Nature

Image: 1 A sandy beach on the western coast south of Bandar Acheh. It was way south and not affected by the big tsunami

Image: 2 Inland, a free flowing river in the upper reaches.

Note: Hank was in Bandar Acheh twice in the early part of the year 

Serene and unblemished

Undisturbed, unashamed

In its natural state

A fervent hope of being discovered

Feigning a virgin in all its modesty

A sandy beach hidden

From marauders
Only a cool breeze
To keep company

Or pebbles laden river 

Blissfully gleaming

Sensuously flowing

In the upper reaches

Virtually untouched

Not a soul in sight

Uncharitable to intruders

All on their own, undeterred

Perceived home of spirits

Mysteriously alive

But meager in all others

Menacingly quiet

Excruciatingly quiet
Distraught and neglected

Only ripples gurgling

In the morning sun

An occasional deluge though

A rare tsunami rearing its ugly head
Devastating all in its path or

Curses of midnight showers
Flooding the surrounding vegetation

Otherwise virtuously

A maiden adorable in nature

Written for d'Verse OpenLinkNight week 68 and One Single Impression #245

Oblivious of the Wet

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

There they are oblivious of the wet

Resolute in not wanting to regret

Clasped in the entanglements of love

A panacea of pain failing to observe

Sweetness belie feelings less of trivia

Turbulent in thoughts but standing on air

Tugging at the cold they don’t deserve

Let loose emotions that hazardous

Exudes warmness having to let

Can man incessant of feelings of guilt?

Obliquely avoiding words of despair

Headstrong pushing seemingly unfair

Twinkling eyes of the lady a respite

Not revealing the dumbness of plight

Softening the savage breast of the ardor

Kissing in the rain is an obvious splendor

Written for Tess' Magpie 141

Flying

                                                                           Photo by Haliaeetus Vocifer

Image Sourced through Wikimedia Commons (here)

Gliding gracefully

Flying high within the clouds

Satiated feel

Bird’s right to be free

Natural phenomena

But some all caged up

Same injustice is

also inflicted by man

against fellow men

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #29 with prompt  -flying- and Real Toad's Open Link Monday

Peace

                                                                 Image by Christiaan Briggs

Image: Sourced through Wikimedia Commons (here)

Mundane in significance

Stellar make up, jubilant in feelings

Friendly beyond expectations

Good friends are rare beings

Amity an element so elusive

Rollicking and playing games

Exhibiting forms so passive

Takes efforts to stake a claim

Other times easy to come by

Relationships extending for life

Stimulant to good natured high

Not given to having to strive

Of friends, neighbors and countries

Among souls of various extractions

Of different creeds and calling that vary

Must there be untold conflagrations?

Submitted to Sandy's One Single Impression with prompt #244 –amity- and Poets United's Poetry Pantry# 121

Self Portrait

                                                                  Image by Jermboytold3
Image sourced through Wikimedia Commons (here)

Moving in circles

That probably what happened

At some points of time

But where one should start

Events seemed to move too fast

Rickety bones ached

Senior citizens

Stricken with physical strains

Unduly worried

Trying times ahead

Choices were limited where

minders were unkind

Written for Fred, hosting at d'Verse's Poetics with prompt -self portrait-

Childhood

                                                          Adam Jones, Ph.D./Wikimedia Commons
Image: Cambodian Child Outside Angkor Wat
Image sourced through Wikimedia Commons  (here)
(more from Dr Adams at www.flickr.com/adam_jones/sets/)

A fleeting moment

Seemed like only yesterday

Apple of the eye

Cute and cuddly, given

to smothered kisses and hugs

Radiant and playful

Of infants and youth

Must it all end suddenly

Childhood wrested off!

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #27 with prompt -childhood-

Laughter

                                                                  Photo by Vera Kratochvil
Image: Sourced through Public Domain Pictures (here)

Infectious smile brings

laughter, the best medicine

Most welcomed by all

When one is happy

To think that laughter brings tears

Paradox?  But true!

One can die laughing

Depends how the funny-bone

gets stimulated

Wtitten for Chev's CARPE DIEM# 26 with prompt -laughter-

Tears

                                                                                      Photo by RayNata
Image: Through Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License (here)

Trying times last week

Slow on the uptake, a fair

share of irritants

Tears welled up. Warning

messages seen urging to

start back-up process

Problems with the hard

disk. A whiz kid worked on it

Installed CCleaner

Deleted hidden

temp files, cache and baggage

still lurking, unseen

9 gigs of ‘rubbish’

thrown out and done the back-up

Next, to format disk

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #25 with prompt tears and Claudia's hosting at d'Verse's OpenLinkNights#67

Frenzy - Micro Fiction

Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash

They seem so unsettled
What's eating them?
They seem to be bothered!
They are in such a frenzy!

You would when someone forgets
your lunch!

(140 characters)
As counted through Design 215 (here)


A Micro Fiction to be written not exceeding 140 characters based on the picture
provided above and the prompt -forget-

Written for Succinctly Yours week 83 of Grandma's Goulash.

Sunflower

                                                                               Picture by Marcin Szala
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons through Creative Commons licence (here)

Image in likeness

Moves in tandem to the sun’s

Flower of reason

For posterity

Van Gogh’s great admiration

Enhanced in colors

Written for Chev’s CARPE DIEM #22 Haiku blog with prompt – sunflower- and Real Toad's Open Link Monday

First and Second Childhood

                                                      Seven Ages of Man by William Mulready, 1838

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons ( courtesy of d'Verse)

All the world’s a stage of which are enacted

seven parts. Two parts are of uncanny similarity

but paradoxically different. The infant at the

beginning and the second childhood at the end

The infant is helpless, dependent on minders

for every need. But showered with love and affections

bubbly and cute is adored and cuddled in all innocence

Given to many material happiness and wants which are

enjoyed with relish and wanting more

The second childhood is just as dependent on minders

But that’s where it  ends. Exists in misery of dementia

where personal hygiene has gone asunder. Aged and spent

devoid of memory, dehumanized and degrading unkempt

to say the least. A pale shadow of the accomplished

and recognized of old. A planned obsolescence of the

human kind, sans everything!

Why is this so? Is it nature’s way  to ensure those with

debilitating afflictions are accorded the love and affections

due to them just as one is bubbly and cute? ( even though

they are a misery to themselves and their minders! )

May be so, it is so!
Providence is a fair Equalizer.
There is no denying!

Written for d’Verse hosted by Mary in Poetics: It's About Time - a tribute to the Bard's - All The World's a Stage and Poets United's Poetry Pantry #120

Year End Sales

                                                                               Photo by Jim Champion

Image: Sales at a Chain Store

Image Source: From Wikimedia Commons through Creative Commons licence (here)

Victoria is hosting at dVerse. She has challenged us to create Steampunk Poetry. It is taking two contrasting topics and merging them in a poem. I’ve chosen  one, the Year End Sales and two, the impending year end exams ( in italics) Hoping I’m doing it correctly

Victoria also asked us to use enjambment. This is the literary practice of breaking up a unit of syntax ( a phrase or sentence) at the end of a line ( or even between two verses ) I've not tried it here!.

Y.E.S. The Year End Sales is in the offing

The heat is on, the year end exams are here too

Everyone’s all worked up anxiously waiting

Last minute preparations are keeping them busy

Clawing back on what is deemed necessary

Boys and girls are glued to their notes 

To supplement what’s left of the recent ones

Those who had been googling for answers before

Will know there are bargains on the cheap?

They are now struggling looking for whatever notes

Or is it just a ploy to get rid off of what’s left

Worst off are the cut-and-paste practitioners

But who cares! They are convenient

There are those who seem to just relax

One must be smart to pick out one's needs

They can well afford to do so for they were prepared

But the yuppies are more into the fun of it

They were busy from the beginning of the year

To make a kill, a real one at that

Now they are having fun, less pressure on themselves

It’ll be the conversation piece the next day

They yearn to get into it rightaway

Everyone would want to have a say

To get it over with, off their shoulders

The office will be real busy but work suffers

There are other more important things to do

Talking and comparing, showing offs

Songs and games, facebook and what have you

That is more fun and Y.E.S had only just begun

The so-called life of deprivation will soon be over

Written for d'Verse where Victoria is hosting

The Bridge

                                                                                    Photo by Lars Lentz

Image: The Mackinac Bridge

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons through Creative Commons licence (here)

THE 55th ANNUAL MACKINAC BRIDGE WALK was held on Sept 03, 2012

It has been an annual event on every Labor Day since 1958

A Michigan pride

Spanning Straits of Mackinac

The Mackinac Bridge

A suspension bridge

Connects  two peninsulas

The World’s third longest

Distance of five miles

Labour Day Annual event

Mackinac Bridge Walk

Written for Jenn’s Sensational Haiku Wednesday 173 with prompt –bridge-

Shadows

                                                   Picture by Steve Partridge

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence (here)

He thought he could discern

glimpses of movements behind

Darting across chasms of emptiness

Playing tricks with his imagination

Even accompanied with sounds

Why were there rustling leaves?

Trudging through the evening sun

All alone through a minefield

Worst  yet, tall trees of stony silence

He had to endure the eerie feeling

For his house was at the far end

Why must he walk alone?

Aware of shadows lurking behind

He had to brave the quiet path

Idyllic in its structure he kept asking  

Moaning that he was subjected to all this

No choice was extended to him

What did he do wrong?

Written for Poetry Jam with prompt -shadows-

A Sabbatical

Image:1 Dr Alizi with spouse Fawzia ( extreme left) daughter Sophia, Shadah ( my loving wife) with the kids

Image:2 The good Dr with cute little Maisarah

My nephew, a lecturer at the IIU will be going for his sabbatical for 9 months at a university in Gloucestershire. Dr Alizi will be accompanied by his spouse Fawzia and their 5 children. They are expected to fly off tomorrow night.

The passing of Fall a spectacle of wonder

Of golden hues of Autumn leaves beginning

to give way to the impending cold just ahead

Inclement of a cold stream is new to the kids

They are used to cold showers, a heavy downpour

at worst but an experience of winter’s snow is a novelty

as yet to be seen. Stories of Santa and Christmas

they have heard told but fluffy snow flakes they can only

imagine. They will soon see and feel, it will be fun

A sojourn of a kind. The family we’ve been told

will be putting up at Cheltenham, a walking distance

to the University. The good Dr will be occupied with

a research stint for the duration of stay

The eldest girl Sophia had just sat for our local UPSR exam

here. She has the most to gain. At 12 years of age a window to

many new things are at her bidding in school as well as

outside the school environment. Two of the younger ones

are also expected to be in school being of mandatory

school age. But they may be a tad too little to feel

the impact of a school as yet.  

My friend Mo (here) now staying at his son’s in Birmingham

is about an hour’s drive away. It is hoped they will

get around together. It will be reassuring to be

with folks from back home when one is away overseas.

I would wish my nephew and his family the

very best and a wonderful stay away from home.

Written for OpenLinkNight week 66  at d'Verse

Chrysanthemums

                                                                       Photo by Stanislav Doronenko

Image Yellow chrysanthemums

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons through Creative Commons licence (here)

Chrysanthemums, a

flower of character in

Steinbeck’s short story

Elisa Allen

neglected by her husband

sought equality

Signs of the times in

fighting for women power

The beauty in strength

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #15 with prompt chrysanthemum and Real Toad's Open Link Monday

Claustophobia

                                                                     Image by AIGA
Image: From Wikimedia Commons (here)

A sudden jolt, a springy effect and it stopped

There was silence and it was very quiet

Everyone looked ahead not saying anything

Only then I realized the sound was no more

On normal days one failed  to notice any sound

But when it did happen the faint sound of what

seemed like an exhaust fan was loudly missed 

It was longed for but none

There were 10 others sharing the same fate

It was not crowded but how much space could one share

The confines of an elevator suddenly appeared very small

We were stuck, the lift stopped in between floors

A baby started crying, only then it became apparent

It was beginning to get warm and sweaty

I felt nausea and my heart beat went faster

And I felt that same feeling of long ago

Two of us had scrambled into a near empty cupboard

We were playing hide-and-seek. I was smaller  and

shoved to the rear

The one in front insisted on being discovered

before he would push open  the door

I panicked, I hollered but not in this lift

After what seemed ages someone called out from outside

The door slowly opened but not fully

We could see the floor surface but we were close

to three feet below

The baby started crying again and was the first

to be handed over to those waiting outside

A lady then tried to get up but she just couldn’t

A young man put his shoulders below her rump

He slowly rose amidst giggles from the lady

but not from the others no one else dared

She was pulled up by many eager hands.

Eventually to our relief all got out safely

I had that claustrophobic streak in me

But I was glad I did not make a fool of myself

Note: This was a true experience. I still feel the jitters whenever I step into a lift even now

Stu hosting at d’Verse Poetics : POETCAPHOBIA had suggested writing on a ‘phobia’ and shared with  Poets United's Poetry Pantry #119

Nightingale

                                                                   The Illustrated London News, 1855

The war took its toll, when God sent she came

The lady with the lamp

With no desire for fame

Sought to perform with one aim

Faced with strong objections, she went ahead

Wounded in uniforms

Appalled at the conditions

The hospital beds were thronged

Diseases caused  more deaths, not at the front

Worked her team to their best

Even nights without a rest

For honor and Queen no less

Gay is hosting at the pub. She introduced to us the ENGLYN a Welsh verse form. It comprised a 4-lined stanza where the 6^th syllable of the first line rhymes with the other three. The syllable counts are 10, 6, 7, 7

               

Written for Gay’s hosting for Forms for All  at d”Verse

Wax

Image Source: Courtesy of Ella at Poets United

She looked at the flames

Gyrating in a slight draft

Tenaciously persisting

Anxiously wanting to illuminate

A candle light serves her needs

Enhancing the excitement

Of young lovers in the throes

Of romance over dinner

But alas! Just a wishful thought

The stark reality rears its ugly head

This is not in any fancy restaurant

How imaginations can paint a rosy picture

She’s just alone sitting at the kitchen table

The evening downpour was innately insane

A power outage so cruel in its quest

She could be sitting in the dark

This is no candlelight dinner

Not even the right kind of candle

The only ones available in the kitchen drawer

A citronella candle but it serves its purpose

The citronella candles can efficiently repel away various types of insects especially those pesky mosquitoes. The picture ( from Poets United ) may not necessarily be a citronella

Written for Ella’s at Poets United Wednesday #4 with prompt – Wax-

Rainbow

                                                                                     Picture by Solipsist

Image: A unique double rainbow

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons licensed under Creative Commons (here)

Title: Special meaning to me being the title of my blog

Kaleidoscopic

The dispersal of colors

through rays of the sun

The colors exit

reflecting from raindrops to

create a rainbow

How to make sure one

remembers the sequence of

the rainbow colors

Say it, Richard Of

York Gaveup Battle In Vain

So now you have it!

The mnemonic ROYGBIV can be read as Richard Of York Gaveup Battle In Vain which stands for RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN BLUE INDIGO and VIOLET in that order (Red having the longest wavelength at one end and Violet the shortest at the other)

Written for Chev's  Carpe Diem #10 with prompt Rainbow

Micro Fiction

                                                                               Photo by Pat and Jerry
Image: Courtesy of Grandma's Goulash

I need diamonds,a girl's best
friend! Not some cheap glass eye
or rocks! She greedily grabbed the
loot,pumped shots and left them for dead

(140 characters)
as counted through Design215

Grandma challenged us to write a Micro Fiction not exceeding 140 characters

using the photo and the word ‘greedy’

Written for Grandma’s Succinctly Yours New Week #81 and d”Verse's OpenLinkNight 65

Cumulonimbus

                                                                            Photo by Smackshellfreud

Image: Main field at Doon
(with dark clouds broiling in the background)

Source: Wikimedia Commons licensed through Creative Commons (here)

Darkening skies in the distance

A gathering storm shoved gleefully

Cumulonimbus in slow movements

Continuing to grow vertically

The sun in all shyness peeping

Stabs of rays sneaked through

But who has seen the wind?

Neither I or you

Pushing upwards in all arrogance

Dark clouds moved unfettered

A transformed skyline all vibrant

Building its selfish habitat

Triumphant in its pretext

Prone to heavy showers

That invariably follows next

None to have to bother

For who has seen the wind?

Neither I or you

It traversed the heavens unbending

In one fell swoop its due

Carry On Tuesday #176 suggested to include the following in our verse (Who has seen the wind? Neither I or you) as inspired through the works of Christina Rossetti.  Shared with Real Toad's Open Link Monday

It's Basic!

                                                              Sick Woman, 1665, by Jan Steen

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

It has always been

Nary a thought far from her

When he finds her sick

The vow solemnized

set responsibilities

for him to accept

When a spouse is sick

the man downs tool to focus

solely on his wife

He worries. His life

takes adjustments. He knows well

for that man is me

A haiku set written for Tess' Magpie 138

Fragile

Abundance of sorts

Intruding into his mind

Paltry in substance

Tugged at his conscience

Recalcitrant in nature

Could he overcome?

Fragile and wrinkled

Fabric of feeble facade

A scarecrow of self

Sought  for divine help

Offered strength of character

Had hopes of success

Written for Chev's Carpe Diem #7 with prompt -fragile-  Poetry Pantry #118 and One Single Impression's #241-scarecrow-

Trying for a Cherry Souffle

Image: Hank's simple sketch in soft pastel

( a quickie effort)

Trying one’s hand at a Cherry Souffle

It would appear not that complicated

Going by the ingredients it should be easy

It’s just a matter of getting started

250 gms of fresh or canned cherries

Eggs sugar gelatin and whipped cream

As required toasted nuts to decorate

All set to whip up a dream

Get a 6” soufflé dish

brush and collar with oil

Deseed and chop the cherries

and leave a few for topping later

In a bowl place the sugar

and egg yolks mixture

Place over a pan of hot water

and whisk until creamy and thick

Place over gentle heat

The dissolved gelatin in water

Later cool all the mixture

throw in the nuts for good measure

Pour into the soufflé dish,

to set in the fridge

And to serve cold

It’s best we are  told

Note: Submitted for PFF on April 14,2017

Claudia is hosting at d’Verse for us to think
of food or a recipe in Poetics - Foodloose

The Moon

                                                                           Picture by Tomascastelazo

Image: Reaching for the Moon

Source: Wikimedia Commons licensed under Creative Commons licence ( here )

President Kennedy’s  impassioned

speech of May 25,1961 rang loud and clear

Gripped the nation’s attention

That ‘before this decade is out,

 of landing a man on the moon

and returning him safely to the earth’

President Nixon elated at the success

spoke to Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin

on July 20, 1969, extolling the joy 

and pride of the nation of 

having achieved the goal

But as fast as it had happened as early

as the 1970’s itself, detractors claimed NASA

faked the landings spawning a slew of

‘conspiracy theories’ 

The Moon

It has always been

there. That‘s one small step for a

man. What a challenge!

Say what you may. One

giant leap for mankind..Could

not have been better

A dream achieved. A

nation’s goal met before the

end of the decade

'That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind'

(Words said when Armstrong first stepped onto the moon)

Anna in her first hosting had suggested a combination of a prose and a poem
Written for Anna's d'Verse Meeting the Bar: Postmodern (Prose) and Kris' Carpe Diem #5 with prompt -moon-

Limericks 12

Madeleine Begun Kane provides the first line and we are to continue. These are my postings at the specific dates

kaykuala says:

September 23, 2012 at 6:56 am

A fellow who tended to whine…

Immaturity, insecurity his maligns

Every little matter

would make him stutter

His antics prompted others to decline

Hank

kaykuala says:

August 19, 2012 at 4:04 am

A fellow was very obsessed

A chosen one he was blessed

Frequent to outbursts

He was the greatest

Forgetting Ali was the best

Hank

kaykuala says:

July 8, 2012 at 4:47 am

A fellow was proud of his skill

A prowess so potent it could kill

Played easy

Nothing dirty

Likes of a lawman fitted the bill

Hank

Tomato

Image:1  Hank's sketch of soft pastel on dark A4
size paper with the 'model' object next to it

Say it whichever

Tuh-MAY-toh or Tuh-MAH-to

Either way is right

Antioxidant

Lycopene bearing for health’s

succulent freshness

Versatility

Raw of salad’s choice or cooked

Brought wealth to Campbell’s

Written for d'Verse OpenLinkNight week 64 where Joy is hosting

Frustrated

                                            It Must Be Time For Lunch Now by Francesca Woodman
Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

He is exhausted

Had already done with six

He is frustrated

Tried his best as to

prise open is an option

It is not his fault

The cutlery

these days are not as

strong as they used to

Haiku set for Tess’ Magpie Tales 137 based on above prompt and Real Toad's Open Link Monday