Spring Joy

Glorious spring induced fervor
Joyful light fills the observer
Pink tufted blooms of first cherry blossoms

Color supersedes scenes of gray
Driving the winter blues away
Unwinding furled fronds like fiddlehead ferns

Early sunrise finds mornings bright
Eager to start the day off right
A twittering of birds inspire promise

Colleen’s 24 Seasons Poetry Challenge No. 29, Part II – Use one kigo phrase in each of your three poems in whatever order you’d like:

  • #1: “first cherry blossoms”
  • #2: “fiddlehead ferns”
  • #3: “twittering of birds”

I chose a Tripadi syllabic form on the theme of joy as proposed by Val’s Looking at Poems Around the World. The form is “from the Bengali region written in tercets (3 line stanzas). There is no stated limit to the number of stanzas. Each tercet has a strict syllable count of 8/8/10 and a rhyme scheme of a/a/x where x is an unrhymed line.”

Black Rat Snake

It cautiously creeps through green grass
Sleek skin glistening black in bright sun
Flicking forked tongue sensing its surroundings
Oblivious to the reaction of onlookers
A gamut of emotions from reverence to terror
Black Rat Snake
Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge – Black by Sue W & Gerry C

Pastel Nightmare

Though the day is bright,
I sit alone on the throne of midnight illusions,
cursed by dark imaginations.*
Pink and blue pastels fail to lighten my mood.
A feeble attempt at people watching;
a pastime that only feeds my paranoia.
The courtyard reeks of floral blooms;
Louis Vuitton and Chanel hang from elbows,
laughing ladies - 
taunt me.
I flee into darkness.

Reena’s Xploration Challenge #325

*Line from Cruel Compassion, Collaboration With the Silent One posted by Ink Empress

Miami’s Design District

PULL UP A SEAT PHOTO CHALLENGE 2024-WEEK 14 by Xingfumama

American Coot

“A swimming chicken - 
what a hoot!”

“Don’t be a fool - 
you crazy old coot!”

For I. J.’s Birds of the Week Invitation LVIII

We Two

We two
Inseparable
Love amidst solidarity 
Lives conjoined
Nothing escapes the hands of time
Strong binds become fragile threads
Fraying

W3 Prompt #101: Wea’ve Written Weekly poet of the week, Val, invites us to write a Cameo on the theme of love.

  • Form: Cameo;
    • Heptastich (a poem in 7 lines);
    • Syllabic: 2-5-8-3-8-7-2 syllables per line;
    • Unrhymed, but end words should be strong.

Daffodils

Sunny faces bloom
Emanating spring itself
Bringing about smiles

Colleen’s 24 Seasons Syllabic Poetry Challenge, No. 28, 4/2/24, Part I

Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge (FOTD)

Moving Water

Ripples

under soft Mediterranean breezes

directed by the ebb and flow of coastal tides

Waves

caressing the sand of deserted beaches

transforming the terrain

creating art in motion

Water Moved

through ancient aquifers

out modern fountains

For Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Water in Motion, hosted by Sofia Alves at Photographias.

Landlubbers

Image credit:  iridi on iStock.
Why would one portray us so?
Surely better than this we know
Landlubbers we have always been 
(Unless circumstances require a swim)
But nary a day that you shall see
Cats boating voluntarily

Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #262

Wildflowers

Philadelphia Fleabane

Rising temperatures
Spring rains have fallen, stopped and fallen again
Sun shines brightly through parting clouds
Wildflowers peek out of too long grasses
Pollen collecting insects called 
Intent on propagation
Before the lawn mower takes them down

Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt #357 – Temperature (37 words)

Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge (FOTD)

Perplexing Puzzle

A complex puzzle
I find myself analyzing each piece
Shifting this one
Transforming that one
Finding the altered pieces don't mesh
A fragmented stranger 
I allow the pieces to return to their original state
Observe them come together 
A perplexing yet perfect whole
Accepting what is

W3 Prompt #100: Wea’ve Written Weekly’s poet of the week, Suzanne Brace, prompts us to write an introspective poem on the theme of ‘stranger.’