This was a project I did basically during the pandemic. I started writing a poem a day. Once ‘real life’ started again it got harder to write everyday, which is interesting.
patterns
the page is hungry for words
but
words fail
ideas crack
the world is once again frozen
my comfort
the creature at my feet
a dirty, matted, smells like a frito because he needs a bath, barks too loud and too often, best dog in the whole wide world
but
he is hungry
he is always hungry
I relent
the dog is full
the page is full
once again
I Wanted to Write
I wanted to write about the wind
But my words kept blowing away
I wanted to write about the trees
But my ideas got tangled in the branches
I wanted to write about the sun
But my words got too close and burned
I wanted to write about ideas
And my words started blowing and got tangled and hot
something happy
I hope you find something happy
to bundle and put in your pack
fill your whole day with lightness and play
as you walk, feel the sun on your back
meet every person
with joy and good will
smile through foibles
laugh at the spills
I hope you find something happy
to carry through all of your days
always shine bright, laugh and delight
rejoice in love’s brilliant rays
risk flight
trapped in a nest of thoughts
twigs of worry sticking through
leaves of dreams
made to create comfort
now soggy
packed with the mud of options
a rough jumble of apprehension
risk flight
some dilly, some dally
a life filled with silly fun things
like dawdle and scribble and maybe some zing
times when you rest and lay in the grass
let nagging worries walk on right past
dangle your feet in some cool water
wasting time becomes your new charter
start adding in some dilly, some dally
stroll on down to green lazy valley
turn all your work into your play
life just might be better this way
Returning to Normal
A hug, a handshake?
How long to get a table? We’ll wait.
Want to grab a drink?
We need reservations I think.
Let’s go see a movie.
That new coffee shop looks groovy.
The dentist, a haircut!
We will be early.
No one will be there yet but
we can sit and chat,
talk of this and that.
I’ve missed you very much.
It’s so weird that we can touch.
Lazy Louise
Lazy Louise rolled over
when she heard her alarm
but instead of waking up
she reached with her left arm
hit the little snooze button
to give herself more time
nine more precious minutes
until the next round of chimes
to Louise there was no rush
no hurry to wake up
all she had to do later
was put some coffee in her cup
Louise did not schedule
things into her day
content to let stuff happen
happy to let time unravel away
nine minutes turned to eighteen
and then to twenty-seven
pretty soon Louise was sleeping
until almost eleven
now the clock strikes twelve
and now it’s almost three
now it’s getting dark
bedtime soon to be
poor old Lazy Louise
spent the whole day in bed
hitting that little snooze button
a pillow under her head
but poor old Lazy Louise
doesn’t seem to mind
the laziest kind of person
you will ever find
Where is Our Bedtime Story?
Where is our friend the fox?
Is she hiding in a box?
Is she hiding in a tree?
Where is she? I can not see.
Where is our friend the rabbit?
He has a peculiar habit
of hopping away. He never does stay.
Where does he go? I really can’t say.
Where is our friend the squirrel?
Around and around she does whirl.
Up the tree and then back down.
She seems to be all over town!
Where is our friend the skunk?
Into which hole has he slunk?
Let’s leave him alone, he is at home,
last time we saw him he stunk!
Where are you my friend?
We are here reading, but now is the end.
Lay down your head and snuggle in bed.
Our bedtime story, it has been read.
Serious Sarah
Serious Sarah wakes up
opens her green eyes
she thinks of all she has to do
this is no surprise
Sarah likes to be
effective and precise
on the ball, never late
her planner is quite nice
you might think that Sarah
would be a little dull
not at all, her life is full
there never is a lull
she is always doing
just the most right thing
if she has a moment
her phone will likely ding
Sarah is serious
about doing all she can
you must agree to do that
you need a right good plan
if you meet this Sarah
you will find a smile on her face
this is what can happen
when you find your right good place
yes Sarah, she is serious
but never is she sad
she fills her day with doing
and doing makes her glad
Let’s Meet Peter
it is time to meet a new small friend
let us call him Peter
he needs something fun to do
to rhyme with his name? ... eater?
Peter is a bee
he lives in that there hive
he loves to buzz around the yard
it makes him feel alive
his favorite kind of flower
the one he eats the most
is lovely luscious lavender
his most beloved host
we will follow Peter
as time goes along
it will be good to know him
to learn his Peter Bee Song
bare
shelby the squirrel scampered
all over the snow
her nut stores were down to zero
she had no place to go
the winter had been a long one
her tail was mighty thin
to find one nut or berry now
quite the needed win
she spied the squirrel merelda
chewing a very large nut
“can i have a small bit?”
out her front foot she did jut
merelda and shelby were friends
had been since their birth
but merelda was also hungry
winter thinning her girth
in this moment of question
to share or not to share
merelda made the kind choice
showed she really cared
these squirrel friends shine a light
bare an important truth of life
asking a friend for help
can put an end to deepening strife
a friend you can rely on
to turn to when in need
who moves beyond the selfish
is not bound up with greed
shelby and merelda are fine now
the snow melts more each day
the time of growth is upon them
with nature this is the way
something new - the senryu
I am the haiku,
perhaps the most popular
of all the poems.
How do you know me?
Count first to five, then seven,
back to five...the end.
I should talk about
nature. But today, I am
breaking all the rules.
Here is a secret.
In truth, I am called senryu.
You can look me up.
Just because I’m nice —
here is a great article
about me, senryu.
a magical hat
what if you had
a magical hat
a little bit like...
remember that cat?
when you would wear it
you could do special things
make a bath bubble
make a phone ring
you could go where you wanted
where would you go?
where mountains tower?
where rivers flow?
i would go to place
where people are kind
i could make a mistake
and no one would mind
i would use my neat hat
to make love fill the air
take away troubles
ease long worn cares
make every person
feel one of a part
no one left out
no hard heavy hearts
maybe one day
the hat blows away
but the changes it made,
maybe they stay?
three six five
i said that i would write
a poem every day
i find myself asking —
will it be ok??
can i find the words
to fill up three six five
keep having more ideas
will my hobby....survive?
it is an awful lot of days
all strung together
what i can say is this —
i’m thankful for the weather
that is always changing
somewhere to reflect
but this is pretty hard...
just want to be direct
i plan to keep on going
no matter the season
i said that i would do it
that is the big reason
i’ve said it before
i will say it again here
thank you for your reading,
for being here this year
❤️
some days you feel silly
some days you feel silly
some days you feel mad
some days you feel quiet
some days you feel sad
all these different feelings
pass as do the clouds
seem to move more quickly
when they are allowed
the fisherman
the fisherman lives in a hut, alone
near the water, on the sand
he tends his small cabin
each morning comes a gull and wakes him
each morning, sweeping the sand from the floor
he talks to the waves
the gull expects him to be there
the sand waits to be swept
the ocean answers his call
the fisherman, a part of this place
near the water, on the sand
he is never alone
the month of many hearts
I thought I would write about Love
in this month of many hearts
but no good words have found me
despite my many weak starts
Love is like a diamond
Love can be wicked and cruel
Love surrounds each one of us
Love can play you a fool
Love may be too much
for my silly simple words
leave it to stars and flowers and spring
look there and Love can be heard
dancing words
a poem doesn’t have to rhyme
it can be driven by internal rhythm
a beat drummed
beneath
the poem’s own feet
moves the words
and keeps them all
dancing
seek and hide
you think a big idea
feel it form within your mind
you want to share it with a friend
but the words you just can’t find
why do thoughts look so different
when looked at from inside
the time comes to meet the world
the pieces run and hide