they finally arrived at the border

                                                                         Attribution: Mr_Kasser
Image: Arrival in the Wee Hours
of the Morning (here)

the 11 of 12 given words:
border seek joy flood hope risk 
poor welcome open tired hypocrisy 

they finally arrived at the border
to seek for the joys incumbent in
the land of milk and honey which
used to bid for their presence

but things had changed drastically
there used to be a flood of hopefuls
who risked their limbs and lives
who sneaked across and back again

but now markedly apparent was
barely a trickle of the poor souls
who had exceeded their welcome
shutout with no open passage

the authorities were not just tired
of the influx but more to see to the
pledge of an as yet an unfulfilled
election platform

the hypocrisy of a politician who
unwittingly laid bare of the difficulty
of having the construction physically
done - a wall

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #384
Carrie's at Sunday Muse#36 
Sanaa's at Real Toad's  -  the tuesday platform                           

not shaken by the enormity

                                                                                                         Attribution: Tota

Image:  Talents abound (here)

the 12 given words: 

morning shadow spent stop string treat 

brew shaken dogs view notes ship       

of an early morning ritual

never a shadow of a doubt 

of time well spent

not to stop the strains of sounds

of a string instrument for ages

that accompanied masters

what a treat!

at an early age providing a brew

of Beethoven's compositions 

not shaken by the enormity

that dogged many a young heart

to view it as just another recital

notes upon notes to digest

but a plaything of a child prodigy

who had shipped off all negative thoughts

but to provide an outlet for his talents

God-given of a chosen few 

Carrie's Sunday's Muse #35

Brenda's Sunday's Whirl Wordle #383
willow's-stitches Pat's at Real Toad's
tuesday's last platform

a city kaleidoscopically engulfed in lights

Attribution: James G. Howes

Image: Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
(a 75 ft (23m) high Norway Spruce
decorated with 18,000 lights).

the 10 of 12 given words:
city bare cut foliage look letter refuse 
spires (a tapering structure on the top of a building)
Christmas boughs 

a city kaleidoscopically engulfed in lights
nothing bare, but cut out into a concrete jungle
foliage not just green but varied and bright
a look perfect to the letter nothing abysmal

atop a giant spruce tree regally standing
painstakingly transported without fanfare
taking its place surrounded by tall buildings
refusal to be dwarfed by spires amidst the glare

transformed into a giant Christmas tree
its boughs decked with flickering lights
at Rockefeller Center annually since 1933
national tradition ushering cheers of yuletide

Merry Christmas, everyone!

MMT at Sunday's Whirligig #193

the enigmatic smile so proclaimed

                                                                                        Attribution: Reddit.com
Image:  Modern Day Mona Lisa   (here)

the enigmatic smile so proclaimed
so captivatingly to many for centuries
the fascination of a kind so sustained
extending it to the male species 

yearnings for all the pleasures to find
what could be so specific to accentuate
a hold on the natural inquisitive mind
that a Mona wannabe could equate

all the thoughts of times erstwhile
such was the magic of da Vinci
that one succumbed just to a smile
to showcase a mortal's ingenuity
   
Nekneeraj's at MLMM's Photo Challenge #243
Vivian's at Real Toad's -  the tuesday platform

Being Symmetrical seen in Perspective - a Haibun

                                                                             Attribution: Allana
Image: A Symmetrical Image
seen in Perspective (here)

symmetrical
symmetrical if it has at least 
one line of symmetry, i.e. it 
can be divided in such a way 
that its two halves perfectly 
match each other
perspective
drawing of parallel lines as 
converging in order to give the 
illusion of depth and distance

The Prose
A beautiful image that embodies
both a classic example of being
symmetrical with its own reflection
in the water. It simultaneously is
represented in perspective to accord
depth and distance.

Awareness of both principles can
render an artistic impression most
eloquently as seen here

The Haiku
brought back to those times
of the first lessons in art
of those bygone days

Carrie's at The Sunday Muse #34
Mary's at PU's Poetry Pantry #433

it was a spin of a kind

                                                                                Author Official U.S. Navy Page
Image: Howls of Laughter (here)

the 12 given words:
drop howl hundred train touch spin 
plan shop wind lucky neck play

he dropped a bombshell
it could have ended
with howls of laughter
if not for the big break

a hundred to one chance
his train of thoughts
were not in touch with reality

it was a spin of a kind
unplanned for the most part

a countdown to disaster

he should have shopped around
for life was ripe for the picking
and he was in a position to cause
a wind of change

at break-neck speed, he acted
how lucky it turned out to be

whew!
it was close he thought!
he gloated over his  good fortune
he played his cards well

Brenda's The Sunday's Whirl #382
Magaly's at Real Toad's Week-end
Mini Challenge -  life is ripe

out in the cold a winter's blast

                                                           Attribution: Adam Ward / An Icy Blast / CC BY-SA 2.0
Image: An Icy Blast (here)

the 12 given words:
bones keep play end valley stars 
find cold winter dome  love limber 

make no bones about it
keep it in play strive to no end
in the valley of stars do they meet
easy partners they hope to find

out in the cold a winter's blast
the year to end nothing left undone
the strong and lively made to outlast
the tough with strength enhanced

dome of love set to limber and dance
to provoke and harness many movements
appearing brightly opaque in a glance
to spread out wide as healthy elements

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig #192
Grace at d'Verse's OLN #234

she stood her grounds uninterrupted

                                                                                               Attribution: Jade Lizzie
Image: Balanced of Mind Despite
not being so in Appearance (here)

the 12  given words:
nuanced (a quality of something that is not easy to notice)
uninterrupted, carrion (dead or decaying flesh) wrestling 
effusive (expressing welcome or approval with strong feelings)
magical impact dominant regulate input 
chiromancer  (n.) able to predict by interpreting the lines on the palms)
trial

her insistence in challenging vagaries
of the violent weather nuanced in her
confidence evident of any elements
of panic or haste

she stood her grounds uninterrupted
in a show of balance none of a carrion
soul still-born in thinking but wrestling
in her mind without any show of effusive
tendencies but of  a stable nature

such is the hold and strength
of the magical yin and yang that
impact on a dominant part of self
to regulate the unobtrusive inputs
marring an even sight

she is no chiromancer bent on  trial
and error but very measured in her
dealings with honest intentions

can she be faulted being so?

Carrie's at Sunday Muse #33
Sanaa's at Real Toad's - the tuesday platform 

alone in all seriousness

                                                                                    Photographer: Julien Lamour
Image: Lost in Thoughts (here)

lost in thoughts
alone in all seriousness
leaning aimlessly by the wall
not certain as to directions
will it come to this far

-  might of loneliness tugging -

set in motion
searching for company
seething at the mouth
bent with emotions
regret is a known realization

Marian at Real Toad's -
fussy little forms - puente

serene nights of wonder

                                                                                                   Author: Mike Cline
Image:   Yellowstone Park -  The Meadows
Below Midway Geyser Basin on the Firehole River  (here)

placid crystal clear
pleasantly calm and peaceful
warmness of embrace
locked tight in earnest, surprised
at night's blessings of wonder

Susan's at PU's Midweek Motif  -  surprise
Chèvrefeuille's  Carpe Diem #1561 - a tanka
Yellowstone National Park  - a love theme at the meadows

a penchant for the personal touch

                                                                            Author: Catrin Welz-Stein
Image: If Only he Responds (here)

the 12 given words:
personal wild candle buffet torpedo
melancholy (a gloomy state of mind a feeling of pensive sadness)
cantankerous (difficult or irritating to deal with)
badmash ((n.) a hooligan)
ruler pertinent lighthouse oily

a penchant for the personal touch
a little on the wild side perhaps
or the sought after candle-light dinner
or even a plain buffet
either way, lauded

but torpedoed without reasons
utterly unreasonable
from a melancholy baby
cantankerous when he chose to
not unlike a badmash
who acted as a ruler of his domain
comprising like bad hats
pertinent only to themselves

still hoping for a savior
a  beneficent lighthouse
flashing encouraging signs
across the expanse
of crystal clear waters
with nothing of any oily patches
of polluted contaminants

Carrie's The Sunday Muse #32
weejar's at MLMM's Wordle #212-2
Sanaa's at Real Toad's -  the tuesday platform

ready to blaze the trail

                                                                                             Author: Beals
Image: Jessie Tarbox Beals (here)
America's first female photojournalist c. 1904

an impassioned plea
a determined look in the eyes
never to question
one who had decided to break new grounds

a confident look
clear enough
astute in the challenge
fully equipped
ready to blaze the trail
for other females

being the first was earth-shattering
to the male chauvinist

women had a place in the calling
(55 words)

Kerry at Real Toad's - camera flash 55
Mary at PU's Poetry Pantry #431