lingers,
unwanted, but I hold it close,
nonetheless. One more
moment with you, worth
any that came before
and more than any after.
Your hand in mine,
you lingered, eyes closed
but restless. Then no more,
as you went to meet him.

My mother outlived my father by fifteen years, and she missed him every day she lived without him. On her last day, I spent the afternoon with her. When I went to dinner, my sister stayed by her side, so she was not alone at the end.
They say that writing can be cathartic. That may be true, but sometimes it stirs memories I might wish I never had. But then, those may be the ones I couldn’t live without.

This poem is my response to Quadrille #136: Let’s Linger, the prompt from Linda Lee Lyberg at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word linger in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

One Pulse ~ quadrille

August 24, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 18 Comments

One Pulse

Two souls, separate but
inseparable. Intertwined,
weaving, as if dancing.
No quadrille, here,
eyes and intentions
for each other, alone.

Hear them, their pulse
resounding as one.
One beside the other,
one within the other,
their love the only dance
they wish to know.

This poem is my response to Quadrille #134: We {heart} poems, the prompt from De Jackson at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word heart in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme. Look closely and you will find the prompt word

Waltz image: clipart.zone

Resolve ~ quadrille ~ video poem

August 10, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 28 Comments

Resolve

My course at a standstill,
unknown lines define the path
before, behind me.

Unforeseen alternatives
open, close
in all directions.

Pleasure, pain,
potential, all gained,
lost with each turn I take.

With peace of mind
as elusive as resolve,
forward is my only option.

This poem is my response to dVerse – Monday Quadrille – Stand, the prompt from Lisa at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word stand in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

Stream of Consciousness ~ quadrille

July 28, 2021August 2, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 5 Comments

Stream of Consciousness

Thoughts pass
one to another,
flowing in a manner
that brings to mind
a vision of a stream,
its clarity a marvel
unsurpassed,
its course unquestioned,
revealed in the direction
a mind will take it,
a mind perceives it.

Thus is an idea born.

This poem is my response to Quadrille #132 Your Poem Theme: Stream, the prompt from De Jackson at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word stream in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

The Unwinding ~ quadrille

May 17, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 51 Comments

The Unwinding

There is a tale
wound around, through,
nearly silent moments.
Understanding, knowing.
More than passion,
though it has its place.
Cherry wine, chocolate,
the look in your eyes
as poetry leaves my lips.
Our tale, told in a whisper
and heard by your heart.

This poem is my response to What’s in a word?, the prompt from Lillian at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word wound in a quadrille, a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

I am reminded of this poem, from my very early days at WordPress.

Generations ~ quadrille

May 3, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 40 Comments

Generations

Love, hope,
faith of character.
Seeds planted long ago.
Thoughts, expressions,
kindness a lifeblood
offered freely.

Satisfaction in the reward
returned without hesitation,
passed on with the same
love, hope, and kindness,
from a place in each heart.

No parent could ask for more.

This poem is my response to Quadrille #127: Planting Seeds, the prompt from Merril at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word seeds in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

Images source: dreamstime

The Sweetest Wine ~ quadrille

April 5, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 30 Comments

The Sweetest Wine

Together, our horizon knows no bounds.

The nearest rose and the most distant star
could not be closer to this truth.

Yet the scent of a rose,
the beauty in a star, cannot compare.

One kiss from you, and I know the sweetest wine.

This poem (off-prompt for Day 5 of napowrimo.net) is my response to Quadrille #125 – In Praise of the Grape, the prompt from Linda Lee Lyberg at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word wine in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

~ Day 5 ~

Images
Wikimedia Commons – Rosette Nebula surrounding star cluster NGC2244
Astronomy Picture of the Day – “cluster galaxies and cluster dark matter, analogous to the many points of light one would see while looking through a wine glass at a street light”

wrestlution ~ quadrille

March 22, 2021 / Ken / rivrvlogr / 33 Comments

wrestlution

I walk these paths
life’s threads
never simple, often tangled
beyond recognition

finding what matters
most, resolution
no simple matter

getting here filled with vexations
complications, estimations
taking stock of situations
convoluted permutations
constant need of calibration
causing me consternation

I wrestle with knots

This poem is my response to Quadrille #124, the prompt from Mish at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which is to use a form of the word knot in a 44-word poem, with no required meter or rhyme.

Image source: clipground.com