Lamenting sadly life's woes that easily falter

                                                                                                            Author Vojife
Image: Melting Snow (here)

Extending quickly a reach scathingly beyond
Colorful hues yonder across pristine skies
To hug intently an endearment spellbound
Stepping across yellow daffodils in the wilds

Ungainly steps seemingly over fast waters
That plunge icy cold furiously down below
Lamenting sadly life's woes that easily falter
Into a roaring abyss of melted white snow

Resolute resolution stamps a hard wallop
Determined to pick up the pieces and get on
Pinnacle of lofty goals more than a wild snub
Colorful rainbows and a penchant for a song

Mish's at d'Verse's OLN #244

so why flog the issue unobtrusively offered

                                                                                                 Author:  Jessie Eastland
Image: Impending Doom Permeates the Air  (here)

the sky looked like ink, no stars,
just black; that’s how it began
wither the sorrow to go this far
to accentuate a sadness unplanned

when nature came into the act
perhaps in sympathy to a lost cause
holding on to an occurrence after the fact
but sinister trending without a pause

so why flog the issue unobtrusively offered
just accept it with grace without the fanfare
the sooth-sayers wound down flustered
caught off-guard summer's end none were aware

a peaceful end to a strategy on the quiet
lost in darkness progressing unnoticed
without rocking the boat as when it started
diplomacy as a tool yet no rules were breached

MLMM's First line Friday 
Marian's at Real Toad's - summer's end

'Love thy neighbor' no more alive

                                                                                                   Attribution: Toni
Image: Care and Patience
on the Balcony(here)

the 12 given Wordle words:
blocks alley clues insight permit style 
shift siren shoot lights tracks live

Note: It is such a joy looking at
all the greenery reflecting on your
green fingers, Carrie. Hank's take 
here is entirely fiction just borrowing
one of your wonderful pictures to 
spice it up. Apologies, not one 
from Hank's own garden

Two blocks away by the alley
No clues apparent on its origin
But was creating curiosity daily
Mysterious occupants not seen

An insight into their interests
Permitted clues to their style
The balcony provided the first
Colors and greenery were high

There was a shift in the order
Sirens blaring in the dead of night
A shootout suddenly did occur
Powerful lights were shone bright

It was just not easy to keep track
Of how neighbors live their life
Even basic information we lack
'Love thy neighbor' no more alive

Brenda's Sunday Whirl Wordle #403
Carrie's Sunday Muse -  wednesday 
muse #8 garden-spot
Sherry's at PU's Poetry Pantry #480

the crowd is to shield their presence

                                                               Artist: Wilhelm Gentz (1822–1890)
Image: The Father of Cats, riding a camel with saddlebags
full of cats, and a crowd of pilgrims following him (here)

the 12 given words:
warfare, hail pilgrim, disdain falsehood crowd, 
shield tales, obscure, reason, crest, roads

it is open warfare
hail the pilgrims
reacting to the glare
of publicity with disdain

not to put up with falsehood
the crowd is to shield their presence
with tales of grandeur to boot
perhaps obscure but with good reasons

on the crest of success
brimming with confidence
leading rightly to  manifest
itself on to roads of credence

MMT's Sunday Whirligig  #214
Rommy's The Tuesday Platform  - going buggy

Everywhere but not a Drop to Drink

                                                                          Author Markus Koljonen (Dilaudid)
Image: The Manneken Pis in Brussels (here)

Note: Not in my elements but one of the elements

Water, water, everywhere
The aftermath of the tsunami
Sadly not a drop to drink
Gnawing on man’s ability
To survive on the brink

Manneken Pis was able though
To target a flow without a miss
He has now female company
In the form of Jenneke Pis
Of the watering hole jargon
Bloody Mary , Whiskey American
Sealed lifelong friendships
At the Long Bar with every long sips

Of Titanic, touted indestructibly
A wayward iceberg was all
That wrought the unthinkable
Long thought to be a casualty
Of the notorious Bermuda Triangle
All the drama spawned a movie
That caught the imagination of all

Arguments may ignite
Between the optimist
And the pessimist
That glass is half full
Nay, it is half empty
Whatever caught the two fools
Both are correct eventually

Oceans occupy three-fourths
Of Mother Earth’s surface
So also Man’s body fluids
But there is no denying
We can still go without food
But without water we are dead!

Gospel's at d'Verse's Poetics - in my elements

nippy and fast one can never get it easy

                                                                               Author Marko Knuutila
Image: The sneer on their faces (here)

Theme: Animals - R for Rabbits

crocuses pop up early, to inspire true spring joy
deer and rabbits attracted to flowers - are a nuisance
bitter with sharp fragrance marigold keep them out

honeysuckle planted at the fringes known to repel
but once inside tulips bulbs are most vulnerable
flower beds with colors often turned over in the nights

what tough luck to be victims of 'adorable' little critters
added to the woes are the ever-present little squirrels
nippy and fast one can never get it easy to win them all

Magaly's at Real Toads  -  weekend mini challenge
For A to Z Challenge  -  R

The Mind Is Its Own Beautiful Prisoner

                                                                                                       Author Raul654
Image:  An Okapi (here)

Theme: Animal  -  O for Okapi


The Mind Is Its Own Beautiful Prisoner
beautiful no less but still very much imprisoned
to twist and shout not consigned to the back burner
struggling to find an outlet with good reasons

to speak its mind hankering on free expressions
not to be throttled or squeezed by the neck
but gluttony of efforts to push forward its opinions
the mind its own energy not under wraps

can one stifle its desire to make its presence felt
a prisoner of conscience holding back its strength
ought to be given space in fairness without regret
likened to the okapi waiting to strike a chime

For A to Z Challenge :  O
Sanaa's at Real Toad's

Poetry as an Enduring Fighter

                                                                              Author Biopauker (talk) /J. Dietrich

Image: Early morning Riser (here)

Theme Animals:  N for Nightingale

what is poetry to the poet
an avenue of expression
in a delicate way in concert
with finesse and good reasons

may perhaps be camouflaged
but done within a subtlety of treatment
outlined intellectually supercharged
to bring to great effect dire moments

of truth to be readily acknowledged
painful it may seem but dutifully swallowed
aligned to a Nightingale's dawn message
sweet and tender even if logic disallowed

served its purpose as a fighter for a just cause
to extend a sophistication of word usage
beautifully expounded with nothing lost
but a play in the finest of creative language

Anmol (HA) at Real Toads' -  tuesday platform 
For A to Z Challenge :  N

regal in its bearing

                                                                                                  Author:  Frank Wouters
Image:  A regal specimen (here)

Theme: Animals - M for Markhor

its unique shape as an obvious attraction
a pair of spectacular spiraling horns
enduring goat on the ledge of mountains
sprightly, agile with quick movements

to the big male species, there are reasons
of practical uses for their crowning glory
fighting for females during the mating season.
to removing of the bark from a tree

it also serves as a historical record 
there are rings on it like that of a tree
indicative of how old is its lot
fascinating specimen regal in its beauty 

Gor A to Z  Challenge  - M
Anmol's (HA) at Real Toad's - tuesday platform

Saveng horns atop their head

with ghost-like reflective eyes

                                                                      Attribution - jenny genannt (CC BY-SA 3.0)  
Image: A Lemur (here)

Theme: Animals -  L for Lemur

a primate found only in Madagascar
with ghost-like reflective eyes roaming
coupled with wailing screams from afar
strangely with additional tongue for grooming

done on one another as often done by primates
are strangely found within a matriarchal society
where more control is exercised by females
strangely to source for water on its own ingenuity

eat leaves of fleshy plants to get water it was able
strangely blessed with an intelligence of a higher level

For A to Z Challenge: L
Sherry's at PU's Poetry Pantry #446

bee safe pesticides not very safe after all

                                                                                  Author Ferran Pestana
Image: A Honey Bee in the Act

Theme Animals - H for Honey Bee

honey bees  with elements of a destroyer
to humans owing to its deadly stings
but as pollinators for flowers as a savior
a provider of total food of its making

often debated as a subject of ridicule
honey as food in storage for the generation
but is it created out of vomit or poo
that a forager bee regurgitates on its return

a house bee through process of trophallaxis
turning the raw nectar to sweet tasting honey
but a matter of more direct concern
are bee safe pesticides not very safe after all

For A to Z Challenge:  H

its commercial value enhanced

                                                                Author XV8-Cri

Image: A Gerbil (here)

Pet of the Year 2007 in Finland

Theme: Animal  -  G for Gerbil

cute little darling similar to the hamster
but edged it off as the pet of choice
sporting a tail as long as its body
shed off like a lizard's in times of danger
just a common desert rodent
but its commercial value enhanced
boasted pride of place in modern homes

For A to Z Challenge : G

Strangely only half the body is asleep - a Limerick

                                                                                             Author inkknife_2000
Image: Sleeping on one Leg (here)

The colour of the flamingo comes from eating
a type of algae that then turns the flamingo into
the bright pink bird that we are so familiar with.

Theme: Animals -  F for Flamingo

standing on one leg can be pretty tiring
not so as the flamingo is actually resting
the half of the body
not on the standing leg is really
asleep switching later without thwarting

For A to Z Challenge :  F

you must have a small appetite

                                                                                    Author Allan Whittome (Whitto)
Image: The Echidna (spiny anteater) (here)

Of family Tachyglossidae, has a long tongue 
of around 18cm that can whip in and out of 
its mouth at incredible speeds. Apparently, 
they might not be the same as the Old World 
porcupines of family Hystricidae, and of the 
New World porcupines of family Erethizontidae.

Theme: Animals E for Echidna 

spiny anteater, you are fascinating
nature has decided that your diet
comprise of tiny ants
you must have a small appetite
to survive with just swooshes of
your long tongue

it would mean many many swooshes
per anthill or you would have to
look for many, many anthills

Life can be pretty tiring or you may
choose to go hungry - what a choice!

For A to Z Challenge:  E

runs in the race but never winning

                                                                                        Author: unknown
Image: A Hook-nosed Dodo (here)
a) large extinct flightless bird found 
on Mauritius until the end of the 17th century  
b) an old-fashioned and ineffective person.

Theme: Animals - D for Dodo

dodos like the platypus forgotten
in the separation of land mass found
respectively only in Mauritius and
Australia but the dodos unlike the
latter ended  as a sad consequence
of exposure to early settlers

being flightless most vulnerable easily
likened to the turkey as an attraction
that it became extinct within
a short space of 50 years

now only remembered not in a celebrated
way as a person who runs in the race but
never winning

For A to Z Challenge:  D
Magaly's at PU's Poetry Pantry  -  telling tales 

How to launder strengths to last longer

                                                                                                 Author Ishai Parasol
Image: A Camel Convoy  (here)

Theme: Animals - C for Camels

To ask for relief on a tired traveler
In a slush trudging in a sea of sand
Following one behind the other
In a long line for miles without a bend

Perhaps to hit an oasis a trite too soon
Melting under the scorch of the burning sun
An option of not many choices of doom
Maybe in spirit the mind spells fun

A sign of not accepting defeat
Where words of wisdom truly thrive
Succulent to the inner self in deeds
Trying times but given to lots of drive

In a land devoid of opportunities
That a desert can offer to camel travellers
Heatstrokes can well be an ailment to see
How to launder strengths to last longer

For the A to Z Challenge: C
Mish's at d'Verse OLN #240

cooperation in the animal world

                                                                                            Author: Charles J Sharp
Image: An African Buffalo (here)

Theme: Animals  - B for Buffalo

an ox-pecker perched gingerly mindful
not to unsettle on a soulmate
having a nose area a larder of live goodies

such is the quiet endeavor in acts
of cooperation in the animal world

the heavy-set  buffalo unperturbed
maligned a little surveying the scene
perhaps with designs to turn itself
into a martyr of sorts fighting
for a cause in friendly relationships

it provides a respite to review its
thoughts without panting in excitement
with negligible distractions to both

For the A to Z Challenge: B

'to hang an albatross around his neck'

                                                                                                Author Duncan Wright
Image: Gibson's Albatross a subspecies
of Antipodean Albatross (here)

Theme: Animals - A for Albatross

seafaring folks are beset with dangers

in their travels praying for kind weather
or alternatively not to invoke
acts of ill-luck on the high seas
the ancient mariner chose 'to hang
an albatross around his neck'
 a senseless act that attracted
immediate retribution

a moral message 'warning against
thoughtless and foolhardy actions
that invoked grave consequences

For the A to Z April Challenge - A

now lost in thoughts

                                                                            Author Rodrigo Della Fávera
Image: A Sad Girl (here)

the chosen words:
inseparable afternoon song bowl untried 
teasingly care dust shadows smudge  

just uprooted from the circle of friends
that kept her company in times of loneliness
inseparable most afternoons in noisy rants
forced on alone minding her own business

her loving Dad on transfer on promotion
to a locality far away from the songs and dance
she used to bowl gleefully over in teenage romps
now lost in thoughts groping in a trance

should she try to stir up the hornet's nest
in an untried cause of flirting and flaunting
teasingly uncaringly splayed in  the dust
endowed with good looks naughtily endearing?

coughing off restrictive shadows of doubt
mindful not to unwittingly smudge her Dad's
reputation as a law enforcer she was wrought
with a swirling of questions in her head

Sanaa at Real Toad's
Get Listed - late march edition

Overcoming Adversity - a Ghazal

                                                                                    Author Lance Cpl. Corey Dabney
Image: Preparing Early to Overcome (here)

On a sunny day all warm and bright
Having wrestled life’s woes by the night

To overcome the floods engulfing the edge
Of abundance shoving and throwing rays bright

Had fallen into dreams of yearnings’ nights
Restless, dark suddenly a future splayed bright

Bid be, good tidings played its softening lights
Had I the strength to ward off sinister’s might

Hank, we can ordinarily garner our strengths
Tenacity against adversity the star’s shining bright

Note: A Ghazal is an odd-numbered chain 
of couplets. It has a refrain of one to three 
words that repeat  The name of the writer 
is usually included in the poem

Sanaa's at Real Toad's  -  tuesday platform

good times never last

                           
                                                                                                      Author Xicotencatl
Image: Cherry Blossoms at
The University of British Columbia (here)

stunning pretty blooms
lasting but for just a week
good times never last
but it brings back memories
remember the Hanami?

Note: They bloom and usually fall within a week,
The trees look nearly white from top to bottom.
Hanami" is the centuries-old practice of picnicking
under blooming sakura -  Wiki

Chevrefeuilles'  Carpe Diem - weekend-meditation-77
Sherry's at PU's Poetry Pantry #444

it makes them literate at an early age

                                                                                             Author FairPhone

Image:  The Ubiquitous Cell Phones    (here)

empowerment extends the make-up of freedom

it used to be accorded most appropriately at eighteen

personally recognised by officialdom

as young teens discarded the apron strings

regarded as adults in some circumstances

what with a driving licence in their hands

can be engaged in discussions within  reasons

responsibility accepted and greatly enhanced

now creeping slowly to lower the age limitation

no more a question to invoke maturity

which is now considered irrelevant

but enjoyed by all and sundry

it makes them literate at an early age

games and communication they choose easily

empowerment at any time of the day
little fingers on the touch screen readily

Susan;s at PU's Midweek Motif  -  empowerment

reflections provide a release

                                                             Artist: Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)
Image: Imprisoned by debts
owing to society (here)

the 12 given Wordle words:
release, relief, end clasp grave regret,
thing, poor, pay debt day loan

reflections provide a release
looking towards a relief but to no end
to clasp dearly to memories
that bring smiles of good times

grave circumstances feature with regret
a thing of the past that keeps coming back
the poor being never able to recollect
to pay but only her debt to society intact

will there be a day her talents oozing
be extended on loan for the overall good
yet holding tenaciously back seemingly
saving for the rainy day as long as she could

MMT's Sunday's Whirligig Wordle #206
Anmol's (HA) at Real Toad's - the tuesday platform

in the light of affections

                                                                                Attribution: Girl Bird HD Wallpaper
Image: Girl with a Green Bird (here)

drained of spirits in wanting
to proceed with the discharge of
responsibility towards a delicate
little creature that appeared dead
amidst foul discharge
in a clogged drain

yet in the light of affections and
concern for a living thing little
did she realize it could be a novel
idea for the projected incline towards
ideas for a novel which had long
been a spirited project on hold

she mulled the denial of proceeds
to finance such a project but to hold on
to hopes with zest

she had done lots of writings of short
stories not green to say the least
and a green plumage could trigger off
such a venture

why not?

Magaly's at Real Toad's  - weekend mini
challenge - homographic fun
Carrie's Sunday Muse #47

warmness in a cool morning

                                                                                                   Attribution: Chev

Image: Mount Tengurasan (here)

                                         a tanka

outrightly pleasant

breathless a breathtaking scene

all in heaven's song

warmness in a cool morning

blessed be for natures birth-right

eavesdropping  neighbors

none but missed their company

all for the quiet

likened to lighthouse keeper's

dedication above all 

Chevrefeuilles' Carpe Diem - kumano-kodo

Sumana's at PU's Midweek Motif -  neighbors

until a shriek stabbed the air

                                                                          Photo Courtesy of Lakshmi Bhat
Image: Child Left Unattended (here)

the 11 of 12 given Wordle words:
instinct legs pace other chain 
caper (to leap or skip about in a sprightly manner)
passage bar prank rub plan 

gormless (stupid)

towards the road the baby scurried unaware
her tiny legs propelled fast  to outpace others
the chain of events suddenly led to a scare
did not seem to appear as a risk at first
until a shriek, a loud cry stabbed the air

heading towards her a runaway trailer
and she was not even anywhere on the road yet
no stopping an 8-wheeled vehicle of a monster
with divine intervention, it stopped in its track
saved the day a miracle not a regret to matter

to expect a child to caper out gleefully
door inadvertently left open with no obstacles
free passage for innocence to explore naturally
not barred but into a whole new world

it became life-threatening intended as a prank
rubbed the wrong way misplaced gormless plan

Brenda's Sunday Whirl #394
Susan's Sunday Photo Fiction
Marian's at Real Toad's - gormless

amid sadness put on the dancing shoes

                                                                                                      Author Hopi Pueblo 
Image: Dancing Shoes, of late 19th century.
Made of deer hide, pigments, sinew, porcupine
quill, horsehair and wool (source: Brooklyn
Museum)  (here)

the 12 given Wordle words:
tissues purses, dusty attic pass rosary
shoes say go bags  stream window

chosen from Lillian's prompt:
a time to weep, and a time to laugh
a time to mourn, and a time to dance

a time to weep, and a time to laugh
just name-cards and tissues in the purses
but where are the greenbacks and stuff
as empty as a dusty attic amid blushes

pass the rosary over to pray for lunch
amid sadness put on the dancing shoes
a time to mourn, and a time to dance
say, go for a fling but go easy on the booze

perhaps bags of  wealth may stream by
the window of opportunity opens up wide
good intentions do invoke luck on the sly
never to break rules but to rightly abide

Lillian at d'Verse - turn turn turn
(too late for submission to Lillian's)
Grace's at d'Verse's OLN #238
(submitted for Grace's OLN instead)
MMT's Sunday's Whirligig  Wordle#204

you may sneer at its harsh motifs

                                                 
                                                                                                Photo: google images
Image: unusual wallpaper (here)

the given words: 
sneer harsh angry disruption pressure 
lugubrious (adj.)) mournful, dismal, or gloomy)
classroom
reproach (to find fault,blame,censure)
withdraw transpires kit

you may sneer at its harsh motifs
you are angry at its sheer insistence
disruption to the smooth flow of initiatives
putting pressure to sanity's benevolence

funky wallpaper for a cool lifestyle
loud colors or a lugubrious outlook
either way one can truly push the dial
this is no classroom for a  clean book

beyond reproach unusual and quirky
one may withdraw but that's ridiculous
what transpires is considerably lucky
for choices of the kit available is enormous

Nekneeraj's at MLMM's Photo Challenge #253
MLMM's Wordle #123
Anmol's (HA) at Real Toad's -  the tuesday platform

strength to smallness of a creature

                                                                    Attribution: Stacy Magic Love Crow
Image  Stacy's 'Be Free' (here)

a feathery kind in flight
playing to the wind's aerodynamics
lighter than air
looking down on minions below
free to roam
as the crow flies
distance just a number

effective use by the vicious falcons
to knock their prey out of the sky
blessed by nature's choice

to accord strength to smallness
of  a creature

(55 words)

Carrie's Sunday Muse #45
Kerry's at Real Toad's  - art flash 55

He came with a little smile - a pantoum

                                                                                   Author: Pyramid8Ball.svg
Image: A Simple Hierarchical Structure (here) 

He came with a little smile, a toothy little smile

Broader it became as he got a little closer

Broke into small laughter and all the while

A quizzical stance hidden behind the laughter

Broader it became as he got a little closer

Seen this act a few times had seen it before

A quizzical stance hidden behind the laughter

Scheming intention, a suspicious one I gather

Seen this act a few times had seen it before

Upon reaching extended hand in friendly gesture

Scheming intention, a suspicious one I gather

Responded likewise not wanting to create a furor

A quizzical stance hidden behind the laughter

Began with a few good words without a falter

Scheming intention , a suspicious one I gather

The sling bag  is opened its contents spilled over

Began with a few good words without a falter

All the charts, the legs, the returns, too familiar

The sling bag  is opened its contents spilled over

I knew it, a ‘get-rich-quick’ a Ponzi as it were

All the charts, the legs, the returns, too familiar

Broke into a small laughter and all the while

I knew it, a ‘get-rich-quick’ a Ponzi as it were

He came with a little smile, a toothy little smile

Gina at d'Verse Poetry Forms - pantoum