Toads: Remember

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Sunday Mini-Challenge: Palindrome Poetry

secrets kept
wall amnesia
child overwhelmed
mind protects
--remember--
protects mind
overwhelmed child
amnesia wall
kept secrets

Toads: Black Magick

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Words Count

 
Challenge:  cast a spell in 73 words or less.



a dash of magick,

alchemy dark and potent,

to conjure ancient secrets

from tombs and places unknown.

stir the mind to whirling speed,

transcend the astral plane.

bring back the treasured knowledge

then sign the pledge

to never tell.

there is no magick.

there is no spell.

Toads: Rolling Poe

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Poem Within A Poem

every time i hear the rapping
every time i hear the tapping
i think a raven's at my door
poe lies buried 'neath the ground
and lenore...never will be found
probably her heart is beating
within the wall or something more
pendulums are ever swinging
compendiums are best for reading
all the dark and dreary lore
annabel lee is lost at sea
buried in sepulchre deep

and from within my bedroom chamber

i can hear the faintest scream

still I hear it...STILL i hear it

tis the cat and nothing more
my love for poe is truly 

still is truly ever more


I love Poe's writing and used to have a collection of his tales and poetry. The prompt inspired me to throw in a few of my favorites: The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Telltale Heart, Pit and the Pendulum.

Toads: To Be

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Etheree(al)

We are challenged to do a poetry form called an etheree. It is written as lines with syllables: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10. It's also to be focused on a single theme.

be

yourself

who are you?

you must begin

an inner journey

to find all the answers

only then can we become

the person of our destiny

a lifelong journey finding contentment

Toads: Teddy Bear In Love

Imaginary Garden for Real Toads
Sunday Mini-Challenge

The challenge is to write love poetry/prose from one inanimate object to another.

Photo by Grace Beam

teddy admired lola from afar...

from the other side of the room

he with his well groomed fur

and glass eyes

she with perky white fur

and pink sweater

lola eyed him peeking

out from beneath the doll cradle

moving only when 

the humming cleaning lady 

dusted him off

she could see how he strained 

to see her

teddy wanted to meet the sweet canine

whose job was to hide the cords 

to an assortment of gadgets 
behind the television stand

he wished he had a job to impress her

helpless to do more

he spoke to her as only stuffed animals can

and silently wrote love letters in his mind 

hoping she would know they were for her

my dearest lola,

you are my only love

your pink sweater calls my name

i want so to run my paw through

your beautiful white tufts

if only we could be together

i sense you too have been loving me

from over there

perhaps one day

and we can only hope

we will be chosen to be

forevermore

in the prized moses basket

where the others are united

i love you with all my heart

i bear my soul to you

will you be mine and mine alone

in this staid world of ours

it would bring me such joy

love to you,

the bear under the crib

Toads: Journey to Joy

Imaginary Garden With Read Toads
Mini-Challenge: Live A Little

i live to haiku
even though this isn't one
it's an ongoing journey
i take with several companions
my mini-version of The Way
getting from here to there
wanting to feel the exhilaration

the way i felt in europe
the two times i went with hubby
first to italy
then last year's honeymoon
in provence
heaven
feeling free and joyful
every...single...day
like i'm alive
not just existing

then i come home
and am a blob again
so that's why the haiku
my mind-stimulating journey
of perfecting the small
because my brain
can't handle big concepts
any longer

although maybe after
neurofeedback
my brain will be different
and i will actually be able 
to remember
when a series returns to tv
that i recall the previous one
or i can remember plots
and characters of a book
if i put it down for two days

my mind short circuited
i live for small challenges
tho i seem to be carried away
with this look at my life
where will i travel next?
that's what will really
keep me going

Toads: Free Verse Travelogue

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Words Count ~ Vacation

Photo by Grace Beam, Cinque Terre, Italy

first we had Italy

poppies, Tuscany,

wisteria, espresso

trains, and young love

seven years later

honeymoon in France

Provence sans lavender

heavenly gelato,

chocolate croissants

what will be next?

you say perhaps Greece

or Barcelona sounds nice

back to Italy or France

any will do

just let me know

and my dreams will take hold

Toads: Riders on the Storm

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads 
Sunday Mini Challenge ~ Jim Morrison 

This challenge is to write a poem based a song by Jim Morrison and include the title within the poetry.

 

Photo Source

the waves of the world

toss and throw our life about

riders on the storm

I began with a longer poem but created a haiku about the favored second stanza in the comments.

 

Toads: Heirlooms

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Helen's Choice

Photo Source

hatchlings aflutter

clutch is now born

mother nature's cycle preserved

hungry and squeaking

their mouths must be fed

mother bird celebrates and soars

seeking food while papa keeps watch

admiring his little heirlooms

Toads: Wayward Duckling

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
The Sunday Mini-Challenge

Photo by Jenn Jilks

duckling near the pond

falls behind in following

hopes for quick rescue

Toads: Dry Around the Bend

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Artistic Interpretations with Margaret

Photo by Grace Beam

spiraling down into the desert town

tall pine forest lines the way

a crescent moon in cloudless sky

the stars twinkling their ballet

the moon still seen in daylight

bluest skies for days on end

the river barely trickling

dry around the bend

the buttes rise out of nowhere

their majesty unmatched

casting shadow over homesteads

offering coolness soon dispatched

tall cactus stand sentinel

a testament to the past

but forests burned and trees amiss

are premonitions cast

still beauty reigns

in canyon rocks telling nature's story

the desert land so harsh and dry

is the cowboy's land of glory

 

Toads: City of the Dead

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Out of Standard: Film School Drop Out Edition

Photo Source

in city of the dead

raven caws

his kingdom

now invaded

a trollish man

with spirits black

wreaks of danger

to the haven

raven caws

to signal all

blackbirds within range

on cue attack

evil man to death

each proud

of peckish rage

another body

amidst the tombs

nameless without heart

but safe again

city of the dead

as we hear the raven caw

(In New Orleans, the above-ground cemeteries are known as cities of the dead. The opening scene of the video inspired my writing. Some rhyming but mostly free verse...whatever that is. I did like writing...cathartic for evil little green man.)

Toads: Promptless

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Open Link Monday

how to write without a prompt
that I do not know
given a word inspires my mind
and prose begins to flow

so I'll bow out for Open Link
and read the others' writing
while I will sit here and brood
and hope for a new prompt sighting
♥

Toads: Angels of the Night

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Nocturna (3 3-line connecting verses)

Photo Source

full moon cloudless sky

stars twinkling their messages

to the unknown

through branches of trees

full moon lights my path

while owl watches over me

guardian angels of night

see me safely home

by light of the moon

Toads: Hardcore Soundbites

Imaginary Garden With Real Toads
Hardcore Americana

Image Source

so many sounds offend my senses
even those considered beautiful by others
some sounds triggered by unknown sources
due to amnesia which holds secrets
i may never know
and through the grace of God

his voice and the banjo make my skin crawl
and i can't bear to listen to either video
i know what is wrong with me
yet still i feel the freak in the crowd

finally having a name for so many triggering sounds
soon i will have treatment to try to resolve
the heightened sensitivity and repulsive response
like a bug that needs to be killed immediately
or i need to stop the sound or run far away and hide

will i ever have peace within?
major healing just happened to me
only to be faced with yet another unresolved hurdle
my fate in life to jump near impossible hurdles
at least writing can give them a voice
can give me a voice
to calm the raging outlash in my head
"it's only a sound"
all the triggering sounds left over
after 15 years of trauma therapy
and nearly 15 more before that
when can i rest? in peace?

Toads: Nocturne

Imaginary Toads (Nocturne)

Photo Source

nightingale's nocturne

sweetly sings to unknown mate

sadness magnified

grieving in the night

hear sounds through the branches

is that her spirit?

Toads: Oil Rant

Imaginary Toads: Get Ready To Howl

Write a poem or prose inspired by Allen Ginsberg's Howl.

Photo Source

have we learned nothing from fruitless war

sending young men into battle

to make the wealthy more rich

disavow climate change

disavow the poor

oil is savior

make no changes to shift deity

better to die with mountains of wealth

than live with fortunes built on saving lives

Toads: Safe Place

Words Count With Mama Zen

Describe your safe place using 53 words or less. Mine is 52 words. Having been a therapist and in therapy, I immediately associated safe place with internal safe place. So that is what I wrote about.

Photo Source

My internal safe place is on the balcony of a mansion with overhanging gardens along Lake Como, Italy. The balcony is filled with gardens and statuary. I rock lazily in my hammock in the sun listening to the lapping waves below from the wake of boats and staring at the bluest sky.

Toads: Leaf Haiku

Sunday Mini-Challenge

Write a poem or prose using the photo prompt which is original photography of L. Diane Wolfe.

dewdrop in leaf's heart

a gift from mother nature

our eyes to behold

 

Toads: Letting Go

Fireblossom Friday -- Location, Location, Location!

Write prose/poetry where the image/place is 

an integral part of the writing.

Sedona, AZ ~ Photo by Grace Beam

Sitting at the bottom of this pile of boulders

which represented all that I wanted to release

I listened with eyes closed to my guide

taking me to oneness by letting go of the sludge

and inviting the joy of living inside 

The wind was still when we began

and I held tightly to a pebble in my hand

I felt the vortex winds begin to swirl around me

initially feeling my raven nestled 

on the top of my head

(the imagery I had of the me who wanted 

to be freed in the ancient canyon)

As my guide suggested I invited in the parts of me

who had been locked out

and then felt my raven soar to freedom

Vortex winds whipped around me

as tears fell from my eyes

silently letting her go knowing that was her wish

my reason for the journey

The joy of the hummingbird I had seen

in the morning

entered my being

along with other entities of life

Afterwards I held the pebble

representing my past

to my heart

I felt the need to hurl it over the pile of rocks

and stood to where I could throw it

with full force

Releasing it, I knew it would not fully clear

and wondered what would happen

if all I had just achieved bounced back at me

A definitive sound of pebble on rock was heard

Both guide and I cringed for a moment

until we saw it bounce in the direction of the

canyon behind and below

Cheers and tears for the healing

Although it was only one part of quest