Lingering Thoughts

                                                           Attribution: Bryan Helfrich, Alias52

Image: The Lotus Position (here)

Sitting light erect
Outwardly blank but distant
With lingering thoughts

For Chev's CARPE DIEM#907 - meditation

Night of plum blossoms

                                                               Author: http://www.photos-public-domain.com
Image: Pink Plum Blossoms (here)

Night of plum blossoms
Relative calm towards warmth
Night sky smiles along

Plum blossoms peek out
Seek to be with the action
On misty mornings!

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #906 ume flower

blessings at the lips

                                                  Attribution: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-12424 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Image: Tea ceremony  1931 (here)

A whole new level

Tea-drinking made an art form

Steeped in tradition

Dignity of act

Sip slowly to lengthen the

enhanced ecstasy

Set in motion cold

of  winter warmed by nature’s

blessings at the lips

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #905
Throw that Pebble #3  -  tea-drnking

procreate for brilliance

                                                                                       Author: George Chernilevsky
Image: Rhinoceros beetle
equipped for Conflict (here)

Courage is timing
Mankind with desire to
procreate for brilliance

None so platonic
to accentuate lineage
of smart progeny

Tutelage selfishly
guarded against toxic moves
Harmony preserved

For Sumana's at PU's Midweek Motif  -  courage

pride of ownership

                                                                   Author: Tomascastelazo CC-BY-SA-4.0
Image: Long lasting Nike (here)

3WW given words
pathetic radical seamless

Radical change in
a seamless world not likely
affecting others

Pathetic though but
designs of holding onto
worldly possessions

Prized Nike had seen
better days to stake claim of
pride of ownership

For Thong's 3WW week #464

Society regretted for making it symbolic of heroics

                                                                          Attribution: Poppy by Liz West CC BY 2.0

Image: Poppy Flower (here)

Note: Opium poppy is the species of 

plant from which opium and poppy 

seeds are derived. Opium is the source 

of many drugs, including morphine 

(and its derivative heroin)  - wiki

the 11 of 12 given words: 

hibiscus fear adversary fade claw 

downpour human irrelevant  

dolorous (causing or expressing misery or grief )   

deaden (make weaker less noticeable)

elicit (to draw or bring out or evoke)

Visually attractive akin to a 

hibiscus and just as beautiful

Poppy a flower wrongfully 

found unfortunately on the 

wrong side of the law 

Society regretted for making it

symbolic of the heroics of soldiers

fallen in battle before the scourge

the drug scene became a menace   

Its derivative heroin instilled fear 

on friend and adversary alike

Dolorous on those deaden into

skeletal frames to eventually fade

after clawing ruefully back for a few 

the very few successful in rehab

The great many others fail to make it

more like a downpour of no-return

an affront to the human race in its bid 

to elicit some dignity still left for those 

waiting for their daily fix instead

and chose to remain irrelevant

For MLMM's Photo Challenge #97 and Wordle #95 and

Marian's The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

Unbidden unflinching unrelenting - A Quadrille

                                                                                    Photo by Francesca Woodman
Image: Courtesy of  willows' Mag (here)
Note: A Quadrille Flash Fiction
of 44 words

Unbidden unflinching unrelenting

An uncanny unmitigated desire

to unleash unreservedly against

the unrequited love unfolding

Not to be unsavory unobtrusive

but unpretentious and to remain

unscathed against an upsurge of

uneasiness lest unjustly judged

unruly of unsound mind

Unprecedented but to remain

unflaggingly unruffled

(44 words)

For willow's given image at Mag 303

The vanquished would often pay a heavy price

                                                                                 Author: Thierry Caro
Image: Two gold dust day geckos
fighting on a banana trunk (here)

Sunday Whirl 10 of 12 given words:
fix fight hit risk action state 
heavy hours end team 

Selfishly they would fix their territorial rights
Triumphant young one would seek to replace
No negotiations but pitting strength with a fight
They decided the extent of influence of space

Law of the jungle had been fair and universal
Dominant male would hit hard at pretenders
Who risk being ostracized as a direct reprisal
For any actions or attempts to topple the elders

This state of affairs were dealt with precision
The vanquished would often pay a heavy price
Hours to end a dispute with bloody consequence
Natural attrition of team strength as no surprise

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #235 and
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #286

The East facing an onslaught

                                                                                   Author: Pudelek (Marcin Szala)

The Severity of the Cold  (here)

The East facing an onslaught

Brace yourselves for it is now

two feet of snow and counting

Fun though as it had not been

this severe lately.

(140 characters)

Life is ever changing remaining

static is regressive,strive to greater

heights by exploiting technology

to make it work for than against

(140 characters)

Kerry's hosting at Word count with MZ
at Real Toads - to write a twitter-like poem
of not exceeding 140 characters

Fun summer night festivals

                                                                                      Attribution: MIKI Yoshihito
Image:  The BON dance during the
Sapporo Summer Festival (here)

A dreamer’s delight
Fun summer night festivals
Food and free concerts

For Chev's Renga Party #2

Yes, they replied, 'because it is there!'

                                                                                    Attribution: Hillebrand Steve
Image: Rugged mountain top (here)

The moon had inspired many
With its inherent beauty
No one disputed that with the owl even pining
And no dearth of poets with their writings

But when man landed on the moon
It was rocky, dusty not how it  was earlier shown
The same could be said of mountains
Bluish and greenish in the distance

It was rugged not expected to be overly friendly
Treacherous, hard and cold with deep gullies
Snow-capped that raised challenges to another level
Mountain climbing rightly belong to the dare-devils

Climbers on Everest made a solemn pledge
Upon returning no word to divulge as their privilege
Remains of earlier climbers strewn in the snow
Not to be made known to folks waiting below

When asked 'climbing the mountain was it a dare?'
Yes, they replied, 'because it is there!'

Susan's at PU's Mid-week Motif  -  mountain
Gayle's OLN #164 at d'Verse

cleverly camouflaged by blending with the surroundings

                                                                             Attribution: Dennis Tang
Image: The Uroplatus a nocturnal gecko is
endemic to Madagascar.They can camouflage
themselves as part of the tree trunk (here)

Sunday Whirligig 10 of 12 given words:
disappearing hush glint guilty, witness look
mossy (resembling moss)
fierce praise sway

3WW given words:
madly nocturnal omen

A nocturnal creature quick with their 
disappearing acts even during the day
With a hush and glint in the eyes and
they were gone

One felt guilty to witness such a
phenomena when realizing they were all
the while there but cleverly camouflaged by
blending with the surroundings

They might look mossy and fierce
But praise be for many were swayed at
one time madly looking for the right specie

Prices shot up when touted as a cancer-curing
creature but nothing came off it
Some still persist in keeping them as pets
believing them to bear good omen 
especially the colorful ones
.
But opinions differed though
depending on the regions

Note:In Southeast Asia, geckos are believed to be of good omen
In some parts of India, the sound made by geckos is considered
a bad omen (wiki)

For MMT's Sunday Whirligig #43 and
Thomg's 3WW #463

Dancing in dainty movements - a Quadrille

                                                                         Attribution: Роман Дергунов
Image: Dancing with a Fur Seal (here)

Gregarious and gracious
had the gumption to grit
a grubby self in a grueling show
of grandiose gyration

Dancing in dainty movements
a debut to attract the demure dame
undaunted

Must be more immaculate to impart
an impeccable personality
to incite excitement next time
(44 words)

For Bjorn's Quadrille of 44 words at d'Verse
and to include the word  -  dancing and
Kerry's Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

Justice denied for the leather-back turtles

                                                                                      Attribution: Bernard DUPONT
Image: Leather-back Turtle laying Eggs
Once they started with the first egg they
would not move away until all were laid
(here)

                                                                                  Attribution: Bureau of Land Management
Image: Collecting eggs for the Hatcheries
as a form of Conservation (here)

Sunday Whirl's 11 of 12 given words:
justice drop pilot roar dismiss sigh 
fluctuation claim engage bustling
revenant (one that returns after a long absence)

Justice denied for the leather-back turtle
Nostalgic revenant to the beach of its birth
Like salmons racing upstream ever so brutal
To drop their eggs and then die in numbers

They pilot their way through the roars of the wave
By instinct to the very spot where they were left
Eggs buried in the sand dismissed to their fate
Many retrieved by humans before being hatched

Often been said upon the laying's completion
Tears in their eyes seen upon leaving with a sigh
As though knowing those sold for human consumption
Not knowing how many left would survive

Fluctuations in number of landings had prompted
them to be designated as an endangered specie
Turtle sanctuaries and hatcheries were created
To enhance numbers back safely to the sea

Claims that villagers were still engaged in illicit
trade bustling at one time but now dampened
The authorities unperturbed  were now more strict
with related acts of enforcement.
 
Brenda's Sunday Whirl #234 (here) and
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #285

How was one to try to understand Picasso’s mind

                                                               Photo attribution: ManicDDaily
Image: Picasso's sculpture an exhibit at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York

                                                                                                         Artist: Picasso
Image: Guernica on the Spanish Civil
War -  known as one of the most moving
and powerful anti-war paintings in history.
(fair use of image)

How was one to try to understand Picasso’s mind
Logic not rendered but gauged through his works
A right brain development that manifested itself
In cubism his invention of abstract modern art

So called of the angular or square look of paintings
Of cubes cones and cylinders that ignored perspective
Where objects and people drawn from various angles
Way off the conventional and the conservatives of art

His famous Guernica's abhorring the war where images
Of people and animals in geometric shapes were mixed
Talents of non-conforming masters led the revolution
The art scene was all the richer by their eccentricity

Note:Cubism was invented around 1907 
in Paris by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.
Cubism was the first abstract style of modern art.

For Outlawyer's Sunday's Mini
Challenge at Real Toads  -  Picasso

Silence bodes well for many reasons - An Ovillejo

                                                                                       Attribution: Dashaundamon

Image: Keeping the code of silence (here)

Silence bodes well for many reasons

for all seasons

Secrets are strictly kept as a principle

among individuals

Loving couples can maintain sealed lips

not to let slip

Blissful then is the love that runs deep

No forked tongue to cause dissention

Outright splendor and heavenly sessions

For all seasons among individuals not to let slip

For De's at d'Verse's  To write a new form  -  ovillejo

Sanaa's at Dash of Sunny, Prompt Nights  -  silence

A harrowing experience he remembered

                                                                                        Attribution: Richard Smith
Image: 1928 Model A Ford (here)

PU’s Midweek Motif

food

Sunday Whirligig’s 11 of 12 given words:

memory  father trembling logic fumbling

untie tight knot shoes trying anger

3WW #462 given words:

harrowing imperfect lame

Food for thought so clear in his mind

In memory of his late father trembling

A harrowing experience he remembered

Defied logic in this imperfect world

How did this mean looking machine go

Faster than a horse he could not fathom

He was fumbling in thoughts when as a tiny

Tot he was invited to climb on board the car

As though to untie a tight knot of his shoes

Akin to trying to suppress anger more than fright

A lame effort as he was just as excited

As a joey out of the pocket for the first time
He still remembered it very well

It had happened many many years ago

One fine morning his father brought it home

A Ford A a more modern version of the classic Ford T

Still a mean looking machine he mused quietly

The first of its kind in the neighborhood

For MMT's at Sunday Whirligig #42

Thomg's at 3WW #462

Sumana's at Poets United's Midweek Motif  -  food
Sanaa's Prompt Nights

Beauty is matched only by its resilience

                                                          copyright kanzensakura all rights reserved

                                                                                                                   (used by permission)
Image: Flowering Quince (here)

The Prose
Beauty is matched only by its resilience. Vagaries of foul weather not of its bother. One can only wonder how its hardiness can accentuate the beauty of a rare element taking on the cold weather as fair game. Known to survive through the winter with its pink flowers the only living thing peeping out of the bare branches devoid of greenery. This can best be compared to the hibernating creatures padded with fur but still can only stomach the cold by 'switching off' and locked in a deep sleep for the duration of winter.The strength of purpose to survive the cold physically is more demanding than to survive the heat of summer on account that it has to bloom when it is snowing from above. Man is just as vulnerable as frost-bite is a constant reminder not to be caught without sufficient protection when out in the cold.Despite the restrictive freedom of choice imposed by the cold, Man has taken to welcoming it in certain situations mainly of sports and tourism. The ability to adjust to the change in the environment is crucial for living creatures generally

The Haiku
Quince bloomed undeterred
Cold months not a hindrance to
having bright colors
(200 Words)

For Toni's Haibun Monday 5 at
d'Verse at not more than 200 words

Stony look stunningly penetrating

                                                                                         Attribution: Ed Ross

Image: Courtesy of Tess' Mag 301 (here)

Stony look stunningly penetrating

Faraway beyond 

Not rightly looking 

Not looking at you

but rather through you 

as bidding for a response but not quite

Such is beauty reminiscent of France Nuyen

of South Pacific innocence toasting 

the manliness of Rossano Brazzi

Cleverly adorned with the 

perfumed attraction of blooms of love 

To rightly entice the thirst 

of a male scramble for dominance

This is putting it on the line 

The female species rightly 

makes herself not overly docile

Prepared to take the bull by the horns

It will have the makings of a steamy night

A man hates to pass off a challenge of this

nature as the animal in him is seething!

For Tess' Mag 301 and

Marian's The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

A jagged opinion at best

                                                                                       Attribution: Byam Shaw

Image: The Garden of Kama (here)

MLMM's 11 of 12 given words:

face humiliate jagged false drag hinder 

sacrosanct (extremely sacred or inviolable or beyond criticism or interference)

genuflect (to bend or one knee to the floor in reverence or to express a servile attitude.)

irreverent (a lack of respect)

genitals swan

Let’s face it!  Was it meant to humiliate

Was it considered dirty?

A jagged  opinion  of false pretenses at best

A drag on one’s conscience

Only prudes hinder progress

Not in any way sacrosanct but of highest esteem

Must one need to genuflect in genuine servility?

No, it was not a show of irreverence

Nor was it blasphemy

A showing of genitals and the intricate forms

of sexual positions touch on the sensitivities

Some were of real concern

Scholars ‘view it as having historical importance’

A book about the art of living

A swan song to those not inclined

The Kamasutra was all about education!

For MLMM's Wordle # 93 with the given words

But no man is an island

                                                                                           Attribution: Lake Central
Image: BIG Island (here)

Senryu

Disturbed to no end

But no man is an island

So stomach it well

But where was the pool?

Came dressed in a bikini

Awkwardly 'naked'

Boy’s night out invite

Tried to join in but he could 

not find excuses

Note: Senryu is similar to haiku in construction: three
lines with 17 morae (syllables). However, senryu tend
to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about
nature. Senryu are often cynical or darkly humorous
while haiku are more serious.

For Brendan's at Real Toads's Sunday Mini Challenge  -  island
Georgia's at MLMM's B&P Shadorma and Beyond  -  senryu

With a mind of his own

                                                                                      Attribution: Hank's Collections
Image: Hank's younger grandson Norhezry aka Kimie
seen with the ball during Rugby training last Sunday
Jan 03, 2016

A cute little baby if you had seen one when he first
arrived on the morning of Nov 09, 2002. Typically
one who was doted upon by others in the family he
took it upon himself to hold out on his own.

No one was there to take advantage of him and he
knew that. With a mind of his own, he knew exactly
what was in store for him and he so decided

No surprise then he rebelled against his conscience
and that of others. Rugby seen as rough and tough
but he insisted on taking it up
(99 words)

Carrot Range:  Flash Fiction:
In 99 words (no more, no less) to
write a semblance of a 'rebellion'
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #285

Dawn of awareness

                                                                             Attribution: Tristan Nitot
Image: The Eiffel Tower before Sunrise (here)
(from the Trocadero)

Dawn of a new day
Dreams of unexpected deals
to be encountered

Dawn likened to bouts
of discoveries retained
long in memory

Dawn of awareness
among young innocents can
be so traumatic

For Chev's CARPE DIEM -
throw that pebble no.#1 - dawn 

The love of a cowboy's life in the open

                                                                                                                              Photo: W E Bowman
Image:  Let 'er buck, a story
of the passing of the old West" (1921) (here)
to view the book on line (here)

Sunday's Whirligig 12 given words:
rising weaving greenness tears odd bitten 
picking heard bow digital wounded bullet

3WW given words:
frenzy eager guzzle

Given to the hard life a life full of excitement
Rising in the morning even beating the sun at it
In a frenzy to be at the market
Eager to be arriving early before others
Weaving through the grazing greenness of the land
A cattle drive will take days

In between resting through tears and laughter
Guitar strumming and beer guzzling
at night around the camp-fire
An odd evergreen of a country-song
belted in the cool of the evening
The love of a cowboy's life in the open

Bitten by the bug a cowpoke, buckeroo or what have you
Picking from the wild wild west kind of stories
Heard of grand westerns like the classic
Let 'er buck, a story of the passing of the old West
with photos by Bowman
converted into a digital make
In keeping with modern technology

All the makings of a good western will be there
Bronco busting in good times
Cattle rustling in bad times
Those wounded or dead with their boots on
A bullet right at the center of the forehead
If only to have all of the images preserved and
kept in place for posterity

The cowboys depicted in the book may be nameless
but their contributions will be just as significant as
that of Tom Mix, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers
and as familiar as John Wayne and Gary Cooper
to that of Clint Eastwood and Franco Nero
All cowboy stalwarts but at different times of history!

Details of the Digitized version:
Title: Let 'er buck, a story of the passing of the old West
Year: 1921 (1920s)
Authors: Furlong, Charles Wellington, 1874-
Subjects: Frontier and pioneer life Cowboys
Publisher: New York, Putnam
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation

MMT's Sunday Whirligig #41
Thomg's 3WW #461
ABHRA's at d'Verse's OLN

Why she complied was mystifying

                                                              Attribution: Charing Cross Road, 1937 
                                                                                                      by Wolfgang Suschitzky
Image: Hurrying through the rain (here)

Motley of questions clouding her mind

Cobwebs clinging numbed her thinking

She sought to find answers to clear the clutter

Why he came back she had to unravel the bind

Left the office hurriedly thoughts still bothering

Rushed through the slush and the rain water

Spurned her and reduced to a wreck sobbing

With a smirk and wry smile he had cause to abandon

He left without as much as a glance over his shoulders

There she was on the bench teary eyed spluttering

Not too long ago about five years she reckoned

Audacity now to make amends a cause to shudder

She could not say no as he could move mountains

They were to meet at the Charing Cross Station

That was where she was heading

Why she complied was mystifying

What he had in mind she just could not fathom

An abcabc Free Verse and a Limerick for:
Tess' Photo Challenge Mag 300

The joys of freedom

                                                                                         Attribution: Garry Knight
Image: Joy of Being Together (here)

Feet left unshackled
Open options to decide
The joys of freedom

Walking holding hands
Fresh air bathed the country-side
Time stopped for lovers

For CARPE DIEM  #891 -  joy of living

gasps of bewilderment

                                                                           Attribution: Kabelleger / David Gubler
Image: To transport nitrates from
its mines to the port, the Company
operates a 3 ft 6 in gauge railway  (here)

MLMM's 12 given words:

gasps left cold angels loss dust snare  
remember pause  days dial slap

gasps of bewilderment left some cold 
sweat where even angels were the loss
for words thinking of the efforts and

risks in trying to earn a decent living

dust and stones may cause to spring
a snare on the freedom and safety of
transporting the load a slow operation
already with the long line of wagons

they just had to remember to pause and
hope nothing untoward should happen on
days of likely strong winds where the
ability to dial on the cell phone was
of little assurance

heavenly for a locomotive driver out of
work slapped with the moral responsibility
of having to feed hungry mouths praying and
waiting in a dilapidated shack at the bottom
of the hill for his safe return every evening

For Brenda's Sunday Whirl's Wordle #232  and
Mary's Poetry Pantry #284 at Poets United

Was this some form of retribution?

                                                                              Attribution: Dirt - by James Smart
Image: A rare and jaw-dropping anti-cyclonic
tornado touches down in open farmland, narrowly
missing a home near Simla, Colorado (here)

There were indications
of impending bad news
largely of what to expect

How and in what form
you preferred not to reveal

Instead you unleashed the
immense power of destruction
and death with such fury and
ferocity that one could only
wait in a trance terrified

Was this some form of
retribution for past sins?
(55 words)

For Kerry's Flash 55 Plus
at Real Toads

clouds of steam breaking sight...

                                                                                                Attribution: Boaworm
Image: Lava flows from a fissure
turning snow into steam (here)

Shadorma - comprises of a six-line stanza
(or sestet) with a syllable count of (3/5/3/3/7/5)

brilliance of
a spectacle that
breaks the sight
of whiteness
clouds of steam the mountain bright
smoke drifting away

Note: A collaboration with Hank's
grand-child, Nabil, 10 years of age

For MLMM's B&P's Shadorma
and Beyond  -  looking at snow

The pleasant cold months

                                                                                        Attribution:  Mihael Simonič

Image: Feel of Pleasant Winter (here)

The pleasant cold months

Effects of global warming

Create yearnings for spring

Warmness in the heart

Softness of season bidding

for colors of spring

Minds force desire

For greenery to sneak in

Nature’s helping hand

For Chev's CARPE DIEM #889  - desire for spring

They used to relate their trivia with soft whispers

                                                                                                  Artist: Gerda Wegener

Image: Courtesy of Fireblossom (here)

Unpretentious but innocent in demeanor

Opening her heart to emotional attachments

Relaying feelings in an elegant manner

She stood by him with all expectations

On reflection she asked herself for answers

Why was she alone now eyes transfixed yonder

They used to relate their trivia with soft whispers

Under this same tree together many times before

She searched her conscience calmly engrossed

He left without a decent word to allay her fears

Just another gullible victim beginning to be obvious

Believing his words which now seemed spurious

The skies had never been this red she did recall

Perhaps angry in sympathy with her sincere yearnings

She should not appear slovenly and unkempt at all

Frustrating but lesson learned on human failings

Fireblossom Friday at Real Toads   
To seek inspiration from the art-of-gerda-wegener.