Monthly Archives: November 2018

Morning Chorus

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Morning Chorus

It is the hymn of morning, the cat yowling for food.
Until I rise and feed her, she’ll sit here and she’ll brood.
It happens every Thursday and each day of the week.
She tells me the same story, “It’s nourishment I seek!”
It does no good to lie here and pretend I’m unaware.
She augments her protests, accompanied by that stare!
As I give up on sleeping, every cat and dog
joins in on her chorus. I cannot start my blog
until the whole menagerie has been duly fed
so they can cease their yammering and return to bed.
Then their silence forms a contrast— a peaceful interlude—
that leaves a space for words to fill, and that improves my mood!

 

 

Click on photos to increase their size.

The prompt words today are Thursday, hymn, information and contrast. Here are the links:
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/rdp-thursday-unaware/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/hymn/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2018/11/29/your-daily-word-prompt-information-November-29-2018/
https://fivedotoh.com/2018/11/29/fowc-with-fandango-contrast/

Xmas Hibiscus, Nov 28, 2018

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Gray skies and cold rain all day long but this hibiscus reminds me of Xmas just over the hill.

That Brilliance

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That Brilliance

It echoes through the atmosphere,
slipping through shadows
that too often hoard our attention—
the shine of a heart amidst pain,
that pinprick of light
through a chink in the mortar of a brick wall,
that smile in passing,
that squeeze obscured in a handshake.

There is much light in this world,
but sometimes it lies shattered,
at other times is one sure beam that lights up the day—
that one brilliant sword of light
slashing gray clouds.

We are not always aided in our seeking,
yet must be vigilant in our search,
shifting our glance again and again
to where it lies scattered
through the murkiest days.

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/11/28/rdp-wednesday-brilliance/

Aphorism

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Aphorism

The fire of camaraderie may warm the howling gale
or make our footsteps lighter while hiking a hard trail.
Although it is not mandatory, still it would avail
sailors to remember, laughter helps to swell the sail.

 

https://fivedotoh.com/2018/11/28/fowc-with-fandango-trail/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/11/28/camaraderie-2/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2018/11/28/your-daily-word-prompt-mandatory-November-28-2018/
https://dversepoets.com/fire

Skipping out on Christmas

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Skipping out on Christmas

Who cares if it is dark and dismal
and the weather is abysmal.
Why don’t we leave and take a walk.
We need to have a little talk.
If we’re lucky we might get lost
in this weather tempest-tossed
and have to find a little pub
to loft a glass and eat some grub.

Sure, at home the food is free,
but at home is also family!
Grandpa’s drunk and Grandma’s scolding.
Mother’s busy triple-folding
napkins into Christmas trees
and worrying Aunt Beck will sneeze
into the cranberries again,
‘cuz bird without them is a sin.

The kids are wrestling and biting,
as usual, their acts inciting
scolding mother, shouting father.
I always wonder why they bother
to gather every  holiday?
Once all the tawdry facts I weigh,
I wonder why they come together
every year, despite the weather.

So come on. Put your muffler on.
They’ll barely notice that we’re gone.
We won’t be yelled at, questioned, bossed.
I’ll pay the bill, whate’er the cost.
I need that extra Christmas cheer
that can be purchased beer by beer,
as we ponder that conundrum dumb
of why, each year, we also come!

Here are the prompt words and links:

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/rdp-tuesday-walk/
https://fivedotoh.com/2018/11/27/fowc-with-fandango-leave/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/dismal/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/your-daily-word-prompt-lost-November-27-2018/

 

Cellar Door

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As doors go, this is a much prettier door than a cellar door.

After I wrote my poem, forgottenman apprised me of the significance of “cellar door“—that being that many consider it to be one of the most beautiful phrases in the English language, apart from its meaning.  Since I had already written my poem using “cellar door” in its literal sense, I published my first post anyway but now feel compelled to rebut it as one of the most beautiful phrases (or words) in the English language and to suggest a few more.  Propinquity is one, although I still have to look it up every time I hear it. Ascendency is another, as is onomatopoeia–but that is too obvious a choice. Parsimonious or terrarium. Gondola. Pandemonium.  Okay.  It’s getting late and let’s face it.  There are lots of beautiful words in the English language, and in my estimation, cellar door isn’t even in the running. 

 

The Daily Inkling Prompt today is cellar door.

Home Security

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Home Security

Pop up from your basement and slam the cellar door.
You don’t want a beaver chewing through your floor.
Plug up all the chimneys so birdies won’t fly in.
The only ones you should admit are your friends and kin.

Build a wall around you. Do only what you’ve done.
Letting in those foreign thoughts surely won’t be fun.
Do not talk to strangers. Speak only to your kind.
Hearing other points of view just clutters up your mind.

What you know is all there is so do not search for more.
Board up all your windows. That’s what boards are for.
Do not let other cultures in, for the world is strange,
and if you let the world in, you may have to change.

The Daily Inkling Prompt today is cellar door.

R.I.P. Hibiscus. Really. The Very Last Shots

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The last of this one, at least. Pasiano swept it away today, but not before I got these shots.

Click on any photo to enlarge all.

For Cee’s FOTD

Dry

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If I sprinkled you with water, would your coma then abate,
or in trying to revive you have my actions come too late?
Just days ago so vigorous and such a swaying beauty,
you have languished into docile as though you have done your duty.

Prompt words today were vigorous, coma, docile and sprinkle. Sound like opposites to me! Here are the links:

https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/11/26/rdp-monday-vigorous/
https://fivedotoh.com/2018/11/26/fowc-with-fandango-coma/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/11/26/docile/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2018/11/26/your-daily-word-prompt-sprinkle-November-26-2018/
https://ceenphotography.com/2018/11/25/fotd-november-26-2018-dahlia/

Eulogy for Hibiscus: FOTD Nov 26, 2018

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Yesterday I said that it was the last photo of my welcome home hibiscus that I would post, but at the request of forgottenman, I am publishing two more stages of its life. This morning I went outside to find the flower fallen to the terrace floor, but when I opened its clasped fist, I found that forgottenman was right and there was still more beauty to display, so here is a medium shot of a hibiscus at rest and tomorrow will be the last two closeup shots.  R.I.P. hibiscus beauty.

 

Click on first photo to enlarge both.