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.

 

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?

 

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?

 

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.

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?)

 

 

G is for GOSSIP REIGNS #Poetry for #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

 

***   ***   ***

G is for Gossip and Gladiolas (and Gail)

 

 

 

 

GOSSIP REIGNS

On lazy sun-washed afternoons

imagination turns to thoughts of

courtyard pubs, where friends gather to discuss

whatever most consumes their waking hours.

Tucked away behind the Seine in Paris, or

a secluded nook of Gloucester’s harbor,

topics range from art and plotlines, to the

tantalizing satchel in the local consignment shop.

Gossip reigns.

Food arrives, sporadically.

People pick at plates of

battered squid and cherry peppers.

Wash down Gorgonzola cheese-stuffed mushrooms

with dark beer and fresh-brewed coffee.

Or some exotic drink,

served in mugs sporting

a hodge-podge of designs.

Each holding a life’s story at the bottom,

shimmering for patrons to review

at leisure between sips.

Reality appears on no menu

in these flights of fantasy,

these parcels of precious moments,

free of conflict.

Close your eyes, relax.

Breathe deep.
 

 ***   ***   *** 

 

Is poetry well-suited for sparking the imagination and taking the reader on flights of fantasy?

B is for BLESSED SLEEP #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

 

***   ***   ***

 

B is for Blessed Sleep and Bougainvillea

 

Scene in Kaimuki on O'ahu
photo by Gail Baugniet

 

Blessed Sleep

 

With eyelids squeezed tight

you count down from ten

then twenty, fifty, a hundred

to no avail. 

Silence begs for shouting

to distract the thoughts

that won’t allow, grant, permit

blessed sleep. 

Sirens peel strips of flesh

from your insomniac mind,

daring fingers and lips

to remain still.

 ***   ***   ***

This poem describes an accelerating reaction, as a taunting voice issues a dare to find peace outside the pain of noisy chaos. Sleeplessness leads to growing agitation. Worries mount, seeping into the conscious mind and likely assuring that any hope of sleep is futile.

What thoughts surfaced as you read the words of this poem?

A is for ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING #PoetryMonth and #AtoZChallenge

ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING

70 Poems for 70 days available at Amazon

 

70 poems for 70 days is a collection of linked poems. They are patterned after renshi poetry, which links each poem to the next. I introduced these poems during an #AtoZChallenge for bloggers during a  poetry month of April. I wrote each poem as part of a larger project, linking the poems together renshi-style. However, the poems are being posted here with an eye toward the alphabet, as viewing things through a different set of eyes often gives one a new perspective. I am eager to see how my poetry presents itself when removed from the structured context. May this prove to be an interesting experiment for everyone.

********** 

The impetus for this collection of poetry was an occurrence still fresh in my mind. The ink for my first poem fairly spilled onto the page as I recalled the words of a nice college-aged young man who had sauntered over to me at a Honolulu bus stop on June 11th, King Kamehameha Day. 





Lei draping on King Kamehameha Day



 

The young man offered me a tiny yellow blossom. He smiled and said, “A beautiful flower for a beautiful lady.” I’m sure my appearance reminded him of  his (exceptionally alert  and  spry)grandmother. Perhaps he was feeling nostalgic for home. I accepted the flower and smiled back. With a light step, he departed, and I felt he had made the world a brighter place for having shared his joie de vivre.

 

                          **********

 

 

A Tiny Flower

 

Gold, each tiny petal

unites to form the helmet

of a flower’s bloom.

 

Together, their beauty

like solid sunshine

takes my breath away

 

A kind word, shared

without expectation, forms

a binding link to the universe.

 

Gazes remain fixed

as I board TheBus in silence

and still smiling, take my seat

 

Air brakes lift

We roll forward, and

the universe smiles back.

 **********

Gold, each tiny petal

 

 **********

U is for UNEXAMINED MADNESS #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

 

***   ***   ***

 

U is for Unexamined Madness and Umbrella Palm 

 

UNEXAMINED MADNESS

 

No war, no pollution

Not global arming*

Or racism 

Nuclear threats, bigotry,

High cost of living,

And joblessness 

Nothing will be resolved

Until unexamined madness

Of Self-loathing and

Bloated egos ends. 

Denial of equality

Continues to

Generate war, pollution,

Racism and bigotry 

Stop the denial and know:

I am you

You are me

Together 

*Global arming: This began as a typo but seemed even more appropriate than the intended: global warming.

Would you agree?

(Author's note: This is an apolitical poem, written in August, 2015.)

***   ***   ***

 

S is for SMILING BACK #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

 

***   ***   ***

 

 S is for Smiling Back and Sunflowers

 

Smiling Back

From shadows,

smiling back at me,

clear memories

of frothy rapids

while tubing down

an apple-scented river. 

Company softball games,

cheering on my teammates

win or lose, celebrating

El Torito style. 

All too soon, highways

move me state to state,

major life changes

blinding me to loss. 

Above the clouds

endless open skies

ease me from the past; with

lazy eagerness, promises appear

of another new beginning.

 

***   ***   *** 
 

Do you need to understand everything the poet is saying to appreciate a poem? Or is sailing off in whatever direction a specific phrase sends you, like a word-association excursion, more to your liking?

R is for RIOTS AND REBELLION #AlohaFriday #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

 

***   ***   ***

 

 R is for Riots and Rebellions (and incongruously . . .for this beautiful Rose)

Photo by Gail M Baugniet
Taken in the village where my father's great grandparents settled.

 

RIOTS AND REBELLION

 

Riots

Society on the edge

Politics, redefining lives 

Anger

Mankind engaged in war

Family structure, realigned 

Rebellion

Control in flux

Freedom, the goal 

Question not

what you see, but

the lack of change

 

***   ***   *** 

 

What emotions surface when one has no control over circumstances?