Hot Capsicum

Image: Hank's own soft pastel sketch on an A4 size dark drawing paper

Note: In grappling with a new form with repeat endings I decided to revamp an earlier poem (here) together with the sketch for a quickie offering. Hoping I'm forgiven this time for an easy way out.

Glistening with pride hidden a taste, spicy

Fondness for chili peppers amidst fine servings

A capsicum sneaky of yellow, red and green

Gives a kick at lunch mixed with other greens

A salad bowl for a taste bud for hot and spicy

Creates a howl for those timid in their servings

Hotplate with meaty offerings of fine servings

Gnashed, gnawed spicing up the chow of varied greens

Fitting for a King at a lunch sitting all that’s spicy

Spicy servings an adventure with greens

Written for Sam's Forms For All - A Tritinas at d'Verse

Art

Image: I toyed around with the e-brush and came up with the above

Strength of imagination

Transferred on canvas

Kaleidoscopic hues of rainbow

Whets naughtiness of

eccentricity of creating

abstracts, still life, portraits

and scenic beauty of nature

Written for Mama Zen's at Real Toads where we are to write a 25-word verse of power image close to our heart

Artists,Poets and Philosophers

Reflecting and in somber mood

Nonchalantly unchallenged

The object of their wrath

Bared for the asking

Welcomed them with open arms

There were times of despair in their life

Where things just didn’t click.

But the ups and downs made it

all the more interesting

They embraced adversity 

It offered them a challenge

They were not the only ones

who had to suffer.

No moments of regret

Life had not been fair

Neglected at their prime

But friends offered hope

They found solace in numbers

Once they had a toe hold they went in with gusto

armed to the teeth, brushes paints 

rollers and permanent markers

There  were artists and poets among them

and philosophers in their own odd ways

There was a thin line separating wit and obscenity

No moments of regret, it would be fun

Celebrating diversity, it had come a long way

On the street,subway and bathroom walls

Graffiti galore!

Image: Subway graffiti in London

Picture Credit: Public Domain Pictures.net (here) with notation

'Royalty free stock photos. All pictures are free for commercial and personal use'

Written for Poets United Vice-Versa #13 with antonyms: object/welcome,despair/hope & embrace/neglect and d'Verse OpenLinkNights week #59

Kitty

Picture Credit: From Public Domain Images (Cats and Kittens) here

A cat generally is quite a friend

Just need to stroke below its neck

It'll purr and stretch to no end

It'll  brush your legs or lie on its back

It’s clean no wet tongues like a doggie

Anytime it is for a kitty

But wait you got to still clean up

Sieving through the sand

To stomach all the muck

For the love of a friend

A regular wash to avoid ticks

Clean hygiene uppermost

Then have fun with playful tricks

Never to regret to play host

Written for Real Toads in Open Link Monday

The Sporting Spirit

                                                                Big Room 1948 by Andrew Wyeth

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

An emptiness,a journey’s end

A stellar performance was expected

A talented group assembled

Much effort was made to ensure

The good of each to strengthen

For their own glory basking with enthusiasm

But where have they gone?

Not many months ago this room was full

Standing room only many waiting by the door

Hoping to be led in to be accepted

In a select group of celebrated persons

A frenzy whipped up of untold madness

For a group of athletes with a sense of purpose

But where have they gone?

They were made to understand then

And the message was drummed in

In fulfillment of the aspirations of many

On the shoulders of the selected few

There was no mistaking the intents

The hopes clearly enthused

But where have they gone?

The will of winning was not invoked

The elusive gold medal slipped through!

Written for Tess' Magpie #132

An Honor Fulfilled

                                             Two Parts of the Road as a Whole by Borg de Nobel

                                                           (http://borgeous.wordpress.com) used with permission

Image:1 Courtesy of d'Verse with kind permission of artist

                          
Unfinished business

Midway in life's journey

As a bull elephant knew how

A modicum of honor

A mite too rash

But did it anyway

To avenge the demise

of a little one

It took the Iron Horse

to task head-on

It never had a chance

But it did find itself

In the annals of history

Heroics of a kind

The responsibilities

of a leader brought to extremes

Reckless ,virtuous,brave and plain madness

a living example,dead,for

an elephant never did forget!

Process Note: A tribute to a bull elephant in defence of its herd had rammed head-on against a train . A train had the day before ploughed into a baby calf. Read (here) and (here)

Written for Claudia's at d'Verse appreciating talented contemporary artist Borg de Nobel, Poets United's Poetry Pantry #112 and Carry on Tuesday #170,  to use Midway in Life's Journey as a prompt

Salvador Dali

Image: My quickie sketch of  his extended moustache

Long wavy hair, eyes constantly

wide open looking surprised 

Pointed moustache extending beyond

his cheeks, not unlike Fu Manchu

mouth twisted, a measure of talent

Could he be mistaken?

For someone ordinary? No!

Extraordinary? Yes!

His works out of the ordinary

way out, loud and weird

but well chronicled known and accepted

Brought inner satisfaction

to him but consternation

to those around

Melting clocks, somber surroundings

The Persistence of Memory

His most famous painting

In some others elephants

long legged gallivanting

Cannot fault him for insisting

He was way above other beings

The whole gamut of culture

Within his repertoire

Graphics, paintings, architecture

Sculpture, notable quotes, the whole works

Nothing up his sleeves, no tricks

To think he was eccentric!

Shared with Ella's Think Tank Thursday #111 with prompt Salvador Dali  at Poets United  and Victoria's Meeting the Bar at d'Verse with  prompt - writing character

Harmony

Image: Hank in Gay Paree a long time ago

Note: Mindful of copyright infringement as highlighted recently I have resorted to rummaging through my assortment of old snapshots. This pic can safely be titled as Harmony (I think so)

A treatise in respectability

Many a youngster ought to see

Elders are great at guessing

Extending harmony to make it pleasing

Keeping discord in check is fulfilling

Searching the conscience is revealing

Walk tall in triumph and bare the essentials

Maximize the strength and enhance the potential

Tread gingerly onto something valuable

Cut off eagerness to fail and stamp off squabbles

Arms akimbo a measure of consternation

Declare a truce and check turbulence

Trudge with care path of non-violence

Startle adversaries into submission

Written for Poets United's Vice-versa #12 with antonyms Harmony/Discord and Triumph/Fail and
d'Verse OpenLinkNight week #58

CRASH!

                                                       Under the Bridge by Adolphe Valette 1912

Picture Credit: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

Staring into the mist

He allowed his gaze to wander

Had he seen this before?

He thought he saw movements

Was it a big ship speeding fast?

It was heading directly at the pillar

His thoughts went back to those days

He had seen action before

Now a similar scenario was about to unfold

He had hesitated 

He was on the bridge

Imperative he should react

A split second decision

He should act!

But he was numb

He couldn’t move, he panicked

There was time but he froze

Time stood stlll

CRASH!

Dereliction of duties

cited at the court martial

He paid for it!

Now a similar drama is about

to unfurl. He is on the embankment

He is an innocent bystander

Those on the ship ought

to do something fast

He remembered the destruction before

Now it’s worst, a bigger ship, a stronger pillar

Now he can hear the sirens blaring

There is a great commotion

Too late!

CRASH!

Somebody ought to take the rap

It was painful, it wore him down

He knew too well

It happened to him!

Written for Tess' Mag #131 and Real Toad's Open Link Monday

It's Not Summer

 Image:1 My son Azhar enjoying the sun on the beach

Image:2 A sanguine view of the hot equatorial sun blazing swathes of rays over hot sands

Image:3 A solemn sunset is a must but hid away by dark clouds

The sun beats down hard

Lines of sweat down the cheeks

Trickling at many places to the neck

The T-shirt is all wet as if caught in a dreadful shower

It’s hot, it’s sweaty akin to summer

So we are told.

We have summer here all year round

Can you beat that!  You get more than just a tan

This is the equatorial lands

Is it the same experience of a summer that you have

in temperate lands?

It is hot and bright

It beats down the skin

Gives sunburn blisters

It gets all sweaty

No, it’s not. It’s all that but…

Humidity lends a hand

It seems like summer all year round

But it is not, if not for humidity which is close to 80%

Let's see again,
Just like summer
Hot like summer

All year round but…

We would rather have just a day of snow flakes

Yearning for the impossible, silly!

Written for K's at d'Verse anything akin to summer and Poets United's Poetry Pantry #111

Jungle Green

 Image:1 We were dressed in jungle green uniforms even in the classroom. Hank, the cheeky one facing the camera in the centre

Image:2  Hank in jungle kit. This was how we dressed on jungle assignments for our 'campings' and expeditions

Image:3 Hank at age 15 dressed in greens. We were not issued firearms but we learned about them. On occasions we experienced target practice at the .22 (indoor) or the .303 (outdoor) firing range.

Military kind

A unique institution

Disciplined bearing

School days in greens, had

rifles and machine-guns** as

‘toys’ on Saturdays

Process Notes: I was in the Royal Military College as a student from age 15 till 19 before entering the University. We had normal classes on week-days and military training on Saturdays.

** it was the LMG (light machine guns)

Written for Leo’s Haiku Heights # 158 with green as a prompt 

An Angler's Luck

Image:1 Hank with two of the spoils, not quite biggies but ok for fun's sake.

Laid back feeling miserable

Lazy stupor crying out loud

The quietness is unbearable

Designs of landing a wallop

Far from grappling with big shouts

Resolved to fate hoping to fight

Divine intervention is allowed

An angler waits for the big bite

A huitain where a rhyme scheme of a b a b b c b c and of an 8 to 10 syllables are taken as guides provided by Gemma

Written for Gay's presentation of Gemma's huitain at d'Verse in Forms For All 

Red Okra

Image:1 A Red okra image graciously extended by Pak Cik from his collection. Thanks Pak Cik for allowing me the use of the image. Pak Cik in his blog had highlighted his Red okra plant. Pak Cik was given some seeds and he had through care and affection nurtured the plant to bear 'fruits' measuring 9 inches long.

Image:2 My quickie pastel sketch of a ladies finger (or I would call it Green okra) on an A4 size dark drawing paper done a few minutes ago

An okra with hues of red

Unique, rarely exchanged in trade

Made its presence quite recently

Cultivated rightly as a hobby

But seriously the green kind

Ordinary, thrives as a vege in Eastern cuisine

But ‘ladies fingers’ it was long known

Who in their right mind had such named

Never to have seen slender hands?

Condemned not anywhere as near

Rough, slimy rather vaguely queer

Praise be, 'Green okra' is more acceptable

Let’s us not involve ourselves in squabbles

Ladies fingers as a name is not in vogue

More pleasant Green okra is now invoked

Written for Poets United Vice Versa #11 with prompts comprising antonyms Unique/Ordinary and Condemn/Praise and Claudia's OpenLinkNights week #57 at d"Verse

Shell

                                                              Image by Francesca Woodman

Picture Credit: Courtesy of Tess' Mag #130

A shell, a musical tool

Primitive but cool

A long beat, melodious

Sounds of the sea, the obvious

Got a second to spare

Blow well to nowhere

Blow as you might

Not for a long flight

Nor bidding to fight

Just blow, kudos

For a good show

Blow away

Vibrating the air

With an inner fare

Blow away

You’re doing fair

Good for a dare

Blow away

At your lair!

Written for Tess' Magpie #130 with picture prompt and Real Toads Open link Monday 

A Novel

                                                            View from Ischia, Italy by S. McPherson
Picture Credit: Courtesy of S. McPherson
Lazing and lounging on the cushion chair

Leafing through the novel reading intently

The world out there appeared warm and bare

Most are glued to the idiot box serving

a live performance of the on-going London fare

The Olympics had progressed well now tapering

Clifford had refused to be wheeled around

He would do it himself. He had a nagging suspicion

The grounds of the estate were extensive

The gamekeeper was all too aware

He put down the novel. He had read the review
Of steamy scenes of the unexpurgated version

He was half-hearted in wanting to view

what was then on the air. It brought shivers

Diving scenes of ‘a reverse one and the half somersault’

Of pikes ,tuck, twists, were all too familiar

He remembered  the dull thud and the searing pain

Of hitting the platform  and passing out and of nearly drowning

Diving accidents were rare that he was told

but it happened. He reflected on what it could have been

A paraplegic just as Clifford? He was thankful fate

was kind to him. He looked at the book cover again

‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ he’ll continue reading later

Written for Stu's Poetics The Beautiful Sadness at d'Verse reflecting on works with D.H.Lawrence in mind. Shared with Poets United's Poetry Pantry#110

Impressionists

Image: A quickie image done using the bemomo interactive tool utilizing the bubbles and lines schemes

Get a brush on

The virtual kind?

Interactive locations

One so refined?

Just a demonstration

Got a good find?

Am in luck,man!

What kind of versions

Bubbles and lines

Good for this occasion?

One so sublime

Ideal solution?

Akin to fine wine

Get a move on then

Never you mind!

In keeping with Claudia’s suggestion we are to mock the impressionists that she saw. It was deft loose brush strokes with a touch of shade and lights, done quickly without much time on details . If it’s not perfect it doesn’t  really matter. That was what I did within 10 mins for an impressionist image above ( so  I think) 

Written for Claudia's Impressionistic writings for a quick impressionist image and verse in d'Verse's Meeting the Bar

Human Conflicts

Image:1 Human aggression was long in fashion

(Picture Credit: Google images)

Profiles of courage

Begotten of heroics 

in wartime exploits 

Pitting man against

man with fire power where

killing is virtuous

Is it true wherein

morality,rights,wrongs are

yet to reconcile

Human conflicts, means

to justify aggression

used extensively

What is life worth, snuffed,

ostensibly for freedom

but full of deceit

Shared with Jenn's Sensational Haiku Wednesday #163 with prompt -courage- and d'Verse OpenLinkNights week #56

Stripes

Image:1 Peek-a-boo! fooled you!

(Picture Credit: Google images)

Black stripes on white

Or white stripes on black

The perennial question

often asked. You want a

visual answer or a scientifically

proven answer was the retort!

Gathered in a group you could

not even make out. Was it the head

or the rump looking your way

It was perfect harmony, an ogre

of black and white with blinking

eyes at certain points and moving

tails swishing slowly at other points.

Those were the only tell-tale signs.

They must have laughed at us.

You stupid humans! They must have

said that many times. Must you try to

unravel the discord?

Do not scatter us or you’ll be confused

Just be happy with the crossings across

the road. Our heritage to humanity!

Written for Poets United's Vice/versa #10 with antonyms gather/scatter and harmony/discord as prompts

Shortcuts

 Image:1 If you risk taking a shortcut you may get stuck in the mud. You get angry in the process

Image:2 It's apparent many risk taking shortcuts even before.

Picture credit: from Google images

May all start as fun

Taken as a challenge but

a joke gone awry

I know a shortcut!

Yes! heard many times before

Many took it through

May be pressed for time

A real emergency that

prompts a risk taker

Impatience result

in dire consequences

Men just never learn

Note: Given Amy's magical touch (Thanks Amy!) 

Shared with One Single Impression #232 shortcut- , Poets United's Poetry Pantry #109 , Open Link Mondays at  Real Toads  and Chev's Haikublog Tackle it Tuesday

A Dinner That Wasn't

                                             A Dinner Table At Night 1884 - John Singer Sargent

Picture Credit: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

Looks like he's not coming at all!

No, couldn’t be. He was all too happy

in the afternoon. He even reminded me

Yes, he had graciously invited me

‘A dinner if you may?’ and I had relented

Not that I lack dinner invitations

My admirers are aplenty

I’m fairly good looking. Better than most

around  here I see.But why?

Why must he do this to me?

He had been most polite. He chose his words

well. I had a feeling when he called

He wasn’t pushy, nor was I obnoxious

We talked informally, I mean how much you

need to when inviting someone out

Sure, I could  play hard to get

But that was not for us

We’re mature enough to act adults

I thought the evening was made

I told him not to pick me up

As he had to come all the way

and back again. It was more convenient

for my sister to drop me here

I know better now!

There must be some reasons
It is not like him

But how am I to explain to my guest?

I just wonder!

Note: Given Amy's magical touch (Thanks Amy!)

Written for Tess' Mag #129

A Moment in Time

Image:1 The imposing Abe

This day I stood before him

In awe of the man larger than life

Who espoused rights and equality

And being remembered of his words

Four score and seven years ago……..

…..conceived in Liberty, and dedicated

to the proposition that all men are created equal

His gaze across towards the Monument

Imposing, a sitting position compounding his greatness

Very unlike others standing mostly

Sharing the spectacle again of the glittering moments

Of the changing of the guards on the concourse in front

together with tourists from the world over

( including Hank many years ago)

The Capitol in the distance

The custodian of his ideals and aspirations

The White House his abode to his left direction

(not this particular one I would think)

But still his, until that fateful day in the theater

Image:2 The simple Bob Kennedy's grave where a small flame was kept burning at the plaque in the fore ground. This recent Google image doesn't show the flame anymore.

The spirit of the 2-minute Gettysburg address

For fallen heroes was still with us

At Arlington, where an eternal flame

Flickered in the slight breeze

Of another fallen son

Marking Robert’s resting place

Image:3 The Museum of Modern Art, so unique a structure

(Picture Credit: All From Google Images)

A sojourn in DC would not be complete

Without a peek at the Museum of Modern Art

Where the  building itself was poetry

A marked difference from the staid Smithsonian

And other Museums across from the White House

Written for Brian's Poetics at d'Verse for some historical happenings

Stars

Picture Credit: Google images

Two sets of haiku

The rich and famous

Glittering and glamorous

Untold opulence

Strutting the catwalk

Or of screen stars or crooners

Rich talents abound

Coterie of stars

Astounded and enraptured

All generations

*************
How I love to see

shooting stars in the night sky

Showers and tailings

It must be fun but

must I wait in the open,

in the cool night air?

No, save the bother

Have someone thumb hard on your

head, you will see stars

Written for Leo's Haiku Heights #156 with prompt - stars -

A Scheme

He came with a little smile, a toothy little smile

Broader it became as he got a little closer

Broke into a small laughter and all the while

A quizzical stance hidden behind the laughter

Broader it became as he got a little closer

Seen this act a few times had seen it before

A quizzical stance hidden behind the laughter

Scheming intention, a suspicious one I gather

Seen this act a few times had seen it before

Upon reaching an extended hand in friendly gesture

Scheming intention, a suspicious one I gather

Responded likewise not wanting to create a furor

A quizzical stance hidden behind the laughter

Began with a few good words without a falter

Scheming intention , a suspicious one I gather

The sling bag  is opened its contents spilled over

Began with a few good words without a falter

All the charts, the legs, the returns, too familiar

The sling bag  is opened its contents spilled over

I knew it, a ‘get-rich-quick’ a Ponzi as it were

All the charts, the legs, the returns, too familiar

Broke into a small laughter and all the while

I knew it, a ‘get-rich-quick’ a Ponzi as it were

He came with a little smile, a toothy little smile

Picture Credit: Google images

Written for Sam's Form For All: Pantoum in d'Verse

Talent

Image: Courtesy of Google images

Ability most

profound but wrested through no

fault of the being

Latent talent not

discovered is a quagmire

to potential gain

Hidden talent may

cause one to tower above

innate regal sway

Extend bounds to reach

beyond human limits of

pristine nirvana

Written for Jenn's Sensational Haiku Wednesday with prompt -talent-