Night Wind
The unmistakable voices of the trees
calling out to the hidden moon,
seeking the caress of its light,
the end of their unease.
A midnight susseration.
This, my first gogyohka, is inspired by Merril Smith’s gogyohka, Night Wind.
Please read her original here.
Image: full moon, 22 December 2018
(right click image for larger view in new tab)
Intervention
When the reminders of presence are strong
enough to keep one present and not seeking
the destruction of all that came before,
and the understanding of effect,
separate from cause, is firmly grasped,
the strength to accept the potential
of the current moment will awaken,
the path forward no easier
than that already taken, yet
taken out of the darkness.
This poem was inspired by Margaret Bednar’s Intervention, a flash fiction written as a response to “Prosery #1” at dVerse. I suggest you read her post. You’ll also find an audio of her piece there, as well.
Even (or especially) with this poem in mind, it’s important to understand that the complexities of depression dictate that there is no one-solution.
Ken G.
it’s the alone in
the dance that makes the never
knowing so complete
Kerfe Roig
Never Knowing
Your absence the loss
of a scale to measure
all that comes after.
What steps to take
in the loss of moments.
Whether to lead. Or follow.
Whether to acquiesce, be carried
away by a tune, or resent it
for the memories it holds.
The dance of never knowing
is a dark reflection of the dance
of enjoyment that came before.
Both the senryū and the watercolor are by Kerfe Roig,
from her post (nowhere) to be found.
Ken G.
Magic of the Oracle
The light in a breeze.
The perfume of the stars.
With her many voices,
breathing her soft laugh,
she dazzles as she celebrates.
Always, if we listen.
With help from The Oracle at Magnetic Poetry, this poem
is inspired by Merril Smith’s All the Questions.
If you want to try magnetic poetry, you can do it online, here.
Background image: Wikimedia Commons
Consulting the Oracle, by John William Waterhouse
Determination
Do not draw the gate on this life,
standing firm still in the winds
of change, lives passing by, unknowing.
Pride and determination build
inner strength, the scars of time
the sign of their healing.
The image above is by Sue Vincent, from Tenacity #midnighthaiku at Daily Echo.
Both the haiga and her prose inspired this poem.
Acquisition
I hold aloft what holds me down,
My sense of self, as yet unsound.
No sense of where my mind should be,
My troubles named, within me found.
And yet this weight that’s placed on me
Need not be what the world should see.
Acknowledging that I’m not bound
May offer possibilities.
All month, I held off from attempting to write a rubaiyat, finding no interest in the form. I guess I just needed something to write about. I found that in Kerfe Roig’s Inquisition. I left this as a comment, and I’m just under the wire for Frank Hubeny’s month-long prompt at dVerse, Poetry Forms: Rubaiyat. This is written in iambic tetrameter, with a rhyme scheme of AABA BBAB.
Image source: pngtree.com
A Poem Has Its Way
Free from any association
with its writer’s state of mind,
this poem lives through the will
of a poem that held its own
writer captive for hours.
I lay no blame on Ben,
himself a victim of verses
determined to be heard,
or rather discovered by
this unsuspecting reader.
And with that discovery
was planted a germ, so that you,
dear reader, would know
its fruits, a missive announcing
little more than its arrival.
Inspired by Poems Lead Poets by Ben Naga.
