On the end of each
rhododendron stem:
A tightly wrapped
promise
of blossom.
poem-spring gift March 22, 2014
On the end of each
rhododendron stem:
A tightly wrapped
promise
of blossom.
poem- quilting world March 7, 2014
The lake is charcoal flannel serge
bound with an ermine edge
beneath a quilt batting sky.
poem- march away! March 5, 2014
Winter
marching
heavily through spring.
Winter
march
away,
and take
all this falling snow
with you.
.
.
Heavy snow today, making the highway treacherous. Fun drive to work. We’re ready for less white and more warmth in the air!
poem-exploding you March 4, 2014
Oh, belligerent woman
at the gas station.
You know you are wrong.
You see the arrows.
Instead of backing up
You drive forward,
and make obnoxious remarks.
The other ten of us
can follow directions.
One of these things is not
like the others.
You’re embarrassed.
I get that.
So apologize, and back up.
Don’t yell at me.
I’m going the right way.
I am an author, though.
So while you rant,
I have the satisfaction
of seeing the bomb
the terrorists have set
that you accidentally trigger
by going the wrong way.
As your car explodes in a fiery
conflagration,
the ten cars that are secure
in our rule following
are protected by our bubble of sanctity.
We smile contentedly
knowing karma is at work,
as the litter of your dissatisfied life
rains from the sky,
bouncing off of us and
our aligned automobiles.
As you back out,
muttering a chastened,
“Sorry,”
I am glad that imagination
trumps aggravation
every time.
.
.
It’s a popular saying, “Don’t mess with authors. They will put you in their novels, and kill you.” Today, I discovered the poetic equivalent. 😉
poem-learning to listen February 25, 2014
A roomful
of opinions
opinions
opinions
everyone shouting
no one hears.
I think!
I believe!
I!
I!
I!
Wait!
Sit.
Listen.
Ask a question.
Listen to the answer.
Really listen.
Hear.
Think.
Learn.
Grow.
.
.
.
Another poem for the very inspiring Robin with whom I teach. So honoured to work in a school full of such amazing masters. So wonderful to watch kids learn how diverse our world is, how full of shades of grey, how their opinions aren’t the only ones in the world. 🙂
poem-charmed life February 20, 2014
Food in the belly
Roof overhead
Someone to love
Someone who loves back
Meaningful work
Good health
Funds for fun
Joyful heart
Laughter
Grateful
Grateful
Grateful.
quote- Mary Oliver on poems February 9, 2014
“Poems must…be written in emotional freedom. Moreover, poems are not language but the content of the language. And yet, how can the content by separated from the poem’s fluid and breathing body?”
Mary Oliver A Poetry Handbook p. 3
poem- now February 6, 2014
You’ve been waiting,
watching,
wondering,
but now
it’s time to act.
Stop planning,
scheming,
dreaming,
and do.
Face the task.
Make it happen.
Decide as you go along.
It’s time,
now.
poem- aubade February 4, 2014
Your limbs
spill from silken sheets
shimmering in the glimmer
of morning squeezing between
window slats,
striping you like a convict,
but I am your prisoner.
Your lips
curl as you murmur,
conversing with lovers
in your dreams,
Your hips
burrow deeply
on the rhythm of your sighs
and I long to lie beside you,
lingering in the light,
but as dawn drives day
so must I away.
.
.
An aubade is a French leaving poem. It’s the opposite of a serenade, and is the song of a lover leaving his beloved in the morning. I’d never heard of the form before, and on the same day, I discovered it by accident (when I looked up a French lingerie company by the name and the definition came up) I found an aubade in the WordPress poetry feed. Quite a coincidence! Here is my first one. I should add, that I am unlikely to ever write one from experience, since generally I’m going to bed at dawn, while my husband is getting up! 😉
Shawn L. Bird 