What to make of this? - MF

Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash (here)

A Micro Fiction of not exceeding 140
characters with word of the week  -  evaporate

What to make of this?
He passed through this way
But where is he?
Must he evaporate into
thin air just like that!
Creepy,this spot haunted?

(140 characters)

For Linda's Succinctly Yours week
#239 at Grandma's Goulash

golden hues alluring

                                                                                            Attribution: Forestwander
Image: Changing Landscape towards Autumn (here)

Note: Trinet is a micro poem with 

a syllable count of 2,2,6,6,2,2,2

joyful

feelings

looking forward to change

golden hues alluring

nascent

winsome

show-piece

For Georgia's hosting at MLMM's  -  the trinet

Tango-no-Sekku, the Boys' Festival

                                                                                           Attribution: coniferconifer

Image: Carp streamers or Koi-Nobori 

hung to catch the Wind (here)

Note: The carp has become a symbol of
the Boys' Festival. So full of energy and
power it stands for courage and manliness  -  Chev

Young boy shows promise

Great physique good character

Ideal samurai

Trailing in the winds

Carp of pride in all colors

Grandpa kept smiling

Family tradition maintained

Lineage of greatness intact

For Chev's CARPE DIEM, #839, the boy's festival

Needing to take a breather every time

                                                                          Attribution: Alina Zienowicz
Image: Daughter Progressing towards Obesity (here)

the given words:
breathing needing seams beneath words crisp
 wooden rocking glass slapping halfway daughter

She had been through this
A recluse for the better part
Doctor's orders kept echoing
in her ears, exercise!..exercise!..

Breathing heavily on long walks
Needing to take a breather every time
Determination seemed lacking
Bursting at the seams
Her girth kept increasing
It was not beneath her
To seek ways and means
For some dieting
But she was still thinking

Words the only consolation
From a concerned husband
She longed for the crisp and slim self
of yesteryears lazing on the
wooden rocking chair
with a glass of cool drink in her hands
But not anymore

There was still the friendly banter
Hubby slapping lightly on the back
Avoiding the nostalgic hugs
(as his hands could only reach halfway
 not wrapping around her like before)

He could only lament
Mindful of an impending problem
For their daughter now fast catching up!

For MMT's hosting at Sunday's Whirligig #29 and
Bodhirose's at d'Verse's OpenLinkNight's #158

It would then be a foe beyond control

                                                                                         Attribution: Malene Thyssen
Image: Mid-summer bonfire (here)

Fire that phenomenon of benefit

Lighting and warming the homeless

Profusion of power though when lit

Mindful to keep it in check the best

Fire thus a friend when sorely needed

Providing on the one hand illumination

Alleviating searing cold when required

Extending warm protection to the jubilant

Misfortune may rear its ugly head though

When fire may engulf combustible structures

It would then be an enemy beyond control

No more a friend but an agent of disasters

One would rather have fire in the heart

Of lovers sharing a warmth of togetherness

Would take lots of efforts to tear them apart

Burning in all of its glory without harness

For Sumana's hosting at 
PU's Mid-week Motif  - fire

Cave paintings were certainly 'carved in stone'

                                                                                                   Attribution: Bjorn
Image: Courtesy of Bjorn's (here)

3WW given words:
 ignite hellish greasy 

Cave paintings were certainly 'carved in stone'
With no possibility to have them changed or disturbed
Treasured as heritage sites no denying their presence
Preserved for long in many parts of the world unperturbed

Tugging at the imagination to ignite lots of questions
Were they creative manifestations of a caveman's life
To while away boring times in such a fashion
Instead of clubbing women's head to drag home a 'wife'

Or perhaps a recording of a hellish experience
But announced to his peers as an encounter of fun
Of having been chased by a prehistoric serpent
And lived to tell the tale to everyone

More morbid yet perhaps a record of circumstances
That led to the 'greasy' demise of one so unlucky
Where generations after were the better informed
Of how life could be snuffed out in a jiffy

For Thomg's hosting at 3WW week #449 and
Bjorn's at d'Verse's Poetics: carved in stone

Individual or shared placentas

                                                                                             Attribution: Hawken King
Image: Twins - inseparable even though separate beings (here)

Note: Twins can have individual or shared placentas,  A single egg/sperm combination that splits after conception will have an impact.If  it happens within a few days, they will implant separately in the uterus and will develop separate placentas.However, if the split is delayed the embryos will develop with a single, shared placenta  -  Wiki

MLMM given words:
written placenta twitch
melancholy (depression of spirits,a pensive mood)
anemic (lacking force, vitality, or spirit)
ravine assist
laotang (a relationship within Chinese culture that bonded two girls together)
katydid (grasshoppers with an organ on the forewings of the males that produce a loud shrill sound)
lychee (a Chinese fruit)
nocturnal
vacillate (to waver in mind or opinion, be indecisive)

Already written in the stars
Twins were a blessed breed
They could have shared one placenta
Which explained their shared spirits

A twitch in one felt by the other easily
Melancholy mood and anemic emotions
Would rub on both simultaneously
Even separated by ravines or long distance

They could feel the pull of strong laotang
Not possible in other siblings even with same DNA
Absence of similar cries of a katydid sound organ
Would not deter twins to assist without delay

Akin to a lychee sweet and succulent
In nocturnal hours or day-time digestion
Twins savored sweetness of interaction
Not having to vacillate on a unique existence

For Yves' hosting at MLMM's Wordle #82 and
Marian's The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

Does it give you a chill

                                                                      Attribution: George Tooker,self-portrait

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag (here)

Sunday Whirl given words:

chill courage link matter letters
minute urge trip risk traffic 

Look in my eyes
Does it give you a chill
A stern and piercing look
That sees through you
and not at you

It takes courage to link
a matter conveyed not
through letters but whispers
of the oceans

Minute in sounds but hazy
not rightly audible with that
lingering monotony

Is it to urge a trip at great
risk uncertain of the traffic
across the blue yonder
Does one feel safe on a cruise
ship in the deep ocean
Is it safe for a non-swimmer?

It gives a chill, yes!

For Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #220
Tess' Magpie Tales #289

Isn't that being nice?

                                                                               Attribution: Victoria Williams
Image: Calmness -  feeling nice! (here)

To use a minimum of 2 sets from
the Get Listed list given below for
a new poem:
Grim / grin
Pair / despair
Naught / naughty
Ever / every
Thrift / rift
Wonder / wander
Pander / ponder
Illumination / nation

Looking grim but can still afford to grin
Where can one get a pair in despair
to be happily confounding their critics
Isn't that being nice?

It is naught at being naughty but just saying
One can never be sure
but must be ever ready every day
It can be a face-saving device
To snuff off unwanted conspirators
Isn't that being nice?

No small wonder one need not wander off
from that of a midget's test of tolerance
Is it better to a thrift of retorts against those
causing a rift about heights of concern?
Better to avoid in the presence midgets
from trying to belittle or provoke about heights
Isn't that being nice?

One need not have to pander
to odd pieces of opinions but
to ponder on solving the problems
It is an illumination of a nation's pride
to be able to answer intelligently
to hecklers out to test one's patience
Isn't that being nice?

Note: Too good to pass
off the opportunity from
using all of the pairs

For grapeling's Get Listed at Real Toads and
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #273

Colorful and delicate

                                                                                                    Attribution: Kanko
Image: Japanese Lanterns (here)
(In conjunction with Setsubun)

Note: Setsubun is an annual Japanese festival which
falls on February 3rd. It is also the beginning of Spring
according to the old Japanese lunar calendar

With flickering lights
Colorful and delicate
Much fun for the night

Last gasp of coolness
Path lighted towards warmth of
early spring evenings

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #834
Setsubun Mantoro (Lantern Festival)

Bereft of motivation to thrive and excel?

                                                                           Author: Tulane Public Relations
Image: Students in Class (here)

3WW given words:
absorb certain empty

Bereft of motivation to thrive and excel
With right knowledge generously extended
Some caught unwittingly under an evil spell
What could be the difficulty to absorb

Chanced on those truly prepared to learn
From good teachers dedicated to their wards
Certain to be appreciated by most students
Pursuance of knowledge beget just rewards

Resurgence of diligence promised good returns
Not to reproach efforts and good intentions
Empty squabbles among peers from those defiant
Would not deter teachers in their redemption

For Susan's at PU's Poets United Midweek Motif
  -  teacher, one who teaches and
Thomg's at 3WW week #448

It hurts twice as bad - A Haibun

                                                                            Attribution:Whispers by Mala Lesbia
Image:  Courtesy of Nekneeraj (here)

"Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity"  -  Khalil Gibran

The Prose
It had been playing on her mind. She was becoming more vulnerable.
she thought. She reflected with disdain on her folly

He came with a sudden entry barely months ago, disheveled and
hungry.The day was pleasant, clear blue skies above. The sun's
rays extended a swathe over the yellow dandelions.Nothing
prepared her for the faint shadow of a hunk coming her way
to suddenly stand at the front porch menacingly surveying
the surroundings

They hit it off somehow he looking for assurance from an empty
stomach and roof over his head, she longing for someone
to talk to, to appease a lonely heart.

He turned out to be a likable person whom she proudly presented to
her close friend who was just as happy with his gregarious nature and
friendly personality.

No more a recluse nor a stranger to them both.Her friend seemed to
be having reasons to drop by more often than before. Trustingly she
could even leave them alone together in the house to go on short errands

One day she came back to find the door left ajar. Her bosom friend who
was there when she left was not there anymore and neither was he

The Haiku
Profusion of guilt
When struck by friendly fire
It hurts twice as bad

For Nekneeraj's MLMM's Photo Challenge #81 and
Bjorn's at d'Verse  - Haibun Monday #2

Thinking outside the box smack against reality

                                                                               Artist : Jacek Yerka -  Dream (2011)
Image: Courtesy of Tess's Mag (here)
(Jacek is a surrealism artist)

Surrealism as an art form is to present a painting
that may appear to be unrealistic. In fact it is pushing
the imagination beyond normal reasoning.

MLMM's given words:
warehouse board concession personal
animal gasp ferment scab tin sugar
scurrilous (grossly obscene, abusive)
rivet (a metal pin in two or more plates to hold them together)

Rightly a concession to personal preferences
Being surreal is giving way to rationality
Unlocking the extensive powers of imagination
Thinking outside the box smack against reality

Warehouse full of ideas getting on board
Where repressed inner desires of sexuality
Scurrilous in nature set their leanings to rivet
to dreams of animal instincts unwittingly

Gasps of perplexing intentions revealing
Coated in sugar to mask its sourness
Fermented ideas bandied about swirling
Taken out of a tin and presented in all fairness

Such is surrealism in art to bypass good reasons
Where revelations of emotions are still palatable
Connoisseurs wrested out of their comfort zones
Peeling off the scab to announce it as acceptable

For Tess' Magpie Tales #288
Yves'  MLMM's Wordle #81 and
Kerry's at Real Toad's Tuesday's Platform

Creation in ice

                                                                           Attribution: G.Goodwin Jr. and Snark
Image: Mysterious Pearl (here)

The ice festival is held at Lake Shikotsu
hot springs in Shikotsu-Toya National Park.

Creation in ice
Frozen from clear hot springs to
dazzle on-lookers

Raw talents invoked
Unflinching sculptures glisten
in the morning mist

Had life of its own
Human forms prim and pristine
but slowly dying

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #833  -   Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival

A Royal Flush was a very strong hand

                                                                                      Attribution: Stefan

Image: Friendly Card Games
without Money Stakes (here)

Sunday Whirl given words:

threats flush call wind

nexus (connection between
​parts of a ​system or a ​group)

left list one press share swear tender

Felt somewhat jittery but no clear threats

Sure it was unsure, a cloud over his head

A Royal Flush was a very strong hand

Twisted smile and a call with a bang

Struck with confidence and hidden smile

Took the winds heck off their sails

Nexus between them took a different path

Left the round with a big laugh

Card games listed one of his strong points

At odds to press his luck too often

Did share great moments with friends

He could swear always with a good hand

The sad truth in gambling with money

Among friends would be a curse in strategy

Relationships would invariably be strained

Hole in the pocket tendered as a blame

For Brenda's  Sunday Whirl Wordle #219 and

Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #272

My baby is no crank! - MF

Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash (here)

Happens to possess special powers
If he decides you are up to no good
rays from his hands can stop you in
your tracks. My baby is no crank!

(140 characters)

For Linda's Micro Fiction at Grandma's Goulash
Succinctly Yours week #237 with word of the week  -  crank

Paltry in strength no match to the slight

                                                                                        Attribution: Jessie Eastland
Image: Confusion in the Sky (here)
(wall of air from westerly winds, keeps storm approaching
from the east at bay, during twilight in the Mojave)

Poem inspired by:
So at this hour without delay
Pluck the vibrating string
(part of lyrics of the song O Fortuna
featured in the movie, Excalibur).

The Flash 55
Pall of smoke twirls clouding his mind
Pressures building up blinding his resolve
Insist he must and begin the slow climb
Delay giving vent to a contending force

Songs of love there to accord peace
Paltry in strength no match to the slight
Pacifying inner aggression at the very least
Facilitating a face-saving gesture outright

(55 words)

For Kerry's hosting at Real Toad's FLASH 55 PLUS

Gaiety of radiance overwhelming!

                                                                                   Author: Lezumbal Aberenjena
Image:  Balloons at Gatineau (here)

Note: Haiku of a 5-7-5 syllable count

Bright sunshine descends
Rush of festivities set
to flutter early

Gaiety of radiance
overwhelmed the mystical
in celebration

Vivid Autumn twirl
Resplendent in loud colors
Jubilant outing

For Chev's CARPE DIEM Special #170
- Michael's 1st roar of the midway

Blast for the future

                                                                                                                                   Attribution: CE Price
Image: Dark Clouds -  a Damper
for the immediate Future (here)

Note: A quickie 5-7-5-7-7 tanka offering

Blast for the future
Looking forward to good times
New Year's abundance
Not to dwell on the past but
new horizons to achieve

Silver lining seen
despite depressing window
on current affairs
but global economic
health not anywhere better

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #830  - New Year
(commemorating third anniversary of Carpe
Diem Haiku Kai on Oct 1st and extending  a
'Happy New Year' for the ensuing year) and
Bjorn's at d'Verse's OLN #157

Salacious episodes popping like crackers

                                                                                                              Author: NASA
Image:  Sounds of the Cosmos (here)

Sunday Whirligig given words:
fragments erotic light dark gone  change 
dream watch clock eye theft leave erotic

3WW given words:
woozy uptight thoughtless 

Fragments of his memories or
just figments of his imagination
Salacious episodes popping
like crackers all heavy and juicy
Light and dark images dancing
in the shadows gone berserk

Nothing had changed in his routines
But must dreams raucous and ravenous
keep appearing in the still of nights

He watched the clock ticking when
startled from his slumber eyes blurry
Theft of his sleeping hours would leave 
him woozy but he remained uptight

He kept asking but answers eluded him
What could he do to rid off the dilemma
He had not been thoughtless but still his
head kept spinning his thoughts numbed
Not that young to be privileged with
erotic dreams he persisted to get answers
He would like to dream again tonight!

For MMT's Sunday Whirligig #27
Thomg's at 3WW week 447 and
Susan's PU's Mid-week Motif

Emblazoned across a single bosom's sanctity

                                                                                        Attribution: ade_santora 93
Image: Courtesy of Nekneeraj (here)

Shouts of freedom deranged as they did  sound
Pitched higher maximizing a wholesome impact
Shrilly stabbing the night sky in lashing torrents
Sadly just noises a melodious strain they lacked

Emblazoned across a single bosom's sanctity
Rounded moon extending shines in generous lights
Spectacle in awe in subdued offerings of beauty
Daily musical phenomenon torrid in its delight

Prophetic human gatherings just as boisterous
Caught in enthusiasm of gregarious pleasures
Human reactions just as reverberating but curious
Ideal to let off steam though given life's pressures

For Marian's hosting at Real Toads's  - the Tuesday platform and
Nekneeraj's at MLMM's  -  Photo Challenge #80

Furtively through her heart though prancing

                                                                                    Attribution: Gerrit Photography
Sunday Whirl the given words:
sighs mess spin music dressed 
system visit kick level trump bust

Sighs of dismay permeated her thinking
Racing through the mess cluttering her mind
Furtively through her heart though prancing
Happily on with a spin of good music to dine

But alone ostensibly busy facing the screen
Dressed but chained at both hands disabled
Anxious her system inside beginning to scream
Visit long awaited but nowhere seemed probable

Kicked up a fuss earlier preparing a hot meal
To a level beyond that she was used to do
Trying to trump a good impression to seal
a relationship well nurtured and way overdue

Heat of romance seemingly like a hot summer day
Overwhelmed with a cloak of floating snow flakes
Was it going to be a bust his presence a long delay
She was stood up again by yet another of the fakes

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #218 and
Tess' Magpie Tales #287

brazenly rising to the occasion

                                                                                                                                     Author: Jon Sullivan
Image: Dew Frost flowers - the first
sign of the upcoming winter (here)

Note: Non-Rhythmic tanka
of a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count

Dew frost plays its part
Tenaciously hugging them
ever so lightly
Purportedly happy to
welcome the cold months ahead

The foliage likewise
brazenly rising to the
occasion as a
willing partner dancing to
nature's choice of soft music

For Chev's hosting at CARPE DIEM Haiku Kai
Time Machine #17 Tsuyujimo  - dew frost and
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #271

Your person cries out in desperation

                                                                                               Attribution: Chris Buet
Image: Clear Blue Skies of an Evening Sun (here)

You look up to the heavens above
Seeking consolation for your being
The sky is blue an instinct tugs
at your realms of imagination
The best there is of a weather
on a silver platter given
But this not what you had desired
Your person cries out in desperation
Please hear me!
I need to drown my sorrows

Sadly nature is against your will
it will not release rain to soothe 
the parched earth of your soul**
You are at the end of your tether
Your patience begins to take an ugly turn
You've been hurt many times
Are you to take it again?

You reflected a moment
There is more to life to think about
Yes, you are now acting more rational
You had wished to draw the line across
and this should be it!

'Give yourself a chance' your conscience whispers
'a second chance'
Yes, give yourself a chance
'Swallow your pride' it whispers

It now helps you to decide
Yes, you are going back to her
to make up!

** Inspired by Without You ~ Nishka Ramkhelawan (here)

For Kerry's hosting at Real Toads with -  let's go back to school
where 'one is to select a poem of one of the young writers as an
inspiration for one' own poem.

Mutually benefiting one another not anywhere banal

                                                                                             Attribution: Evelyn Simak
Image: A Willow on the Embankment (here)

MLMM's the given words:
cynosure (something that strongly attracts attention by its brilliance)
pelagic (of or relating to the open seas or oceans)
sinew (a ​structure that ​provides ​support and ​holds it together)
caress embankment sand raw reject cold spoon

Imposing in its beauty of stated cynosure elements
Not pelagic but still standing tall caressing the canal
Sinew of its buttress root the length of the embankment
Mutually benefiting one another not anywhere banal

They quenched a thirst of promise to each other
Weeping willow devoid of sadness sturdy of strength
The green grass below to provide a luxuriant cover
Co-existence held tightly by grains of golden sand

Humans raw in their dealings to outwit their rivals
Quick to reject overtures than to rationally consider
Cold in brushing off against those who were feeble
To spoon off excuses with disdain without bother

For Yves' hosting at MLMM Wordle #79 and
Kerry's The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

They are happy lapping on the goodies

                                                                                             Attribution: Tess Kincaid

Image 1 Looking through the Glass Panel  (here)

                                                              Attribution: Bureau of Land Management
Image: 2 Wyoming's Pronghorn, fastest land animal
in North America, running up to 55 mph (here)

Sunday Whirl given words:

dash deny evict flee free nick scent 

subside threat trick try valley

We pronghorn can make a dash for it
No denying we are the fastest around here
We do not suffer the luxury of eviction
Free to flee in the nick of time

Just a whiff of your stained scent
Of which we are excellently endowed
The smell of your kind do not subside 
You are a threat to mankind

Your tricks expended very generously
A good try on the gullible
Can be seen through the glass panel
How they suffer and beg for the crumbs
How you twist them around your fingers
They are happy lapping on the goodies
Not realizing they've been had

Who are you?
You are just like us
When scraping the barrel

But then you turn into a monster
When the greenbacks begin to ooze out of your ears
We have no place for you in this valley!

For Brenda's hosting at Sunday Whirl Wordle # 217
and Tess' at Magpie Tales #286

Partial to pretenses at play - Kyrielle

                                                                                               Attribution: John Fowler
Image: : Water Mill, an 1892 wooden powerhouse
located above the Crystal River in Colorado (here)

A little yearning unfulfilled
Pushed for hearing of a quick deal
Sought an injunction in one way
Hoping to get it any day

A rethink to enjoy success
With dreams of extending the best
Create a system without delay
Hoping to get it any day

Sound direction set to unfurl
A call to announce brave new world
Partial to pretenses at play
Hoping to get it any day

So be it, an idea floating
On lots of options existing
Bent to surprise so just gangway
Hoping to get it any day

Note: A Kyrielle is made up of 4 stanzas with
four lines each having eight syllables. The refrain
is from the fourth line of the first stanza

For Mary's hosting at PU's
Poetry Pantry #270

Shouldn't be here alone - MF

Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash (here)

A friendly banter!
Why must it come to this?
Shouldn't be here alone
Must go back to the house
Make up or it'll be
sitting on a powder keg.

(140 characters)

For Linda's Micro Fiction at Grandma's Goulash
Succinctly Yours week #236 with word of the week  -  keg

Could not be captured alive

                                                                           Attribution: Brunswyk
Image: A Unicorn Ornament 1910 (here)

Note: Commonly described as an extremely wild creature
a symbol of purity and grace, which could only be captured
by a virgin. Its horn was said to have the power to render
poisoned water potable and able to heal sickness  -  Wiki

Haiku and tanka

Constellations the
likes of the unicorn blessed
with certain powers

Purity and grace
Could not be captured alive
except by virgins

Of beauty and strength
Cited of folklore seen by
Marco in the East
Recent revival featured
in Harry Potter's series

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #821  -  unicorn
a constellation in the universe

with graceful charms of plucking

                                                                                             Attribution: Etan Tal
Image: A Female Harpist full of Concentration  (here)

Slow lingering sounds
been around since ancient times
Floated leisurely by

Harp's magical strains
With graceful charms of plucking
Nero unperturbed

Smiling mockingly
Mesmerized by the flames but
birds hurriedly flew

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #820 -  harp  and
ABHRA's at d'Verse's OpenLinkNight#156