Would have been an easy fix to wrap up

                                                                                             Attribution: Diego Delso

Image: I'm Looking! Been Watching all the Time (here)

11 of 12 given words:
wrap certain glance adverse seam 
drouk (to wet thoroughly, to drench)
eschatology (concerning final matters)
bedraggle (To make limp and soiled.)
debris film deceive 

Would have been an easy fix to wrap up for certain
And now it's ostensibly coming to a head at a glance
With most seemed to be unduly frightful of the demon
And were rooting for a first-time female President

But the FBI saw it fit to create an adverse story
Would probably tear apart the fabric at the seams
Drouked the whole episode to result in an eschatology
Bedraggled the campaign just days before polling

A damning 65,000 question at its most critical point
Just days away to reboot the 'illegal' email question
And the latest, 34% might not want a female occupant
in the Oval Office, a big number by any account

The debris still falling in a most vicious campaign
Blew it wide open on what could be in the balance
Rejuvenated D.T. filmed lately being overly confident
Not having to deceive whom might yet be triumphant

For MLMM's Wordle #127 and
Marian's at Real Toad's -  the tuesday platform

it would curl warmly under

                                                                                         Attribution: Phaithai Cattery
Image: Silvery Siamese Cat smothered
lovingly by its own little kitten (here)

the 12 given words:
bowl busy class curl drop echoing 
jealous light velvet  silvery oil still 

bowled over but never felt it
it was just too busy to bother
in a class within its own right
it would curl warmly under

would drop a hint when bored
echoing tendencies of its mother
jealous of the attention accorded
when often lightly smothered

its velvet coat in silvery shine
seemingly oiled to good effect
still taken as one in its prime
adored not under any pretext

Brenda's at Sunday Whirl #272
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #326

Elegant pair of blessed souls - Tanka

                                                                          Attribution: Paul Militaru
Image: Roses - fresh youth and withered old age (here)

Fresh of youth intense
good looks Herculean in strength
Reckless a tad bit
Will win hearts of fair maidens
Nary those that hesitate

Withered in old age
But strong oak that stood fair ground
Bastion of honor
For lady that stayed with him
Elegant pair of blessed souls

Note:  Tanka to be inspired
by Paul Militaru's photos

For Chev's Carpe Diem  -  imagination
#5 with Paul's Photos

It was in contravention of norms

                                                                                                    Artist: Renoir
Image: Renoir's Impressionist Painting
- Bouquet of Chrysanthemums  (here)
(notice the uncouth disarray of lines and 
loud colors typical of the impressions era)

It was in contravention of norms
contingent upon provocations
of revolutionaries of art forms

Futuristic with a vicious snarl
as cowering cubism laying in wait
for too long. It was in contradiction
of the  master's forays of movements

Whorls and wavy lines wavering
wilfully in loud colors with splashes
of orange-red and black. Very much
that of octopus-like tentacles around
an apparition wretched looking

Impressionism was defying perspectives
unbridled and undaunted about distances
Appearing uncouth it caused upheavals
to conventional still life, portraits
and scenic landscape beauties

For Bjorn's at d'Verse's  MTB  -  with futurism

Compromise their stand

                                                                                    Attribution: Diego Delso, 
                                                                                               Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 4.0
Image: Sacrificing Comforts of
Long Distance Train Travel (here)

Neither here nor there
Face unflagging sacrifice
Compromise their stand
Neutrality breeds contempt
Fence sitters risk positions

A Tanka for Susan's at PU's
Mid-week Motif  -  neutrality

The contention of being the first - a Haibun

                                                                                       Attribution: Sue Allen
Image: The Narrow Road Ahead (here)

The Prose
Heeding a call trending now in many quarters. Manifesting itself in
discoveries unintended. Is there a right of the human mind of venturing
blindly on its own momentum without recourse of turning back? Set
on a pretext of pursuing a profusion of slogan-bearing tantrums one is
to go forward. That seems to be outwardly the seismic rave So what of it
that holds the attention of the adventure seekers then

Looking down the narrow road yonder can only tickle the excited self.
Expounding theories of what lies beyond.is an exercise in anticipation of a
ravenous desire for the restless soul. It is not to be distracted by the varied
activities on both sides of the divide. It is not a futility of purpose but to focus
untiringly of a dogged nature brushing aside obstacles or objections. Will it
typify the pioneering spirits of the early settlers to the New World that brought
a frenzy of rivalry among nations? It seems likely so! There will be an opposing
force likely to impose its will. It is fanning a beginning of wanting to whirl
within a mysterious playground. It is in the hope of soliciting some semblance
 of a sobering success. There is the pull off in breaking the ice. There is the
contention of being the first. Therein lies the satisfaction of being in front of
everybody else in a triumphant stance

The Tanka
Twisted smile showing
Desire set in motion
Calling excitement
Wherefore the fork in the road
Pick of excitement prevails
(250 words)

MLMM's for Chev's Haibun of not
exceeding 250 words  -  the narrow road north
Grace's for Kelly's at d'Verse  - first things first

Cheeky remarks sparked the feud - a Quadrille

                                                                                            Attribution: Peteforsyth
A Debate (here)

Cheeky remarks sparked the feud
Sparks flew touching initially on official
indiscretions but later personal
escapades which were mischievously
rekindled. It knocked on raw nerves
more so when it involved other than the
two contenders. Now a threat not to
accept a 'loss' outcome!
(44 words)

For De's Quadrille at d'Verse
and to include the word  - spark

Delve into it with gusto

                                                                                                     Attribution: Samboy
Image: Browsing for Ideas (here)

12 given words
delve plant spent  birth bounce tell 
thousand way break wake thrive we 

Delve into it with gusto
Not sitting on the side-lines
To plant seeds of inquisitive nature
A habit well-spent
Go for it!

Birth of an idea is most yearned
To bounce back from nothingness
To tell an empty head a thousand times
The way to break the dull feeling
Is to go for it

And wake up to some skillful relics
And thrive as a notable talent
Why must we struggle all the time
Perhaps check if bad karma is brewing!

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #271 and
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #325

What a Masterpiece!

                                                                              Author: Thomas Crane 
Image: Fine art Embroidery (here)

Sitting like Grandma
Busy stitching and pulling
What a masterpiece

Takes lots of  patience
Fine talents shown but unsung
Great admiration

For Chev's Carpe Diem #1078- embroidery thread

Won awards on different domains

                                                                                           Photo: Henryk Kotowski. 

Image: Bob Dylan at the Lida Festival 

in Stockholm (1996) (here)

Sounds of bombs smoke swirling

From choppers draftees dropped

Into an unfriendly terrain

Back home they were shocked 

Seeing clashes and killings to realize

War was not a game

Young people across the nation

Began engaging in civil disobedience

Carried the cry of the anti-war movement

Released during the build up to the Vietnam war

Earnest and straight-forward lyrics

Reputedly a protest song of all time

Where Dylan carved his name

On through the decades

Spokesman of a generation

Of a humanitarian and social movement

Won awards on different domains

Culmination until a week in recent times

Nobel recognition inducted into Hall of Fame

For Kerry's at Real Toad's 
 - it's blowing in the wind
Gayle's at d'Verse's OLN #182

Counting his blessings his passion waned

                                                                                    Attribution: Swapnil Srivastav
Image: Aimlessly wandering by itself  (here)

12 given words:
woodland, twilight,wander count passion 
edge find drift lover pool lighter 
wheeling (a rotating or circular motion)

3WW
 symbolic tendency unhinged

Trudging along in the woodlands
In fading twilight wandering aimlessly
Counting his blessings his passion waned
Finding himself alone he is driven to the edge
Drifting along away from his lover
Wheeling in a pool of  craziness

There is a tendency to vie for lighter moments
of laughter and fun used to before
But not to be for he had unhinged himself
No more conversations
No more intellectual discourse
No more fair exchange of ideas
No more review of success
Just disquiet symbolic of
paralysis and incapacity of mind
Not unlike dementia or writer's block
But loss of mood plain and simple
Loss of directions
Hoping it is temporary!

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #82
Thomg's 3WW #502
Susan's at PU's Midweek Motif  -  conversations

an air of likely pride - Soliloquy No Renga

                                                                                         Attribution: Mightyhansa
Image: Autumn Leaves (here)

"Soliloquy No Renga" (a 10-stanza renga)

1.There is an opening verse, a hokku and a closing verse an ageku. 
There has to be a link or an association back to this hokku from the ageku  -  Chev
2. In each stanza there are pairs of homophones

the hokku 
riversong
wind blown from autumn trees
a stream of gold
                          -  © Jane Reichhold

                        leaves floating way down weighed by

lightness but of gravity

air of likely pride
to stake a claim of power
heir to Mother Earth

     central to lang of the Scots

        bathing length of forest floor

bare of intentions

likely to bear some pressure

meeting it head-on

    better to be prepared where

        calm persons wear wily smiles

plain thoughts putting brakes

break the silence of warm nights

rise to even plane

   four in peaceful contention

    well for season's innocence 

midnight sun pray be
insisting to be seen still
prey to lame requests                                                           the ageku

                                                            stream of golden fare

                                                            a fair share of Autumn winds

For Lillian's at d'Verse's  - homophone me
Chev's Carpe Diem  -   Universal Jane #3 river song

Like the jungle animals in a survival mode - a Haibun

                                                                                      Attribution: Murray Foubister
Image: The Concrete Jungle (here)

the 11 of 12 given words:          
precise delirious forge shudder 
pneumatic (operated by air or by the pressure of air)
skulk (to move in a stealthy manner)
lavation (the process of washing)

ration denote uniform terrible

City folks are a mixed bag. Many are focused on the rat race, precise 
and delirious forging a rigid schedule in work ethics. One shudders to
think of their extent of commitment,and pneumatic sense of purpose
in pushing themselves to the extremes. At the other end of the spectrum
are displaced souls skulking in dark corners devoid of lavation who
painstakingly ration out meager takes to last the day. In between are the
larger group of middle-class folks unsuspecting of others not unduly
bothersome and happy to denote a uniformed lifestyle. These creatures
in the concrete jungle move around very much like the jungle animals
in a survival mode. They are predators in business preying on the
uninformed consumers who may get into terrible skirmishes with them
in the face of fight-backs. The make-up of society will find its own
equilibrium to weave a fabric of order

set in motion by
society's insistence that
life finds its own paths

For MLMM's Wordle #125 and
Bjorn's at d'Verse's Haibun Monday #23  -  contemporary cityscapes

In quick flashes a mimic of a trapeze artiste

                                                                     Attribution: Foto von Hydro bei Wikipedi

Image: Wakeboarding Flipping Over (here)

the 12 given words:
fade kick flip limit  flash mimic 
state insulate spin rim line park

Wakeboarding was developed from a combination of water skiing,
snowboarding, and surfing techniques. A rider can go towards and 
up the wake and launching himself into the air. This can also be done 
by riding up a kicker (a jump) and throwing backflips as a show
Using a smaller wakeboard will make the wakeboard feel lighter, 
and spin faster. Some boards are specifically designed for cable parks
                                                                                        - Wikipedia

Water-skiing seems pale in comparison

Now faded, wakeboarding a logical extension

Riding up a kicker and throwing back-flips

Tests the limits of a show jumper at the deep

In quick flashes a mimic of a trapeze artiste

In a state of frenzy a spectacle hard to resist

Without a net but insulated by the water expanse

A spill spells no danger in any event

With smaller and lighter wakeboard to spin faster

Avoiding rims of the jumps to spare from danger

Move off the line, you old fashioned water-skiers!

Now specifically designed for cable parks'  'fliers'

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #270 and
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #324

October is not about to be dislodged

                                  Attribution: Scott Bauer, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Image:  Brilliant Golden brown Autumn leaves (here)

October is not about to be dislodged
Steadfast in its make-up it is holding out
There are elements it is trying to dodge
Stellar in adherence and ably stout

Likely to be stingy in extending its warmth
Bastion against elements creating dissensions
Reproached  by calls for more of Autumn
Those who abhorred the impending cold months

October must invariably stand its ground
Not to be intimidated by all and sundry
Only a twisted smile is all that is apparent
Allowing Providence's hand against a mutiny

For Magaly's at Real Toad's  -  October in the chair

The element of a paradox

                                                                Attribution: Dineshkannambadi at en.wikipedia
Image: A Loving Couple Working Out Together (here)

Absence - that common cure of love  -  Lord Byron
(to be inspired by the above quote)

One would have thought
Nearness is the answer
Fulfillment of the silhouette of yearnings
Nature's attraction answered
Where the loved one is physically there

But not so for absence is a tacit spite of reality
Where a loved one is physically a distant away
Yet absence is that common cure of love 

One would have thought out of sight out of mind
But not so, not how the element of a paradox works
For it is an insistence that brings out the truth

Proving that the opposite of what is expected
Can well bring the same results
The fascination of a paradox**
                                 
Paradox** -  a statement that
seems self-contradictory but in
reality expresses a possible truth
        
Hannah's at Real Toad's inspiration from
Transforming with Nature's Wonders

father smiled remembering of love

                                                                                       Author:  Christopher Michel                                   Image: Loving care (here)

Tanka (31 syllables)

(a bundle of joy will certainly make it an appropriate fulfillment of wealth)

bubbly baby

unceremoniously expelled

from comforts of womb

father smiled remembering

of love cemented with mom

(Apologies to all good mothers. 

Hank did not mean to be disrespectful)

just a little humor on a very serious  subject

Haiku (17 syllables)

procreation wrapped

responsibility to

sustain lineage met

For Chev's Carpe Diem Special (3rd guest)
Herman van Rompuy's 2nd "inaugurate spring"
Sumana's at PU's Midweek Motif  -  wealth

A silent prayer for the morning bread

                                                                                                  Attribution: Hbalairos
Image: Begging is tiring (here)

11 of 12 given words:
prayer morning bread desire skywards 
ancestral flawed many tracked birth
skillet (a long-handled saucepan.)

3WW given words
radiance rhythm
rasp (to utter with a grating sound)              

A silent prayer for the morning bread
Desire shored up skywards for directions
Pandering from ancestral times to date
Flawed perhaps but they sought redemption

Many got side-tracked blaming Providence
Skillet overflowed but devoid of goodness
Misfortune of birth recoiled sans radiance
Rasp whinings with no rhythm but emptiness

MMT's Sunday Whirligig #81
Thomg's 3WW week#501

Tinge of regret clouding his mind - a Quadrille

                                                            Artist: Jacob Isaaksz (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Image: Wheatfields (here)
(clouds in art -  oil on canvas)

Tinge of regret clouding his mind
Tugging menacingly at his conscience
Preferred basking on cloud nine
Rapport with souls without recriminations

Hungrily ravenous to undo the slight
Rationale not sustaining previous doubts
Reconciliation a good word to bite
Soothing apology always a way out
(44 words)

For Kim881 at d'Verse  -  a Quadrille
#18 and to include the word  'cloud' 

corrupt minds with ideas of decadence

                                                                                                  Attribution: xlibber

Image: A Cygnet Gliding in the Waters (here)

12 given words
adrift  inexplicable bandage corrupt 
frailty (moral weakness yielding to temptation)
cygnet (a young swan)
embody  emergency lessen grey  
vitrify (to convert into glass)
fennel (a plant of the parsley family)

adrift in inexplicable circumstances
bandaged ego had fallen from grace
corrupt minds with ideas of decadence
if only had care taken to get some space

the frailty of reliance left to be seen
like a cygnet of innocence leisurely glide
to embody principles held dear within
not to be vitrified but just a little slight

in the meantime as in an emergency
feeding on common fennel with reluctance
it helped lessen an issue which got so touchy
which was acceptable but grey in sentiments

For MLMM's Wordle #124, October and
Kerry's The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads

In the 9 to 5 crowd dislodged from home

                                                           Source: Netherland Indies Govt Information Service
Image: Pre-war Office Workers (here)

the 12 given words:
breeze bridge fill needles mist 
sky trail trip trim view soil still  

It is a breeze to bridge the gap
A yawning abyss hungrily waiting
How sinful to think it is a fab
To do so devoid of prior musings

To have a fill in the morning
Needles in the tummy to appease
Cold mist nonchalantly blanketing
Blue sky in the afternoon at least

To the office a trail off so routine
In the 9 to 5 crowd dislodged from home
Trips early morning back evenings
In the rut of the rat race syndrome

While movements help trim the fats
Not viewed with so much enthusiasm
Soiled fine office garments hard on the wallets
Life still affecting all without exceptions

Brenda's Sunday Whirl #269

Fly-Cruise Safari to Antarctica - The Modern -Day Explorer OP Yusuf Hashim (YH) - a Haibun

.The Haiku
Adventure spirit
Unsatiated at best
Unlocked when prodded

The Prose 
A FLY-CRUISE-FLY SAFARI TO ANTARCTICA AND THE FALKLANDS

All  images attributed to Yusuf Hashim
All narration in italics attributed to Yusuf Hashim

 Yusuf Hashim can be contacted direct through his email:   yusufhashim@gmail.com

Image: 1 Yusuf Hashim says,
My shared cost Fly-Cruise-Fly Expedition to Antarctica and the Falklands will be taking place from 9-20, January 2018.

Image :2 Yusuf Hashim says:
There are only 11 cabins with private ensuite facilities for 22 people, so places will be offered on a first-come first-served basis. 

Image: 3 Yusuf Hashim says:
And I have secured a US$1000 Early Bird discount, off their published prices, (from the ship operator in Antarctica) for all those people who confirm their applications with a deposit of US$2500 BEFORE 15 Oct 2016.

Image: 4 Yusuf Hashim says:
This is the spacious cabin with private ensuite facilities that we will sleep in

The Repeat Gypsetters
6 Gypsetters who were with me on my Svalbard Sailing Experience in the Arctic Ocean 3 weeks ago, (here) have in fact already paid for and taken 3 cabins, based simply on faith, because they enjoyed the Arctic Experience so much.

How We Will Go About It
Briefly put, we will fly to Antarctica in a chartered plane from Punte Arenas in Chile on 9 Jan 2018 to board our ship in Antarctica, and thus avoid sailing across the Drake Passage. We will save two days by flying, and these extra days will mean we will have more time to explore Antarctica's calm sheltered waters. After 7.5 days visiting and exploring Antarctica, we will sail towards the Falkland Islands, spend one and a half days visiting the Falklands, and then catch another chartered flight on 20 Jan 2018, back to Punte Arenas where we started. This Fly-Cruise-Fly expedition (local flights included in the shared costs) will avoid us having to sail across the sometimes rough Drake Passage.

Early Bird Discount of US$1000
(send me your deposit of US$2500 before 15 Oct 2016)

The Information Pack  has just been emailed to all those on my Early Birds List. If anybody wants to beat the early birds deadline, PM me for a copy of the Info Pack. 

22 places in 11 cabins with ensuite facilities were available, but 8 of my friends have already taken 4 cabins, leaving only 7 cabins for 14 people still available. If you confirm your participation and send me your deposit of US$2500 before 15 Oct 2016, to enable me to TT your deposits to the Shipowners before 18 Oct 2016, the ship owners will give you an Early Bird Discount of US$1000 which can be taken off the final installment of your payments in June 30 next year. Yes, you can pay your shared costs of this amazing safari in installments, and you can even pay via PayPal.

For Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #323

should it be left in hunger

                                                                                               Attribution: Shenrich91
Image: Adult Female  Black Widow (here)

Sunday's Whirligig 12 given words:
torn leaving everyone regrets tongues fleeting 
brindled (gray with darker streaks or spots.)
gobbled danger cargo hearts flower

3WW given words:

perky (high-spirited,cheery,exuberant)
notable 

oddball (bizarre, non-conforming)

The Black Widow torn between two loves
with tales of destruction leaving everyone
dumbfounded but not living a life of regrets

Should it be having a lover
or should be left in hunger

It set tongues wagging for in a fleeting 
moment it had all happened
The brindled male species was there beside her
and the next moment was there inside her
gobbled without conscience

At least the one in Hong Kong had it easy
Sliced in the night but he lived to tell
Only his male ego was bruised
He looked pretty much the same
from the outside fully clothed

The danger of an unfettered pleasure
and an unguarded moment
It was not in the cargo-hold but right there
at the spider's bridal chamber in
perky circumstances for two hearts

Pretty as a flower but prettier still
as fodder to the bigger-sized female
A notable oddball that could live
for three years as opposed to a vulnerable
male - for only three months on the
average if lucky enough

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #80
Mish's OLN #181 at d'Verse

Thomg's 3WW #500

richness of music unmatched

                                                                           Attribution: Mrighrajband
Image: A Flutist's Instrumental (here)

modest bamboo flute
richness of music unmatched
floats in little waves

parched lips emptiness
went wet on cushion of air
with sweet sounding flute
swagger swirled to elegance
dancing nights incited fun

For Marian's The Tuesday Platform at Real Toads and
Chev's  Carpe Diem's Universal Jane #1 Introduction
- a tribute to Jane

Thick smoke is billowing - a Haibun

                                                                                       Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas
Image: Typical Scene of Logs at a Timber Complex (here)
(the logs are being fed into the Plywood Mill to be peeled
off into rolls of veneer to be later made into plywood)

11 of 12 given words:
blade billow barge reflect shoulders
bridge filter wisp grain spin lock  

Blades of flames are shooting into the air in the distance.
Thick smoke is billowing. There is a rubbish dump there
that frequently burns so no one seems bothered. Suddenly
a dump truck driver barges in shouting incoherently
reflecting  a distress with his shoulders visibly shaking.
With the bridge blocking the view those seeing him are not
overly excired.. Then word filters in. A wisp of flaming
material is slowly igniting the pile of wood tailings outside
the plywood store. It is still a distance away from the store
but of concern to those at the dump as it is windy. Above
the store are  the cables connecting their building to the main
building. There should not be anything burning below the cable
Electricity will be cut off if the cable gets heated. It just takes
a grain of imagination to think that  the whole building where
they are in might even be engulfed in flames if they are not careful
It is not a spin that locks  their minds against reality but in a
worst case scenario it might happen. There is imminent danger!

danger lurks daily
if it is not your own turf
action still needed

Note: Based on a real-life episode in a Timber
Complex years ago. Fortunately corrective action
was taken and disaster was averted. As a long term
solution the cables were dismantled and the network
was later removed to a safer place
.
For Grace's at d"Verse's Haibun Monday #22
(Extra) Ordinary Days
and Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #268

Why must freedom to move be curtailed?

                                                                         Attribution: Luc Viatour / www.Lucnix.be
Image: Freedom to move (here)

Ironically the void seems to be suffocating

Why must freedom to move be curtailed

The surge to create space is most appealing

If only the reasons delimiting will not fail

Repent and not to provoke a reaction

Profusion of good feelings not subject to sanction

Under no pretext on reflection

That good intentions be abandoned 

(55 words)

For Kerry's Flash 55 at Real Toads
Mary's at PU's  Poetry Pantry #322

Blurred in vision zooming past

                                                                                                            Artist: Juan Gris

Image: Frutero y periódico (fruit bowl and newspaper) (here)

Five ways of Looking at Speed

**1
Flashing fast right in
front of the eyes
Blurred in vision zooming past
to the accompaniment of
noise and smoke
The excitement of an F1 racing

**2
Just as fun on the tracks
Taking corners at high speed
But overtaking without consideration
Putting risks to the winds
Potential road-rage adherent
Potential subsequent statistics
Of mangled wreckage left burning
on the highway

**3
elegant lady of fashion
strutting confidently with a stiletto high
alluring gait a pleasure to gaze at
but a disaster if chased by a raging bull
a mugger or hand-bag snatcher
very unlike one with padded sneakers

**4
long-distance truck driver
with ten mouths to feed back home
chasing for as many round trips
contending to garner as much payment
for an honest job on the highway
sleepy at the wheel
danger to himself and other road users

**5
bright-eyed dancing away
till wee hours of the night
having fun with lively company
out on fun trips of pleasure at leisure
to the beach or skating rinks
or just the normal movies
late in submission of assignments
of students these days
copy and paste hoping to outwit
their learned lecturers and mentors

For Bjorn's at d'Verse's MTB  -  as a cubist poet