Thursday, October 12, 2023

Q is for QUESTIONING SOULS #AtoZChallenge Poetry

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
Q is for Questioning Souls and Queen Victoria Century Plant 

 
QUESTIONING SOULS

No! My education
is too lacking.
The words all
come out wrong.
Why would anybody
even care? 

Marathons are
not for weak,
questioning souls
but for
strong minds,
solid knees,
and muscular hearts 

Yes. I can
believe in myself. I can
stop braiding negativity
into disbelief. I can
start spinning confidence
into success. 

***   ***   ***
 
Questioning your worth - whether you do it to yourself or someone else feels it is their duty to do it to you - is non-productive for everyone. Better to believe in yourself and to help others to do the same.

 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

P is for POSSIBILITIES #PoetryMonth #AtoZ

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
 P is for Possibilities and Poinsettias

 

POSSIBILITIES

There are words
I want to build on
and to use as titles
of poems. Phrases with meaning: 

Rendering a Thought Visible

Or

Attempt at the Impossible

But my page is blank
Not barren, only empty.
As the leaves of autumn
shrivel and blow away,
so has my inspiration.
Leaving behind only
Possibilities. 

Inspired by the works of Belgian artist René Magritte and an essay by Marcel Paquet: The Enigma of Poetry.

 
Do other mediums inspire/inform your poetic musings?
 
 
***   ***  ***

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

O is for ORAL FIREWORKS #PoetryMonth

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
 O is for Oral Fireworks and Orchids 

Photo I snapped at an orchid garden on Big Island
 
 
ORAL FIREWORKS
 
Hand-knit mohair sweater
Still a treasure,
though an outgrown style. 

Sugar-coated jelly slices
Stuck between the teeth,
don’t smile. 

Oral fireworks of
Nehi Orange-Ade
on a first date. 

Teen memories bear weight,
Adults cannot carry,
and nothing can replace. 

Relive,
pretend,
embellish. 

You are but once sweet sixteen.

***   ***   ***
 
I still have that hand-knit sherbet-orange mohair sweater with the six-inch wide collar that my mom knit for me! Which item have you saved from your teen years that holds such strong memories that you pack it up to take with you every time you move?

 

Sunday, October 8, 2023

N is for NO KNACK #AtoZChallenge Poetry and Flowers

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 N is for No Knack and Narcissus
 
 
 
 
No Knack 

My Toastmasters speech
a dry run.
Tense, but eager
Using clear, concise tones.
Each word highlighting a point
on how the writing process
flows from idea sparked,
to bursting flame,
generating a complete and published work.

Then I swap the breezy artist’s cap
for one of entrepreneur – and
feel the constant drag
like wading through
a cooled pahoahoa lava flow, or
a river of mud.
 
***   ***   ***
If you are a writer who has switched hats to market your work in print, you probably understand where I was coming from when I wrote this poem. Do you find it easier to write than market your work?

 

Saturday, October 7, 2023

M is for MOLDING DESTINY #PoetryMonth

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
 M is for Molding Destiny and Morning Glory

 
 
Molding Destiny

 
A fallacy,

both the molding

and the destiny

 

The master plan

includes free will,

without restriction

 

No ending

is pre-arranged

by calendar date:

 

Play here

Marry over there

Die on schedule

 

Rather: follow

what your heart

beats in time.

 ***   ***   ***
 
This is my favorite poem in the entire collection. I've given myself such wonderful advice: follow what your heart beats in time.
Live at your own pace. Is that a goal worth setting?
 
 
 
 

Friday, October 6, 2023

L is for LACK OF MOTION #AtoZ Poetry

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
L is for Lack of Motion and Lilacs
 
 
 
 
LACK OF MOTION 
Lack of motion
Limited sight
Slow breathing
 
Diminished thought
Absence of concern
Exhalation of relief
 
All this and more
As one accepts release
Falling gradually
or fast
Time and again
With ever increasing pleasure
 
Into nightly blessed sleep.
 
***   ***  ***
Just reading the words makes me sleepy. I've never suffered from insomnia so it is easy to take a good night's sleep for granted, although a scheduled talk next morning will have me tossing and turning through the night. What keeps you awake?

 

Thursday, October 5, 2023

K is for KARMA in an Electronic Age #AtoZChallenge

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
 K is for Karma and Kobus Magnolia  
 


KARMA

Letters, addressed
Stamped and postmarked
Mailed
Delivered
Read 
 

Telegrams, then air mail
Telephones and texting
Computers and skype 
 

Instant contact through
Email smiley faces
Facebook games
Twitter characters
 

News first hand
Almost before it occurs
Births
Marriages
Careers
Instant karma in an electronic age
 

Where will the world be
When the lights go out?

***   ***   ***

 
With everything at our fingertips and our patience at an end, it is difficult to imagine if technology has us racing on a treadmill chasing the carrot or if it is technology racing to keep up with our imaginations.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

J is for JOIE DE VIVRE #PoetryMonth

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
 J is for Joie de vivre and Jasmine
 
 
 
Facing forward
with expectant wonder,
she counts crystals in each
purple drop
of rain. 
Thunderous silence
fills her mind with lightning,
trapping future visions in
the pulsing beat
of time. 
Joie de vivre is coursing
through her bloodstream,
soothing rhythms
casting yet
another fate. 
While moonlight
focuses on wave-tossed
beaches, and trade winds
circle ever-changing,
near horizons. 
 
***   ***   ***
 
Life moves forward whether we keep up with it or not. Some days it is difficult to match "wants" with ability. On those days, I've found that it is better to sit back and let some things pass me by.

Have you ever been left with more plans then energy at the end of your day?
 
 

 

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

I is for IMAGINE #AtoZChallenge Poetry

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***

I is for Imagine and Iris
 
 
IMAGINE

Imagine
sinking
into steaming water.
So relaxed you cannot move. 

Egrets
turn the air white
with swirling feathers.
Ever moving, while you remain still. 

Fearful
of sprouting roots,
you ask forgiveness.
And vow to stop the madness.* 

*Within this context, the madness represents society’s expectation that one must always be actively productive (or could it be your expectation of yourself?)
 
 

Sunday, October 1, 2023

H is for HORIZONS #AtoZ Poetry

April #AtoZChallenge and #PoetryMonth
 
Three goals I had in mind while writing my collection of linked poetry:
1. To celebrate my appreciation of life
2. To experience the process of writing linked poetry, a form of Japanese renshi
3. To give thanks for and better appreciate a life well-lived.
 
The flowers are a colorful bonus for the #AtoZChallenge
 
***   ***   ***
 
H is for Horizons and Hibiscus in Honolulu
 
Hibiscus at Queen Lili'uokalani Botanical Gardens in Honolulu
 
Horizons
Farms spread out
by design of county plats
Home for dinner
Each family tucked in
for the night. 
Breakfast a routine affair
Like Sunday drives
after mass
And holiday visits
to relatives. 
Roads with numbered routes
Lead to fishing holes,
And beach parks
hold dreams that encompass
only near horizons. 
Dare to break the cycle
 
***   ***   *** 
Poetry is meant to be read, not as an interpretation of the poet’s thoughts but as a means of opening the reader’s mind: to spark imagination, to recall memories long ago experienced, long forgotten; thoughts happy and sad, thought-provoking experiences that form and inform the person you are today. Do not fear the past, so you can enjoy the present and plan a happy future. Allow poetry to open for you infinite possibilities. Claim what rings true for you, leave the rest for others to explore their own awakening.