Corners

paint them if you will
nailed with your groans
bowls of time on the sill
clock’s tick, fishes moans

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Tri-Haiku XI (winter blue)

I am winter blue
Born to December, I chill
to iron cold bone

I am winter blue
To brittle January
icy fingers spread

I am winter blue
But with yellow I will change
to the green of Spring

Last Christmas

Paper-white petals tucked in a bouquet
Winter’s bloom of cinnamon wishes and roses of red
Paper-white petals tucked in a bouquet

Tendrils of time joining circles widespread
Lasting moments on this elderberry night
Winter’s bloom of cinnamon wishes and roses of red

The Word

I found a word
It was quite small
In fact it wasn’t
much at all
But when I added
it to others
It blossomed with
it’s new found brothers

Echoing

I’ve got no poem today, but it must be okay.
I’ve thought about monkeys, how walruses play,

Saying something

CAPITAL LETTERS THEN
WHAT’S THAT ABOUT?
SOME SAY IT IS RUDE
AND AKIN TO A SHOUT
BUT SOMETIMES THEY AID
TO SOMETHING I WANT TO SAY
SMALL CAPS AID TO VISUAL
IN A PARTICULAR WAY

From the silence

There’s an element here
in these words with an essence
as I capture my thoughts
from the past and the present
For me it’s an outlet
A poetic license
to say what I feel
with a voice from the silence

Thoughts

a new thought
now it limped over, green
eyes blown, puffed intents
a quiet cloud, a serene dragonfly

Finding words

This pen will find words
every day without fail
Whether I’m well
or whether I ail
For there’s always a nuance
I’ll want to portray
Of the life that’s around me
day after day

Aintree

It’s raining up on Merseyside
Aintree in the rain
Where I’ve come up from Liverpool
on an early train

There’s not much going on here
unless you are a horse
For here’s when the Grand National
is run on this racecourse

Tri-Tanka I (tanka)

To start this series
in thirty-one syllables
Japanese Tanka
A short song to bring you joy
Jemverse social media

So here are first lines
Crafted by the poet’s hand
Found and captured here
To form and syntax structured
Voicing life in five short lines

Wedges

the moments I wedge
on these fine grooves
sculpted on vintage palms
hang on a tenuous shine

-03.12.18_19:20-

It’s a word we fear,

Wait

And so we wait
as the warmth of winter
promises redemption

-02.12.18_17:02-

The collar I wear

Braided strands of

-01.12.18_22:01 –

Out here,

Where the wild things live

Tri-haiku X (tears)

To open your eyes
as bright sparkles sting and fall
It’s ok to cry

Embrace my sorrow
But then tomorrow bring smiles
that I may see joy

As sometimes a tear
will fall from my eyes with joy
as something moves me

©Jemverse

A Festival of Light

Let the light of who you truly are

Shine bright

And may the world

Embrace you

Photo by the author

For the backstory on this poem, visit byalannapass.com 

I Should Have

I should have known

When you were late

Because in your eyes

I could see our fate

Seeking Wisdom

“I talk to God but the sky is empty.” – Sylvia Plath

I seek wisdom in the sawdust falling gently
beneath the polished mahogany bowl
you carved with loving hands
for it is not the finished product
but rather the blood, sweat, and tears
buried deep within its caviar ribbons
that tell this story

The safe warmth of home

Steel grey seas with iron chill
it’s with whimsy that I peer
at the beach I know so well
in summer brings such cheer
Yet now the winter’s icy hand
has me firmly in its grip
As grey green waters frenzied churn
with northern winds are whipped

Lighthearted At The End of the World

Ed: I’m researching one or more works on climate fiction –CliFi–that will tiptoe through a increasingly alarming future. In the process, I’m finding some previous works that, while dark, are also windows into the subject. So, to brighten your day, here are two:

A Song on the End of the World

BY CZESLAW MILOSZ

On the day the world ends|
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,

By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,

A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,

Christmas Tree, Damned Christmas Tree

Based on O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree).

A Christmas tree, a Christmas tree!
In search of you my day’s spent.
A Christmas tree, a Christmas tree!
Search through the woods so fervent.

Seasonal

The leaves lay spread amidst a coverlet of snow-
one a bit early, the other late in season

December

No.4 of 12 in the Jemverse ’12 months II’ series

December comes and tradition
sees the tree go up tonight
Decorations hanging all around
‘most everywhere in sight

For us it sees a birthday
Holly’s twenty-five this year
and sharing it with Christmas
always brings us all good cheer

Tri-Haiku IX (yellow)

A little yellow
as a splash against the green
Memory of warmth

This yellow fills me
Drives away my winter blues
Hums a cheerful song

And I am yellow
Reflecting the sunshine here
I shine to the day

Winter leave me now

3 of 3

This brittle chill, this iron cold
this fall from grace for me
is winter in a nutshell
and a few words, certainly
So I fund solace in these times
with words that speak of sun
and warmer days of sunshine
when winter days are done

Triggers

Damn this wind that howls
like a lone wolf on a moonlit night
Damn this rain that prowls
like a rabid dog ready to bite