Unwittingly He got Entangled

                                                                                Attribution: Mark Haley

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

The Sunday Whirl,  The 12 words are:

edges exact gathered ghosts hillside patches
sharp spill swarm unbidden where worship

The odds were stacked all against him

Trudging up the hillside amidst patches

He gathered his thoughts

Not a ghost of a chance

So he believed

The day seemed drab

Dark clouds were forming menacingly

It seemed peaceful but eerie

Not a soul in sight

Not a spill of a shadow

Couldn’t this have been foretold

He was not sharp

A weak moment

Unwittingly he got entangled

Entrapped in a love triangle

A slight distraction all it had taken

Not an exact foreboding

Still a swarm over his thinking

Loss of someone dear 

Unbidden to one’s heart

One he had worshipped

But where is she?

Rough at the edges

He had lots to learn

Shared with Tess'Magpie Tales #188 ,  Brenda's Sunday Whirl wordle #128 and
Mary's hosting at Poetry Pantry #169

Landing a Big Catch

                                                            the big catch by Catrin Weltz-Stein
Big game hunting
By a puny little thing
He did not think
He'll land a big catch
That's how life is
Luck is driving by
When least expected!

But be mindful
Putting in a bid
Is a simple operation
When saddled with good returns
One gets confounded

Invariably a good catch
May just be lying there
With no means of landing
Unless one needs to spend
To facilitate its journey
to shore

Good fortune is always
accompanied with testing times
Whether one can stomach the test
For Providence is a great Equalizer
One must be prepared!

Claudia hosting at d'Verse Poetics, invites to respond to anyone of Catrin's painting

Japanese Sake, Salmon!

                                                                                    Attribution: K B Cheng
Image: Salmon fish meat
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Amazing instincts
Annual journey upriver
Sustenance of life

Pink slices offered
Held its own for all seasons
Gift of the moment!

Note: Most understand sake to mean a Japanese rice wine drink.
But sake is also Japanese name for salmon

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #308 on sake (salmon)

Autumn Rains a Falling!

                                                                                 Attribution : Tony Hisgett
Image: Golden Autumn Leaves
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

green leaves turn orange
amid the colors we see
cold raindrops falling    -  haiku by JzB
Autumn rains demand a place
Its rights not to be denied

green leaves turn orange
amid the colors we see
cold raindrops falling   -   haiku by JzB
Extends its influence nicely
Strength reserved for the long haul

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM responding to JzB's haiku of 5-7-5
(in italics) to complete the Tan Renga's Challenge #16 with a 7-7

Eyes on the Road

                                                                       Attribution: Uploaded by dsirmons

Image: Road Sign Not to be Read

1.Upon Getting His New Driving License

Congrats, son! On getting your new license

Now, you can drive the family car

Thanks Dad

But remember to keep your eyes on the road

I need to read road signs!

Only the relevant ones!

2.Couple in an Open Top Sports Car

Such fun to be here!

Yes, cruising along the beach

With the cool breeze caressing my face

And bikini-clad beauties walking by…..

Keep your eyes on the road

But there are road signs to read

I said keep your eyes on the road!

Written for Victoria's hosting at d'Verse: You want to be What?

Love is in the Air

                                                                           Attribution: Colin Smith
Image: Rustling Leaves in Slight Breeze
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Piercing morning rays

Silent voices through the warmth

Love is in the air

Rustling leaves dancing

Light breeze brushing rosy cheeks

Young hearts aflutter

Heart-beats racing fast

Sensation not restricted

Penchant for some fun

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM Extra #3

Here We Go Den Dancing

                                                                                        Attribution: Orchi
Image: A Dendrobium
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

A seemingly simple 3 letter word

Can bring forth myriads of meanings

Strangely enough not quite much efforts

Needed to round off all the strings

Commonly it refers to an animal shelter

A ‘lion’s den’ so to speak and often mentioned

‘Children’s den’ built in the bush for something similar

An abbreviation for the orchid genus Dendrobium

A Denier or den, units of textile measurement

Or even Den, a Ukrainian newspaper

And Den a comic book series by Richard Corben

Or ‘Dirty Den’ BBC EastEnder’s fictional character

Den, a 2001 Greg Arce directed film horror

A digital entertainment network DEN or den.net

The Den Toronto a jewellery studio in Ontario

Or Den name of a Pharaoh in ancient Egypt

The Den an Irish children’s television programme

Den a fictional character in the Battle Angel Alita manga

Den Haag in Dutch is how The Hague is known

Rounds up the spectacular use of the Den mantra

Written for Grace's hosting of d'Verse OpenLinkNight week#115

A Disabled Wannabe

                                                          The Moth and the Lamp by Cesar Santos

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

Disabled by innocence of a kind

With a rare sense of purpose

Tiredness of none so blind

Of one in a striking stupor

A Tinkerbell wannabe alone

Yearnings of a night’s outing

Happy at being  given the freedom

Instead holding precariously to the lighting

A wrong strategy put paid

To her desire to roam the night

The golden dust were not replenished

She lost her strength in the morning light

Destined to stay put in that position

Waiting for nightfall so intently

When she would gain her power again

To return to base and re-charge her energy

Written for Tess' Magpie #187

Sunday Whirl - A Perilous Journey

                                                                             Attribution: Brocken Inaglory

Image: Migratory Birds taking a Breather
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

The 12 words are:

apple claws clues cradle exile peering

pile secret rash spirits stories three

Peering through the leaves

stabs of the sun’s rays pierced

through the peaceful morning air

Revealing a secret rendezvous

of beautiful wild birds which

landed in threes making a bee-line

for the solace of a lake enveloped

with a blanket of mist so serene

Exiled within the cradle of greenery

and in high spirits, gliding and skipping

the water’s surface with the temerity

of rash abundance before landing chirping

with stories to tell of a tired journey

A crowded morning tacit in its desire

to draw clues as to what were there ahead

They laid back against a pile of drift-wood

made up of old apple trees with their

claws embedded in a tired stupor

To later continue their perilous endeavor

guided only by the natural instincts

befitting of migratory birds

Written for Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #127 Shared with
Mary's hosting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #168

Peace is Elusive!

                                                                                           Attribution: Yann
Image: International Peace Day -  2009 Geneva, Switzerland
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Dragging itself slowly without clear directions

Clamoring to right wrongs imposed on others

Negotiation for peace long devoid of substance

Where is the olive branch and the little white dove?

Elusive in its bidding to combat violence

As often so witnessed in the news daily

The process towards peace  given scant attention

Commitment, as a stand is not adhered fully

An occasion where ‘showing two fingers’ was acceptable

Seen during Peace march and political rallies of old

But now the cry for international peace is somewhat feeble

Instead the show of force are seen prominent and bold

A finality for world peace has been the yearning

To counter the sad situation of the many innocents

The political will to alleviate all the sufferings

Extended just lip service without much conscience

Note:  Written on the occasion of International Peace Day
today, Saturday, September 21st, 2013.

Submitted for Mary's hosting at d'Verse - Poetics: Celebrate Peace Day 

Wonder of the Rainbow

                                                                                 Attribution: Evelyn Simak
Image: Rainbow
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Note: Rainbows are caused when the sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the earth's atmosphere. The rainbow colors range from red (on the outside) and violet (on the inside). Rainbow displays occur when part of the sky is still cloudy and the observer is at a spot with clear sky in the direction of the sun - Wiki

This morning's rainbow

shares its deep violet edge

with the misty moon    -   haiku by Mabson Southard

Red at the extreme

Violet at the opposite

Colors in between

Wonder of nature

Consistent in its make-up

Emblazoned up high

Coolness of drizzle

Persistence in appearance

Hugging Sun’s rays tight

Chev at CARPE DIEM's Special #58  suggests to come up with haiku 

 in the spirit of Mabson’s haiku as given in italics above

Endorsement of Perfection

                                                                                   Attribution: Comacontrol
Image: Flying Rock Dove
Source: Wikimedia commons (here)

Flapping wings of doves

Ushering whispers of success

Winds of emotions

Haggling for warmth of friendship

Secured through strenuous efforts

Spirits of youth smiled

Despite conflicts encountered

Strength of character

Triumphant yet again pending

endorsement  of perfection

Written for Chev's Little Ones#4 Tanka at CARPE DIEM

Theme Park Of a Kind

The LEGOland Theme Park had its second anniversary on Sept 15,2013. 
My grandchildren and  their cousins were there the day before, together joining in the fun!
( it rained that morning, the weather was cloudy and the day was relatively dark)

 Image: 1 Norman and Kimie with some of the LEGO creations in the background

 Image: 2 Kimie and Fatin with the Petronas Twin Towers

Image: 3 Norman and Kimie looking at the Royal Selangor Club and the State Secretariat
Building of old

Image: 4 Fatin, Kimie,Wati and Norman gazing at the the Maybank Building

Building blocks exuding wild imaginations

Flashbacks to those young days gone by

Time well spent in building of known items

Engrossed in childhood fantasies

Development of childhood brain teasers

Fascination to innocent youngsters

Lego a companion for many years

Now right before one’s own eyes

What had been likes of childhood dreams

All transformed colorful and nice

Into known objects monuments and buildings

The beauty of it all a bonus of a kind

Within a theme park akin to a fairyland

Extending myriads of wonders and attractions

Presented as a reality to those frustrations

Of long hours before of uncompleted creations

Now all proudly presented at LEGOland

Note:
" LEGOland Malaysia is the first Legoland in Asia and the sixth in the world. It was open to the public in Sept. 2012. The 76 acre theme park features seven themed areas with more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions. Its water theme park is almost 90% complete and set to open to the public on Oct 21, 2013. A first in Asia, and the largest in the world, the Legoland Water Park will have more than 20 water slides and over 70 Lego models among its attractions. "
- quoted from news reports

Written for Theme Thursday with prompt – fascination and shared

with Joe's hosting at d’Verse ‘s OpenLinkNight week #114

What of A Hawthorn Hedge!

                                                                                     Attribution: Trish Steel
Image: A Hawthorn Hedge
A hedge apparently considered a symbol of death as its wood was used for funeral pyres
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

One is to write a haiku distilled from another poem. The poem by Genji is in italics.

It told a story of a lady who died purely as a result of hatred by another woman 

jealous of her

The evening sky itself

becomes something to cherish

when I gaze at it,

seeing in one of the clouds

the smoke from her funeral pyre  -  poem by Genji

Untimely demise

Not through any fault of hers

Killed by pure hatred

Tears like beads falling

Feelings of regret unmasked

For someone so dear

Written for Chev's Carpe Diem's Distillation #2,
Shared with Kerry's hosting at Real Toad's  Open Link Monday

Too Good To Be True!

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag

Got to hand it to you

How did you do it?

I mean how did you get the map

Others had tried but failed

Apparently a fortune

stashed there somewhere

But I’m skeptical

What about may I ask?

This map!

What about the map?

Too much details

Too recent for my liking

Too good to be true

Somebody will pay for this!

Trying to hoodwink us

There is no buried treasure here!
Where's the 'X'?

This is a fake!

This is not a Pirate’s map!

Written for Tess’ Magpie Tales #186

A Luminous Luminary (MF)

                                                                                Image: Attributed to Pat
Image: Courtesy of Grandma's

Luminous luminary
of a sports personality
Jump specialist he'll be
To sharpen his prowess,
plain to see
At a young age
he's starting early!

(140 characters)

Grandma aka Linda at Grandma Goulash's Succinctly Yours week #130 extended
Pat's photo above. One is to create a Micro Fiction (MF) of  not exceeding 140
characters and to include luminous as the word of the week

Can this be happening?

                                                                   Barren by Kathryn Dyche Dechairo.
Image: Courtesy of the Artist from her blog at Listening To The Whispers (here)

Desolation

One of a kind

Untold imagination

Fabric of the mind

Can this be happening?

Mass and energy
Are the same thing
E = mc2
Earth made to move

To a shifted axis!
Can this be happening?

The Sun encroaching

Nearer approaching

Destruction

Earth hurtling its mass

Nearer to the Sun but not quite

Heated landscape

Barren

Skeletal remains

of vegetation

A mere warning sign

Neurosis of thoughts

Rendezvous with time

Retribution for ills

Turbulent thoughts

End of the world

Apocalypse now!

Can this be happening?

Written for Grace's hosting at  Real Toad's Sunday Challenge featuring
the artist Kathryn D Dechairo

Rivers - Laughter and Tears

                                                                                   Attribution: Pranavspn
Image: Free Flowing Ganga River at Rishikesh.
Abundance of rituals and spiritual cleansings within its waters
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Commercial life blood
Nucleus of activities
Dotted along side

Romantics around
leisurely flow of peaceful
serene surroundings

Beware a monster
Destruction when awakened
Lethal, lots of tears

Written for Leo's HH, September Heights #287, Day 14  with prompt - river

Who did Wear Purple Socks?

                                                                                                 Attribution: CBS TV

Image: The Osmonds

Source" Wikimedia Commons (here)

Did he or didn’t he?

Did he wear purple socks?

Michael Jackson, did he?

Were there claims that he did?

No, he didn’t!

He wore silver sparkly socks!

Then who did?

The young may be forgiven

For having missed the fun

The older folks may not have forgotten

A big thing before, a big one

On stage it was a big flaunt

Yes, Donny Osmond!

Variously described as

"he's dreamy, and he wears purple socks!"

Note: Donny and Mary may not be jazz but they were jazzy just as much at their heyday.
Pardon me for putting a not quite jazz at d'Verse where Gay is hosting for jazz poetry

Written for Theme Thursday with prompt -  socks and shared with d'Verse with jazz poetry

Wase - Early Rice

                                                                                 Attribution: IRRI Images
Image:  Ripening Mature Rice
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Sunshine bright above

Innocence of wild sparrows

Eyeing early rice

Abundance to share

Staple food of human kind

Birds have first option

Scare-crow empowered

Padi stalks in danger zone

Locusts undeterred

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #295  -  early rice

Orchids - A Gift of Beauty

                                                                                        Attribution: Marlith

Image: Orchid flowers

Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Humble beginnings

Jungle flower hidden right

among green foliage

Beauty seemingly

Creation of a classic

specimen of love

Love and affections

Aptly an epitome of

human perfection

It held its own strength

Given names of royalty

the rich and famous

Written for Chev's CARPE DIEM #294 with prompt Ran (Ochids) and
shared with d"Verse OpenLinkNight #113

Matter of the Mind

                                                                             Attribution: Christine Zenino
Image: Meeting of the Minds
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Some few things here

Mind is occupied with thoughts

Good thoughts, it's nice to be aware

It gets therapeutic of sorts

Many with such thoughts insist

Reading it as a healthy sign

Getting through with it is bliss

While still fresh in the mind

One is thinking of the might

And can be worried silly

But meeting it head-on is right

Half the battle is won easily

It has to do with the heart
It appears all right when relaxed

The mind has a way of being smart

To take it within its stride

Written for Kerry's hosting of Open Link Monday at Real Toads and
Mary's at Poet United's Poetry Pantry #166

I'm Thrilled

                                                                                Attribution: Halim

I remember…

…writing my first poetry on Oct 10, 2010. It was a free verse entitled The Little Bird (here). I had spent half the night and right through the wee hours of morning. I completed it after that many hours.

All along a few wonderful people were with me on this. There was Pakcik Hassan who goaded me into writing poetry in the first place. There was poet and writer Ms Ninotaziz who introduced me to the rudiments of proper poetry writing. Ms Ninot revealed the names of blogs that provided prompts such as Magpie Tales, One Stop Wednesday among others then. I was asked to link my postings to them

Lurking in the background was my buddy Halim who encouraged me every so often. And  I was there together with these kind blogging friends to complete the equation and did it my way.

Then when I wrote my first haiku (here) entitled The Smog on Oct 24, 2010 (not really knowing what haiku was) Pakcik wrote in the comments:

‘I am fairly certain, given a year, you will be thinking of compiling your work into a book’

It was a prediction which I dreaded to think about. I had as yet to have some semblance of that creative flair and poetic language of a poet. I did not give it much thought. As of now I still feel I'm handicapped.

But after writing poetry for over 2 years I chalked up the numbers and I thought it would be fun to compile them into a book. That decision was made at end of 2012. I couldn't meet Pakcik's predicted target of one year. I was late by a year.

And before I could say Jack Robinson, my buddy Halim made a posting on my book at his blog (here) . I had extended a copy to him last Thursday Sept 05,2013.

A compilation is no big deal I thought but I’m thrilled!

Submitted for K's hosting at d'Verse: Poetics: Try to Remember

The Will was Absent

                                                                                Attribution: Doralu
Image: The Peace Dove
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Olive branch secured
between its beaks it flew past
Subtly a message

Extended countless
times. A bother no less but
none who cared to see

Could they be faulted
Not giving peace a chance for
the will was absent!

Written for Leo's Haiku Heights #280 with prompt  - dove

Of Love and Relationships

                                                                              Attribution: Sam Photos8.com
Image: Two lovers
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

at sunrise

no words between lovers

just a kiss

to forget and forgive spats

and tiffs are just memories

at sunrise

no words between lovers

just a kiss

not having to say sorry

nor tears but love aplenty

at sunrise

no words between lovers

just a kiss

sealed for all the ecstasy

raucous nights ticklish affair

For Chev's Tan Renga Challenge #13 at CARPE DIEM 'with just a kiss' where we are
to complete the given Wabi haiku (in italics) with 2 lines of 7-7 syllables

Writing on Riddles

Sam and K at d'Verse invite us to write on riddles

Cannot think of creating one right now. I want to share
here a classic I heard of a long time ago - as a
substitute. Pardon the short–cut.

A man was looking at a portrait and he mused to himself

saying in soliloquy,

Brothers and sisters have I none

But this man’s father is my father’s son!

Whose portrait was it?

The Answer (posted on Sept 07)
Myrna HA VB Cressida and Marge were spot on! Congrats! Yes, he was looking at his own portrait, not a mirror!
(this man's meaning the man featured in the portrait..is my father's son. And he's the only son)
Thank you all!

Written for d'Verse: Forms for All: Three Riddles of the Sphinx

BMOC - Seen them All

                                                                                Attribution: User Thivier
Image: Football at Its Best!
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

3 Word Wednesday with:

disgust pout wad                       

On rare occasions they appeared

When it did it created an impact

It was amusing fun to watch

Of human dignity for what it lacked

BMOC  Big Man On Campus

One of a kind with flashes of colors

Loud and bright latest in fashion

Hair spiked face made up all gorgeous

Could  not make out gender all confusion

BMOC - Big Man On Campus

Those of rich dads with wealth to flaunt

Of flashy cars with bevy of chicks for company

Looks of disgust from those around

Seeing wads of greenbacks thrown freely

BMOC - Big Man On Campus

Prowess on the sports arena another factor

Could outrun, jump and throw further than most

Rippling muscles ideally structured face of actor

With pout lips, and with thoughts of endorsements

BMOC - Big Man On Campus

Seen them all!

Written for Thomg's 3WW

A Shepherd's Lot

                                                                     Attribution: Stephens Ausmus
Image: Modern  Day Shepherd
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Dramatic change in

shepherd’s lot. No more lonely

hours all alone

Now working on big

farms as workers or lucky

ones as rich farmers

No more shepherd’s pie

Little Bo-Peeps or ‘cry wolf’

out in the open

Written for Leo's September Hts Day #04 at Haiku Heights with - shepherds and
shared with Bjorn's hosting at d'Verse OpenLinkNight week #112

Rain in September

                                                                                      Attribution: trokilinochchi

Image: Severe Flood Waters

Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Rain in September

Trudging through floods, a will to

survive and move on

Excruciating

Vagaries of the weather

Testing feeble souls

Human resolve, a

veneer so thin but of strength

beyond endurance

Written for Kerry's hosting of Open Link Monday at Real Toads

The Guardian Angel

                                                                                    Attribution: M62
Image: An Angel Sculpture
Source: Wikimedia Commons (here)

Note: The Guardian Angel pop group on YouTube (here)

Beacon of honor
Leading light against demons
that leads one astray

Secure and safe when
subjected to temptations
of ways of the world

Written for Leo’s Haiku Heights #275 with September Heights Day 02

with prompt - guardian

Sunday Whirl Wordle #124

Image: Courtesy of Sunday Whirl

The dozen words are:

Close doubt feathery hole inky lost oiled scarlet sparks shoots sway wet

Close to tears he surveyed the damage

No doubt it seem very slight in real terms

But when it happened it was frightening

‘A scarlet ray shoots out’ he was told

flames held sway for a few minutes

sparks appeared initially but it died down

It left a hole and an inky liquid oozed out

It was not lost on him why this happened

A well-oiled machine could not be left wet

lest a short circuit was triggered off. Nor
were foreign bodies allowed to settle in it

It would take barely a few minutes for these
to erupt. There was no time to lose

He quickly summoned help to disable the

contraption. Better to sacrifice that small

portion than to lose the whole thing

He would not want another feathery kind 

to get entangled in the sensitive parts

It would cause the same problem again

The whole set-up must be under wraps 

physically for a start. That was such a simple

solution. Someone should have the good

sense to act without having to wait for

a calamity to happen. It could have exploded!

Written for Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #124 Shared
with Mary's hosting at Poets United's Poetry Pantry #165