Thursday, October 31, 2013

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

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

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

 


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

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?




Monday, October 28, 2013

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


Sunday, October 27, 2013

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.)







Friday, October 25, 2013

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



 

Thursday, October 24, 2013

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


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

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 



Sunday, October 20, 2013

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



  

Saturday, October 19, 2013

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



Friday, October 18, 2013

Thursday, October 17, 2013

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


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

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


Monday, October 14, 2013

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 


Saturday, October 12, 2013

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

 

Friday, October 11, 2013

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




 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

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





Wednesday, October 9, 2013

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

 

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

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



Monday, October 7, 2013

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.)

Saturday, October 5, 2013

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

Friday, October 4, 2013

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



Thursday, October 3, 2013

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)





 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

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