(Poetry Thursday?) Snowdrops for St Bridie's Day by Jacqui Thewless

They might be flowers

of mercy

or small emblems of

the sun's

inevitable rise:

clusters of grey-green spears
miraculously piercing last year's

fallen foliage
without disturbing
a thing.

Earth's first
birth
is whiteness -
a simple dependence
from these little stalks -
where no hope was
without modesty,
surprise...
springs!

I was inspired by this poem by Jacqui Thewless as the snow that fell last night around my home.  We have had an unusually warm winter here so far and spring definitely is on the way.

A Christmas Poem

In the bleak midwinter

The Christ Child again 

asks to enter into our hearts

and melt the ice that insists 

on forming there

against our better judgment-- 

our attempts at thawing

only serving to set it afire

in a soul-consuming explosion--

our attempts at cooling 

turning it once again

to ice. 

April: National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month and Poets.org has 30 ways to celebrate!

Write a poem on your sidewalk with chalk, .listen to an audio poem during your commute or go to a poetry reading.

One of the most intriguing suggestions is to write a favorite poem on a piece of paper, carry it on your pocket and share it with your friends.

Poetry is accessible to everyone.  Long or short, rhyming or free verse, it is something that can be enjoyed and treasured like a well brewed cup of tea.

Hope is the Thing With Feathers--by Emily Dickinson

May

May is the time
of May Crownings
and First Communions,
of blossoms
and of light,
bringing forth the delicious awareness
of the exceptional distinction
of being young,
and female,
and Catholic.

Lace and tulle bedecked,
with veils and crowns,
we share our unique significance
with the Mother of God!

With her we come forward
to receive Our Lord--
our innocent "yes"
facilitating the union--

God alive
in us.

The feelings fade
over time
but come back
in waves

like labor,

giving birth
to a long forgotten longing

and in dreams
that visit
when day time defenses
are asleep,

and call us back
to live

our ancient, created value.

Originally published on Falling Plum Poetry on April 30, 2009.  

April is National Poetry Month

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I wanted to share one of my haiku--Optimistic Bird.

Poetry Wednesday

Among the red--
beautiful and different
lavender tomato

This poem was originally published in 2007 on my haiku blog, Karumi Garden.

Poem of the Week

rapturous delight

soft--in the afternoon

raw salmon

This is one I just wrote while eating a raw salmon sandwich that came with my high tea at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.  It is also published in my Karumi Garden Haiku Blog.  

Poem of the Week

black cat leading me,
half asleep, to the food bowl
midnight snack

Poem of the Week

the smell of crisp, dry leaves burning
the numbness of limbs out too long in the cold, cheeks flushed red--
unnoticed until hours later
and everyone else has gone inside
in search of hot chocolate and warm soup




This poem was originally published on July 23, 2008 in Falling Plum Poetry. 

The Poetry of Beauty

All around us is
the poetry
of beauty.

The age-old impassioned yearning
of humanity
for the timeless, unsurpassed achievement
of created exquisiteness,

in sound
or in art,

in poetry
or in form,

unfolds for us
that which is beyond ourselves.

As we hunger for this beauty--
this order--
spending hours with the paint brush
or the pen,

with the clay
or the computer,

we toss aside our weak attempts
and start again.

We search each stranger's face
for the perfect beauty
that we know exists

for even our  imperfect minds
have conceived it.

Beauty will save the world.
~Theodore Dostoyevsky

Originally published in Falling Plum Poetry on June 11, 2009

Poem of the Week

Red, gently applied over yellow

with a dry brush.

Cold apple.

Poem of the Week

early fall morning
dense fog hugs the ground
spirits walk

Note:  This poem was originally published on Karumi Garden Haiku on October 22, 2007.

Poem of the Week

she speaks

of the cliches

of aging

poetry

and of

      the ways

the wind

has

                                        blown


the pages



            unnaturally

into

the future.

Poem of the Week--Prayer Beads

I enter the place of prayer
each strengthening bead
infusing within me
calm resolve
to face
another day.


Originally published at Falling Plum poetry on October 1, 2008

Poem of the Week--The Adolescent Time

September is the adolescent time.

Hot one day, and cold the next, 

it slams the door of summer
on our eager faces
before coming back
and inviting us
to swim.

Poem of the Week

Ember Days

I feel the coolness
in the quiet harvest night
and offer thanks

Originally published on June 5, 2007 in Karumi Garden Poetry.

Poem of the Week

I've decided to post a poem a week.  Initially, these will be taken from my haiku blog, Karumi Garden.  I have recently decided to post all my poetry, both haiku and my longer poems, on my poetry blog, Falling Plum Poetry, because that blog has a larger readership than Karumi Garden. 

The brevity of the haiku form forces the writer to condense description, bringing the reader into an intense world, communicated in few words. Traditional haiku, by definition, does not rhyme and uses no simile or metaphor.  Instead, it juxtaposes two seemingly different observations for a different take on each. 

The first haiku I'll publish for Poem of the Week was written on March 16, 2007.  Since there is currently a new baby bird in our wreath outside, I thought I'd publish this one here today. 

small and brown
in God's ecosystem
tiny bird

Happy Birthday!

According to Writer's Almanac, today is the birthday of the poet Ogden Nash. His poetry is usually short and to the point--just the way I like my poetry. He was a favorite poet of my grandfather.

Here are two of his poems:

The Parent

Children aren't happy with nothing to ignore,
And that's what parents were created for.

This next one makes me laugh and reminds me of my parents:

The Perfect Husband

He tells you when you've got on
too much lipstick
And helps you with your girdle
when your hips stick.

The Music of Poetry

I'm becoming more and more convinced that poetry is meant to be read aloud.

I've been watching Elizabeth R on YouTube. I remember watching it when it originally came out in the 70's. Beautifully done costumes (authentic as well)...the language in this movie is unsurpassed.

This 5 minute clip from the movie shows Elizabeth bidding farewell to Francis, the duke d'Alencon. She and the duke were to be married, but politics of the time eventually led her to call off the engagement.

Glenda Jackson recites a poem that Queen Elizabeth wrote afterward: On Monsieur's Departure.

This is poetry at its finest.

By the way, the duke d'Alencon is played by Michael Williams, the late husband of Dame Judy Dench.