Bough of the strong oak looked menacing

                                                                                 Attribution: Ally Saunders
Image: Arbutus from Ally Art - Bough
of a tree (here)

12 given words:
poking pain proper hummingbirds heavy 
survive storm sky can compare heard, country,

3WW given words:
unhinged
vapid (adjective: uninspired, colorless, uninteresting)
tangy (adjective: zesty, spicy)

PU's Midweek Motif  -  faith

Poking fun at pain that unhinged slowly
Not being vapid but amusingly more tangy
Was it proper for hummingbirds freely
To suck it in but remaining stationary?

Bough of the strong oak looked menacing
Heavy protocol to survive storms and lightning
Sky could sympathize unabated quietly imparting
Faith so sanguine to effectively rejuvenating

Nothing to compare strength of character
Heard and seen what a country could offer

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #97
Susan's at PU's Midweek Motif
Thomg's 3WW week #317
Mish's at d'Verse Peotics - Ally Saunders

Pain in his heart to be witnessing

                                                                                   Attribution: Nekneeraj
Image: Cruising aimlessly

11 of 12 given words:
naked pain tighten sparrow electrify wait
kudoclasm (feels like your life is flashing before your eyes, but it’s actually the opposite)
somaticize (verb - to convert (anxiety) into physical symptoms)
aberrant (behavior departs substantially from the norm of a group)
shaft (a long vertical passage sunk into the earth, as for a mine or tunnel)
deadbolt (a type of lock that you need a key to open)

Misconstrued of his naked intentions
Just cruising around to while away his time
Pain in his heart to be witnessing how
it tightened around the sparrow's neck

A flash in the darkened night
At the spot it was electrified
A kudoclasm imposed in a long wait
to be somaticized with a sudden force

Life and death snuffed out in aberrant fashion
Shoved in a manner into a shaft of emptiness
How a wayward little bird met its end in the dark
There was no necessity of a deadbolt
to provide a clean passage of demise

Nekneeraj's at MLMM's Photo Challenge #150 (here)

Kerry's at Real Toad's the tuesday platform

A desire to correct the ills swirling - a Quadrille

                                                                          Attribution:  Parthenos sylvia-Kadavoor
                                                             -2016-06-25-001" © 2016 Jee & Rani Nature Photography
Image: Peaceful adherence (here)

Resurgence of the startled proliferation of thoughts
Made its presence felt in the hours at dawn-break
What prompted it to show its ugly head
but the desire to correct the ills swirling

Outright jitters in the lot affecting choices
that impinged on human liberties
(44 words)

For Bjorn's at d'Verse -  a Quadrille #25
and to include the word -  dawn

Risks on a journey

                                                                                   Attribution: Frode Inge Helland
Image: On a path less traveled (here)

Risks on a journey
Putting welfare on the line
On the road again
Gods smile with good-naturedness
Safe with some secured lodgings

Chev's Carpe Diem #1138  -  hspitality

Made short work of obstacles

                                                                                         Attribution: Didier Descouens
Image: A Bridge in Venice (here)

Confidence across
Very much like drifting clouds
Opening a way
Shortcut to enhance commerce
Life blood fulfilling a wish

Great people movers
Shared responsibilities
Populist ideas
Made short work of obstacles
Vision of City Fathers

For Chev's Carpe Diem #1137  -  bridge 

Or can it be considered a great work of art?

                                                                                                Attribution: Sage Ross
Image: A California Juniper bonsai  (here)

the 16 given words:
monument country  waste desert pitiless ceremony tide
gyre (spiral shape that petals make in the face of a flower)
artifice (a subtle and crafty trick)
neglect anarchy tatter center drowsy holy innocence

Can it pass off as a monumental
hype in the country-side
One that laid waste in a desert environment
A pitiless existence without ceremony?

Or can it be considered a great work of art
Carefully crafted in accordance with the tide of  opinions
Sans gyre in all greatness but an artifice
to play tricks on the eyes!

Not to neglect an anarchy of ideas but rather
to painstakingly nurture its seemingly tattered
image into something exquisite

It can serve as a center of attraction in its
drowsy shape to be exhibited in
all of its holy innocence!

Yes!

For Kerry's at Real Toad's  -  get listed

Unafraid of the consequences

                                                                                                  Attribution: A.Savin 
Image: Slums Neglected by Authorities (here)

11 of 12 given words:
resistance defiance demands unafraid doubt
promises talk suspicion clown academic lies,

Resistance to change
Defiance set in their demands
Unafraid of the consequences
No doubts at all in their resolve

What turned them into
anti-establishment elements?

Promises more promises
Talks more talks that created
strange suspicions

It was somewhat clownish
now and purely academic
It was tantamount to outright
lies in their perception
It wasn't an easy way out

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #96
Grace's at d'Verse's OLN #188

Let it not be said he was unfairly treated

                                                                                      Attribution: Charlesjsharp
Image: Well composed and confident (here)

3WW given words:
rotund parched scandalous

Rotund in ideas pushing his weight around
Wanting to make an impact in staggered tones

Was still exercising confidence thumbing his nose
At all and sundry remaining well composed

Parched in his make-up to counter the objections
He was not about to give in, his immediate reaction

Could he sustain the scandalous mode so apparent
To hide behind a thin veil for good reasons?

Let it not be said he was unfairly treated
From the looks of things he was well regarded

It was all a question of perception in their eyes
To be unduly alarmed with his objectionable voice

Perhaps he should also try to make it a lot easier
Change within easy limits for the better

For Thomg's 3WW #516
Sumana's at PU's Midweek Motif  -  change

Been days, yet to get a decent bite what a bungle!

                                                                           Attribution: Mario Gervais
Image: MLMM's with NEKNEERAJ's Photo Challenge (here)

11 of 12 given words:

bed mice nose grab collect image pin
pupa (insect in the transformation stage following the larva stage)
sear (cook or burn by applying intense heat)
triptych (hinged, three-leaved tablet, written on, in ancient times)
pleonasm (use of more words than necessary;redundancy)

Embedded as a jailbird behind closed doors
Much like a big pupa rolled up in a bundle
Seared by the heater immobilized at the ground floor
Been days, yet to get a decent bite what a bungle

Should  have stocked up for the winter
Like all small creatures mice squirrels and more
A nose for some steak to be downed with beer
Whatever he could grab at the downtown store

Worked on the tablet like a triptych for his poems
He then got behind the wheel but ended looking dumb
His works earlier had already showed lots of pleonasm
Now thick snow along the driveway added to the glum

Had to collect some grub his tummy noise was a bother
The image otherwise was not looking good for him
Pinned his hopes on the weather turning out for the better
Taught him a bitter lesson or he would end up on the brink

Amber's at MlMM's Wordle #139
Marian's at Real Toad's -  the tuesday platform 
NEKNEERAJ's at MLMM's Photo Challenge #149

touch of class is all there is to make things easy

                                                                             Author: Sam Oth (User:World Trekker)
                                                                                                                                            CC-by-sa-2.5
Image: Perfection of an open bloom (here)

12 given words:
birth burden light reach soul hope 
cope touch heavy heart given earth 

birth of a new day just as a flower opens to bloom
burden of yesterday left in the trash and out of mind
make light of strange voices likely to create gloom
for to reach out of the closet of uncertainty is divine

a soul rich with hopes to render a new beginning
each intervening voice stifles a golden opportunity
for to cope with tinnitus can be most infuriating
touch of class is all there is to make things easy

surrendering to a heavy heart is likely to frustrate efforts
solutions are not without problems for they are part of it
nothing by nature will point to failure given good methods
difficulties troubling Mother Earth are short of a good fit?

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #283
Brendan's at Real Toad's Sunday Mini Prompt  -  voices

Loneliness forced the issue that led him astray

                                                                      Attribution: Aiko, Thomas & Juliette+Isaac
Image: His Indiscretions Readily Forgiven (here)

12 given words:
broken plank cliff longer mistake revenge, 
music, everything loneliness, create,snare pepper 

Traumatic experience of a broken promise
Made to walk the plank at top of the cliff
No longer a mistake but an act of revenge
Had to face the music despite being a friend

Everything seemed normal much of the way
Loneliness forced the issue that led him astray
Created dissensions but still a calculated risk
Before he was ensnared, away he was whisked

Strangely enough being unfaithful had its rewards
What he had to do then but returned with all his faults
Peppered with love and smothered with kisses
Welcomed back most profoundly by the bitches

Note: Make no mistake. This is humor inclined. 
A stray dog story. 'Bitches' referred to the canines!

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #95
Sherry's at PU's Poetry Pantry #337

Pathetic excuses of not having enough time

                                                                                                  Attribution: Jeepika
Image: Horizontal Sundial (here)

Inspired by the metaphor  -  time is a thief 

What can be more damning than
to be labeled a 'time squanderer'
Privileged with 24 hours everyday
A luxury to be utilized but not
in any way maximized nor exploited
Yet whiners are aplenty
Pathetic excuses of not having time

Haven't they heard time is a thief?
Given half a chance time will outwit
Pushed to the wall time will
vehemently bid a fight-back to
spew unsolicited stress and worry

Let not other's insistence drown our
inner voice but pleading for more
-  it is futile

Time is given without fear or favor
Selfishly tuck it within our waist-band
Manage it intelligently to follow our heart
You'll see what you get, 24 hours
To beg for more is moronic!

For Stacie's at Real Toad's  - on 
poetry, writing & metaphor 

Oblivious of contending looks

                                                                                          Attribution: SandyCole 
Image: Elegance of the Wild (here)

the 3WW given words:
oblivious
misogynist (woman-hater sexist)
neophyte (novice beginner, learner)

Poets United
unity

Oblivious of contending looks
Attesting to curiosity of his intentions
He was not entirely affected
Neither was he bothered

He had taken a stand
So he had decided
He was not about to back-track
Nor was he keen on an about-turn

Me, a misogynist?
No, I admire women
I long for their presence
their upkeep and frailty
their sweet caresses and humor
not a neophyte though but
matured enough

Sweet banter of light moments
What I wouldn't give for resurgence
of innocence of youth

Yes, unity in thinking
and succulent exchange of ideas
The elegance that both enjoy!
Never a dull moment
Astound me, yes!

Thomg's 3WW week #515
Susan's at PU's Mid-week Motif   -  unity

he knew she was definitely luxuriant

                                                                                            Attribution: Chris Wood
Image:Fry's Island, on the River Thames (here)

the 12 given words:
trudge froth pour green toes inward crush
yew (evergreen trees with its branches as a symbol of sorrow)
prickle (tingling sensation on a person's skin, caused by strong emotions)
harbinger ( a forerunner of something)
dross (something regarded as worthless)
psittacism (repetition of words or phrases parrot-fashion.)

Sluggishly trudging frothing at the mouth
Even the waters off Fry's Island was faster
Pain in his heart no one to pour out his woes
Excepting the greens on the island waving
their branches in a collective show of yew

Pulling himself awkwardly with toes inwards
Vaguely aware of light prickles on his cheeks
A harbinger of better days ahead perhaps

He tried to console himself thinking aloud,
'have the patience to sift through the dross'
No, he knew she was definitely luxuriant
His crush for her was beyond his psittacism
No turning back an inner voice whispered

Yves's at MLMM's January Wordle #138
Kerry's at Real Toad's  -  the tuesday platform 

Misgivings of global warming

                                                                                           Attribution: Vaido Otsar
Image: Nice cool effects (here)
  
11 of 12 given words:
wake shrill blue ribbon draw circle 
water sense peak become singed

The lake used to quiver in the early hours to
wake up the sleepy heads with shrill cries
melodiously shared of migratory birds and
crickets seemingly competing with each other

Levels had shrunk to below the blue ribbon
an imaginary line drawn at the top to circle
around the expanse of the water surface

Misgivings of global warming which seem
sluggish lately but in a sense yet to peak in any
serious discussions on what had become of it

The fossil fuels lobby had singed the scientific
consensus by supporting efforts to undermine
or even to discredit them of their findings

Brenda's Sunday's Whirl Wordle #282
Sherry's at PU's Poetry Pantry #336

happily with whatever little at one's disposal

                                                                                   Attribution: Yumi Kimura
Image: Happy and Smiling Cat (here)

12 given words:
glimmering well coins, thrown, turning something, 
,place, slips source still  grief, breathe,

glimmerings of the familiar.all too well seen
politicians greedily hoarding the poor happily sharing
coins thrown at beggars whilst son's big losses at gambling
had parents who bequeathed them turning in their graves
something not quite right in life's cycle of might

in other ordinary situations and at different places
there were also slips somehow from varied sources

more knowledge acquired but showed less wisdom
having virtual friends aplenty but still feeling lonely
to turn grief to laughter watching a TV comedy
ended laughing alone but sharing the joke with many

breathe easy not bothered with little distractions
live life to the fullest endorsed by peers or otherwise
but satisfied with inputs extended to helping others
happily with whatever little at one's disposal

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #94
Grace's at d'Verse's OLN #187

Initiates a beginning

                                                                                        Attribution: T.K. Naliaka

Image: An opened baobab fruit, with all
the whitish opaque pulp dissolved off and
removed, to show only the seeds (here)

Phenomenon set
Initiates a beginning
Seed on the ground in
all innocence pushing roots
and shoots to extend lineage

Sustains nature's best
Small creatures or humankind
Embedded within
Blessed be strain in feeding mouths
of expanding human growth

Chev's Carpe Diem #1120  -  seed
Marian's at Real Toad's  -  the tuesday platform

Motherly instinct - a Haibun

                                                                       Attribution: Лъчо at Bulgarian Wikipedia
Image: Adorable pair (here)

Hank's sister two years younger has been unusually happy
these last few days  A nine-year-old tended to be a little
secretive. It would not be easy to understand them. She
used to be grumpy and often hid herself in her room sulking
when things did not come her way. We were quite used to it.
This morning I caught a glimpse of her rushing across the
lounge and disappeared into the store-room hiding something
behind her back. It was very unlike her. She used to confide
to me whenever she got into jams. I gave her about fifteen
minutes before swinging open the store-room door. She
would have jumped up surprised but not this time. She was
 composed, and whispered, 'be quiet!' in an authoritative
manner, at the same time pointing to some old rags at the
corner. Something stirred beneath and out popped two little
heads, the cutest I had seen. 'brought some food, Mom not 
aware of them. Jane gave them to me a week ago'

There were little dolls
Cut off from reality
Motherly instinct

Grace's at d'Verse with Lady Nyo's
Haibun Monday #28 -  childhood experience

Just to prove nicotine was harmless

                                                                                            Attribution: Arcadiuš
Image: Uncontrolled bonfire (here)

11 of 12 given words:
enact meager spark day quarter nicotine fusion queasy
mealy (feeling rough and dry in your mouth)
parapraxis (thought to reveal unconscious wishes or attitudes)
scapegrace (a habitually unscrupulous person; scamp.)

What was there to enact
Perhaps not just some meager episode
Did you remember what they did?
Not the one that sparked things off!
Yes, that was the one

For a day and a quarter it was utter confusion
Just to prove nicotine was harmless
And nothing queasy about it but just
a mealy feeling in the mouth
They decided to put it to test

Not unlike a parapraxis but with a
wicked desire to cause mischief

They did not wish just to smoke a fag
But lighted up at a petrol station
That was their weird idea of fun
A fusion of a scapegrace and a nut
What a conflagration!

MLMM's Wordle #137 January

to seal a future of leisure

                                                                        Attribution: Zharif the Future Surgeon's
                                                                                                                                         CC BY 2.0
Image: A Natural Beauty (here)

10 of 12 given words:
preen (making oneself look attractive)
single cheat climb leap reap 
seal feeble lean truth 

Botox 'plastic' nose and chins
How ladies preen themselves
With the single purpose of being
pretty and they are not cheats
Ladies look more elegant and
desirable when they look good

High-heeled and prim to project
a sexy gait without extra efforts
Enhanced rump and breasts to be
described as 'generously endowed'

The climb to the top is a great leap
forward with minimal efforts
To reap the gains to seal a future
of leisure is all in their hands
No more Plain Janes with feeble
excuses of not making out but
one with lean and stunning good
looks to make their man happy

Truth be told do man mind at all?

Brenda's Sunday Whirl's #281
Sherry's at PU's Poetry Pantry #335

Parasol of immense weight

                                                                                              Attribution: Basotxerri
Image: A Construction Wonder (here)

Pandering to some forces
Parasol of immense weight
Mysterious appearance dotting
the landscape void of reasons

Perhaps intelligent beings
with untold physical strengths
on whirlwind visits to earth
mustered their draconian order

Unpretentious in design but
of architectural brilliance
devoid of heavy equipment

Could not imagine unlucky
earthlings forced to assist
One often wonders how?
(55 words)

Kerry's at Real Toad's  with
Flash Fiction 55 -  play it again!

Fulfilled with bundle of joy

                                                                                                Attribution: Rangbaz

Image: The Cute One (here)

Together as one
Touch of the heart, miracles
do follow closely
Expectations of couples
Fulfilled with bundle of joy

Chev's Carpe Diem #1119 -  miracles

Wrought with untold risks

                                                                                         Attribution: Matt Tillett
Image: Swooping down (here)

Wrought with untold risks
'Friend' appeared  out of nowhere
Fair weather suspect

Eagle in the air
Young chicks wandered on the ground
Danger of strong grips

Chev's Carpe Diem #1118 -  recklessness

pressed hard at her sides or prowled around

                                                                         Attribution: Sylvia Chan Art
Image: New Beginnings (here)

Sunday's Whirligig 10 of 12 given words:
sleep pressed prowls hungry remind
inhale fear meek spring siblings

3WW given words:
hateful incorrigible gaping

There were times it moved in her sleep
pressed hard at her sides or prowled around
hungry it seemed to remind her of the love
she was carrying

New beginnings how she remembered it well
She was there all the time in fact it was the climax
The climax to 9 months of happiness and anxiety
It was inhale...exhale...inhale,
a reassuring voice
Hold it! Push..yes.. push harder..yes. 
a slap at the butt
Now she was holding a crying little 'un in her arms

In an instant she had forgotten the hateful reaction
the anger the cravings and the put-off to male odor
all the very nature of healthy pregnancy

It was beginning to make her incorrigible
gripping and fearfully in a gaping abyss in
thought or meek and docile at times
It used to spring surprises to hubby and siblings alike
The D-day to birthing put paid to the testing times

How men envy the privilege bestowed on women
For which men are naturally disadvantaged

Mish's at d'Verse's  -  new beginnings
MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #93
Thomg's 3WW week #513

a bundle at the edge of the road

                                                                               Attribution: Ilmari Nen
Image: Lying in the cold (here)

10 of 12 given words:
headlight fetal spell pity radio melody
cryophilic (thriving in low temperatures)
promontory (land projecting into the sea)
insular (relating to an island)
china (the material)

It was dark in the woods outside
It was eerie and cold

The headlights suddenly hit upon
a bundle at the edge of the road
Lying in a fetal position,a human form
It was not overly cryophilic but it
would spell disaster to be on the
ground not adequately dressed
More so the promontory part
of the plateau was subject to
an insular type of climate
It was like sitting on a cold slab
of china in a cold room, a pity!

The car radio was blaring a
remorseful melody for the past hour
Was this the missing housewife
heard earlier?

MLMM's January Wordle #136
Photo Challenge #146
Kerry's at Real Toad's - the tuesday platform

He was not entirely blameless but ...

                                                                                                      Attribution: Ross
Image: Caged up (here)

Brenda's 12 given words:
always back bang  ball  bruise muffled 
demon mean cruel cost hang boot

Elizabeth's given word:  finish

He had always been reminded
to come  back with a bang

The ball was at his feet
His bruised ego took a beating
He could only register muffled protests
All because  a demon of a guy was
mean enough not to tell the whole truth

Most cruel of them to believe the spin
It had cost him time and money
Someone had done him in

He decided to hang on
He was not finished as yet
They could boot him out
for a longer time but a plea-
bargain was out of the question
It was more or less admitting guilt
He would have none of it!

He was not entirely blameless but
he should not take the full brunt of
the rap in its entirety alone.

The mastermind was let off easy
on technicalities and he was sick
to the bones thinking about it

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #280
Elizabeth's Creativity Challenge Day 40  -  finish
Sherry's at PU's Poetry Pantry #334