dVerse: Ya Know?

dVerse: Meeting the Bar ~ Wild Beasts

with shame and glee
OUT goes the porch light
no treats from this house
i'll be inside hiding from
the ghouls, ghosts, goblins,
wild things of the night
while the little ones are cute
always some adult
in scary clown mask
that makes me want to
grab him by the throat
and say 
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG
WITH YOU?!"
pedophiles use these things
ya know?


no one knows us really
in our "hood"
so parents shouldn't allow
their kids to knock on our door
the days of razor blades
in apples
horrified me
drugged candy
who knows what is 
going into those bags
a dangerous night
unless everyone
knows everyone else

bring halloween indoors
i say
have children's parties
with the playmates
so the candy they collect
is as innocent as the
children
or i'm hoping they 
are not yet harmed

CD: Vast

Carpe Diem ~ Galaxy

galaxies
unending universe
constant orbs


***

a drop in the ocean
grain of sand on the seashore
how vast our galaxy

 

CD: Set in Stone

Carpe Diem - Machu Picchu

incan monument
egyptian pyramids
calendars in stone

dVerse: iKnow

dVerse: OpenLinkNight

How to Capture a Poem

Photo Source

beautiful country scene
outside the car window
as we're zooming by
a glimpse of purple flowers
dots the hillside
iMust capture this vision
in a haiku
grab my iPhone 
go to Notes APP
& tap out a few words
as the moving car
will allow
& eyes will allow
before iSickness
sets in
my mind will forget
a voice memo

from years of writing poetry
iKnow i just need the
first few words
& the rest will flow
besides, who has
a pen & paper handy
these days?

CD: Fences

Carpe Diem ~ Fence

dreamy picket fence
in minds of the romantic
so much grass to mow

***

mending fences
friends and lovers alike
to strengthen bonds

CD: Gary Gay's "Touched"

Carpe Diem Special #64

Write a haiku in the same tone, sense, and spirit as this one by Gary Gay.



touched
in the darkness--
by a snowflake

(c) Gary Gay



My inspired haiku:


lost
in the dark ~
your hand brushes mine

dVerse: Halloween á la Seuss

dVerse: The Lighter Side of Halloween

i do not like a vampire's teeth
i do not like the  zombies 'neath
the rising new apocalypse
my distance i will truly keep

i do not like things that scare
i would not do even on a dare
i do not like the haunted house
i'd rather be scared by a mouse

i do not like yuck body parts
even on CSI's shooting lot
i do not like things of horror
i keep the door closed
locked ten times over

from trick or treaters
i still hide
within the dark
safely inside


(I'm sorry but I won't be reading others' for fear of running into something ghoulish and triggering.)

CD: Beacon

Carpe Diem ~ Lighthouse

stormy seas
lighthouse
beacon of hope

CD: Ghost Ships

Carpe Diem ~ Rhodes, Greece

Photo Source

tiny fortresses

dot the mediterranean

awatch for ghost ships

CD: "Autumn Leaves"

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #20

Joanne's "Autumn Leaves"

Transform Joanne's haiku into a tan renga by adding two more lines (traditionally seven syllables each). I broke tradition slightly.




autumn leaves
myriad shades red and gold
begin to fall as snow        
(Joanne)


blanketing the brown earth
silently in downy white



 

FSF: Fur-Bearing Issues

Five Sentence Fiction ~ Determination

Her husband, after more than ten years of togetherness, still adamantly rejected the notion of a furred pet, having had horrendous asthmatic reactions earlier in life. She noticed he had not used his inhaler for years and had survived a weekend in his daughter's home with three large long-haired shedding cats. 

She delicately broached the topic offering the number one hypoallergenic breed of dog...and he could check with his doctor...and they could use extra precautions for cleanliness after handling the dog. How she longed for the pet companionship after already accepting a life with no more furry pets by committing to her relationship and then marriage to him. 

To her surprise, he did check with his doctor, found an allergist in case symptoms should arise, gave the green light, helped pick out names, and is eagerly awaiting the puppy's arrival.

Photo by Legin's Havanese

CD: Edge of Life

Carpe Diem's Tanka Shrine #1 

"Small footprints" by Marika Kitakubo

Write a tanka inspired by this one by Marika Kitakubo:

fine snow
of New Year’s Day,
small footprints
lead to grandma’s gate
before the shrine

 My inspired haiku:

another new year

struggle to stay alive

now behind me

from edge of grave to life

open wide the gates

CD: Cold Granite

Carpe Diem ~ Mausoleum

The prompt is for the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, but I chose to just write on the prompt of mausoleum.

Photo Source

mausoleum

harkens of death and spirits

cold granite chills

dVerse: Full Moon

dVerse: OpenLinkNight

full moon sleepless night
nothing weighing on my mind
except gunshots

CD: The David

Carpe Diem ~ Notable Statue

The actual prompt is statue of Zeus at Olympia. My mind immediately went to another famous statue and that's the topic of my haiku.

Photo Source

florence's "david"

stunning detail sprung from stone

the veins in his hand 

CD: Virgin Snow

Carpe Diem #63

 

Gary Gay's "New Snow"

Write a new haiku in the same sense, spirit and tone as this one by Gary Gay:

new snow--
the path you made last night 
has gone with you
(c) Garry Gay

My inspired haiku:

Photo Source

virgin snow ~

only tiny bird feet 

path unknown

  

dVerse: Escape into Poetry

dVerse: Poetics ~ Mind of a Child

who knew a child could
crawl inside an encyclopedia
of poetry
to escape the world

from the time i could read
i'd go to the three volumes
the red books
filled with words
that made me smile

as early as kindergarten
i found solace in
mother goose
and illustrations
and writing down a poem
matched with a picture
from a magazine
my extra credit
because i was a brown noser
since first grade

my favorite activity outside
was swinging as high as i could
that to this day
sitting in an airplane
taking off
my mind recites
"how i love to go up in the air,
up in the air so blue"
and i smile

CD: Beyond Earthly

Carpe Diem ~ Pyramids of Giza

mathematical
proportions of pyramid
out of this world

***

no eye witnesses
was it really made by slaves
mystery pyramid

CD: Unforgiving

Carpe Diem ~ Forgiveness

healing can happen 
without absolving of guilt 
those who caused harm

dVerse: The Cold War Never Chilled

dVerse: Beat Poetry

Photo Source

the cold war mind fuck
still in play 50 years later
the military industrial complex
still calling the shots
killing the whistleblowers
making the money machine
launder at warp speed
not with just weapons
but with drugs
and minds
and bodies
all for a cost
while those who know better
turn a blind eye
for a share of the cache

when the children
grow too old for kiddie porn
there is slavery now
or program their minds
to carry an M-16 into the
middle of anywhere
shoot all possible targets
before shooting self

those who survive slavery
left broken and lost
with no way "back home"
we must pay for our own therapy
if we want to heal
we must survive our healing
to live
grasping at what?
what is there to hold onto
that makes us want to 
crawl on our bellies
through the healing process
to even have a life again

when is it "their" time to
scrape their bare bellies
on the jagged concrete
to pay for their greed
and human compensation
the cold war mind fuck
is now

 

CD: Escape to New

Carpe Diem ~ Release

release from bondage
of invisible chains and 
programmed thoughts
learn life from the beginning
child taking her first steps


***

"set raven free"
leads to the red rock canyon
release lets me soar

***

release rage of past
channel into new growth
positive energy

CD: Symbiosis

Carpe Diem ~ Symbiosis

Photo Source

symbiosis ~

how the bees and flowers

feed the world

 

dVerse: A Good Day

dVerse: OpenLinkNight

far from normal
in many ways
journey toward
that setting
always a goal

thyroid out of whack
a month ago
now "normal"
notified today

had to switch antibiotic
for forever sinus infection
and had to stop it 1-1/2 days
into the prescription
on a weekend
decided not to call doctor
for a replacement
and just let body be
for as long as it can
it needs a break
to get back to "normal"

mood once again stabilized
six weeks of withdrawal
from former antidepressant
onto low dose of another
finally feeling good
husband can tell too

neurofeedback 
has made October
a "normal" month
after more than a decade
of high anxiety and
avoidance

today is a good day
neurofeedback for mind
acupuncture for body
three week countdown
to sweet puppy

CD: Garry Gay's "Along the Way"

Carpe Diem Special #62

The goal is to write a new haiku in the same sense, tone and spirit as the inspirational haiku by Garry Gay.



along the way
an old oak branch
becomes a walking stick

(c) Garry Gay

My inspired haiku:

Photo by Grace Beam (Lowest pool is crown chakra)

vision quest

seven pools in canyon

become chakras

(My first ceremony in Sedona was hiking a canyon path to cleanse my chakras. After the ceremony I was shown the seven different shaped pools that are known as the chakras. The pool most filled with water that day went with the chakra most needing work, coincidentally or not ~ my throat chakra.) 

 

CD: October

Carpe Diem's Distillation #4 

Robert Frost's "October" 

We are to write a haiku based on Robert Frost's "October" which can be found here.

october ~

slowly leave us

breathless 

CD: First Pumpkin

Carpe Diem ~ Free Style (no prompt)

Photo by Grace Beam

first pumpkin

placed in home to decorate

halloween fear gone

 

CD: Compassion

Carpe Diem ~ Buddha

buddha
teaches us compassion
from his soul

dVerse: Under the Tuscan Nunnery

dVerse: Poetics ~ Viva Italia

Photo by Grace Beam

our "cottage" was a nunnery

the whole nunnery and outbuildings

in the heart of tuscany

my self-taught italian

had gotten us from milan

to cinque terre to my dream

a tiny town ~ mercatale

a grocery store for chef brian

our stone "cottage" slightly chilled

we snuggle around a fire

in may

i wake up to eggs sizzling

prosciutto frying

toast and tea

the chef at work in the

tiny kitchenette

the nunnery is dark

having closed the shutters at night

opening the shutters that first morning

is the photo above

seared into my mind

the peace

the calm

bees buzzing

poppies in bloom

it is safe

it is a feeling of home

never known before

a piece of tuscany

lodged in my heart and soul

to tap into every day

what memories should be

always

 

 

 

CD: Ikebana Plum Blossoms

Carpe Diem ~ Rewrite This Haiku

arranging the plum-flowers,
I would enjoy them in the light of the lamp,
as if in the moonlight

(c) Taigi (1709-1771 ?)


My rewrite:

Photo Source

no moonlight for vase

plum flowers bask beneath lamp

their beauty aglow

 

CD: Tea Time

Carpe Diem ~ Tea

tea time ~

warm hands, sweet aroma

a cup of solace

 

CD: "Life From the Sea"

Carpe Diem ~ Tan Renga

The challenge is to add two lines of seven syllables each onto the following haiku written by Cathy Tenzo.



life from the sea
shipwrecked on the sand
so many shells (CT)

untold history within 
their porcelain-like frailty (MG)




 

CD: Embrace the Good

Carpe Diem ~ Embrace

Photo Source

embrace haiku

circle of friends follows

family ensues

***

embrace new

disconnect from past

forge ahead

 

dVerse: Friend in Oz

dVerse: To Friends

our souls must have met
on another plane
or in another life
that our hearts 
have reached across oceans
and entwined

we have hugged
and held each other
in times of sorrow
jumped up and down
when struck by glee

my visit to Montemarte
my first outing in Paris
was because of you
i loved knowing 
you had walked there
before me

we used to talk daily
through facebook
now rarely
but our closeness
never recedes
you have touched my life
part of me is always with you
sight unseen

 

CD: Seashell

Carpe Diem ~ Shell

Photo Source

conch seashell

miracle of nature

creature comfort

CD: Stranded

Carpe Diem ~ Desert Island

stranded on island
soccer ball his only friend
sanity in tact


***

wish for desertion
desert island for a day
oh the peace and calm

 

dVerse: Unmoved

dVerse: OpenLinkNight

halloween
a time of ghouls and
skeletons falling out of the closet
on top of me
just decorations in a store
had me running out
in a state of panic
no stores from time of
halloween stuff till
after christmas

lit carved pumpkins
caused screams and tears
could not bear children in costumes
hid behind darkened house
on trick or treat night
to not see the masks

something has changed
since neurofeedback began
a photo of a lit jack-o-lantern
left me unmoved
i stared in awe
noticing my lack of reaction

last week i drove by a pumpkin stand
and wanted to get a small one
just to display
somewhere
but it was on the other side of the road
in heavy traffic
i shared that thought with my brian
who remarked
"that was different"

grandbaby visit two weeks ago
on top of her bag
a children's book about halloween
thick cardboard pages
for a child who can barely talk
"it's a scary book" i tell brian
he says "there was a time
you wouldn't have dared
pick the book up"

trauma resolving
it's good
it's different
a me evolving with
less fear
more capacity
for other emotions
good ones
ones to love a puppy

CD:Toward Extinction

Carpe Diem ~ Ivory

wanton for ivory
elephants endangered
entire species
trophies of the greedy
ruination of life cycle


(Felt I needed to say more than a haiku would allow. A new age tanka...not exactly 5-7-5-7-7.)

CD: When Strangers Meet

Carpe Diem ~ Strangers

Photo Source

strangers come together

sharing leads to friendships

lives changed forever

CD: Chaos

Carpe Diem ~ Chaos

my country
in complete chaos ~
insanity

***

amnesia breaks
life suddenly in chaos
sorting out the pieces


 

dVerse: Pumpkinhood

dVerse: Issues (with pumpkins)

see the cute little pumpkins
best to get them young
easier to carve up into small pieces
and glue them back together
so no one ever knows
their brains are mush

the big pumpkins wear the
carved scary faces
to keep the little pumpkins in line
"do what we say or
you will end up
like that smashed pumpkin
over there"
finger pointing to the 
malleted remains

mindless pumpkins
to be sold 
and used for
decoration,
put in the oven,
perversions,
photos shared
to see who has the
greatest pumpkin ever

of course the one answer
no one believes
is uncle sam or
some other country
owns all the
pumpkins
but those transactions
are redacted 
and shredded
and destroyed

just like the lives
of those who are chosen
let alone survive
pumpkinhood

CD: Game of Hearts

Carpe Diem: Little Ones ~ Sedoka

moon circles earth's orb
she eyes him as he nears her
will their stars align for love

moon closest to earth
in frigid months of winter
he melts her heart with his smile

 

Call to Sedona

Carpe Diem ~ Vision Quest

Photo by Grace Beam ~ Tlaquepaque Sculpture

communing with nature

spiritual energies guide me ~

vision quest

***

call of sedona

my guides speak urgently

time for vision quest

CD: Constant Orb

Carpe Diem #313 ~ Circle

constant orb

life within evolves

never ending 

CD: Lotus

Carpe Diem Imagination #7

Buddha Under the Bodhi-Tree

 

in peaceful repose

lotus opens buddha to

enlightenment 

dVerse: Spinal Tap

dVerse: Form for All ~ Spine Poetry

(I used spines from DVDs since all my books are psychology books 

from when I was a therapist.)

through the eyes of a child
sliding doors
mad men
notes from the universe
the great escape


(My insane life before waking up from amnesia to escape.)


and on a happier note:

 
 the pursuit of happyness
love actually
music and lyrics
being there


(able to be present now for what makes me happy)





 

CD: Stonehenge Awe

Carpe Diem # 312 ~ Stonehenge

 

Photo Source

staring up in awe

overwhelmed by ancient wisdom

mysteries abound

***

the beaker people

once stood where i stand in awe

alien or human

(Archaeological digs found what looked like science beakers in relics around Stonehenge and dubbed that era for "the Beaker People".)

 

CD: Garry Gay's "River Stones"

Carpe Diem Special #60

The goal of this Special is to write a new haiku in the same sense, tone and spirit as this one by featured haiku-poet Gary Gay:

river stones
along her garden path
wet with dew
  

My inspired haiku:

Photo Source

black oval stones

stacked beneath wisteria

flowers bask in Zen