Destination Unknown/imaginary garadens with real toads

Destination Unknown

When I ask, “Where are you going?”

And you answer, “Destination unknown.”

I stand by the road

And watch you go

My journey begins in the morning

By late afternoon, time for rest

You ask, “Where am I going?”

I also answer, “Destination unknown.”

I remember a little toy

That you wound with a key

And its little feet began to walk

It reminds me of me

My feet placed on the road

They move, they walk

The road is long

Destination unknown

How will I know I have reach the end of the road

There will be no more road before me

The long road will stretch behind

Still I keep walking

August 30, 2018

There is No In Between/poets united midweek motif "What If?

There is No In Between

I say, “What if?”

You say, “Oh, that’s just girl’s stuff.”

All that “wishy hopie” 

There is no what if

All the letters are written in stone

Forever as they are

Never to be changed

You are innocent

Or you are guilty

You are free

Or you are chained

There is no in between

No almost

No what if

Will the pardon be issued

Or is there no escape

The story written long ago

Right down to the last

Comma

Closed with a period

Your life destined

Before you were born

There is no what if

No almost

No in between

August 19, 2018

Quadrille/dVerse Kim's prompt Earth

For humans Earth is the Mother

The beginning and the end

Everything that we have

And everything that we are

Comes from the Earth

All that we carelessly discard

Returns to the Earth

In this life

Earth is heaven 

And it is our hell

August 28, 2019

School Began in the Autumn/imaginary gardens with real toads Autumn

School Began in The Autumn

You speak of autumn

To me it used to mean

School would begin…again

As a small child

I remember the wooden floors

And the wood chips the janitor

Would sprinkle on the floors

That had a very strong smell

I think it cleaned and oiled

The floors as he swept

The tall windows

With the sun shining through

The tops of the polished desks

With the carved initials

Reflecting the sun 

Filling the room with cheery light

The ceilings were tall

And the teacher would put up 

Posters and letters of the alphabet

All the way to the top of the room

I remember pictures of caravans

Camels and sand dunes

Children at play

Hop Scotch and marbles

I especially remember a story

The teacher read one day

It was a story about a little Eskimo boy

Who lived with his Grand Mother

An amazing story

A different world

Of ice and snow

To a little girl on the Texas gulf coast

Where snow was unknown

August 28, 2018

The World is a Place of Neverland

The ham smokes on the back of the pit
The hide will be used for clothing
The green mist comes in
The weather changing

Green rolling hills become
Warm colors
Yellow, orange, red
As found on the color wheel

Seasons go through their changes
Coyote howls at the Harvest Moon
He speaks in tongues 

That have no meaning for us
So much we don’t understand

We stare into the darkness
Try to define the mysteries
Stories from long ago
Passed down through the years

The world is a place
Of “neverland”
Riding the tides
Of its own choosing

August 26, 2018

Wordle #365

Note:  I am thinking the world is “never” as we would like it to be.  No one ever asks us, “How would you like things to be.”  Wishes never granted.  What is unexpected seems to always happen.   This “Neverland” is full of surprises.  

Memories of the Best Meals and Friendships Remembered...and Forgotten/imaginary gardens with real toads -- What was the best meal you remember?

Memories of The Best Meals and Friendships Remembered… and Forgotten

We shared together

Last night’s

Chinese take-out

It was early fall

We sat in the back 

Of a van

Now you are gone

Memories of

Fun days gone bye

But not forgotten

Another night…

The best meal I ever ate

Though I have forgotten

The food served

We made a promise

We would all meet

Same place

Same time

The date purposed

Now forgotten 

August 25, 2018

The Song of Scattering Poems/imaginary gardens with real toads -- prompt: "in the street of the sky night walks scattering poems" E.E. Cummings

The Song of Scattering Poems

“in the street of the sky night walks scattering poems”       E.E. Cummings

The hour late

Music floats through the 

Window

The tenant downstairs

Plays the piano

I am reminded of Paris

“In the street of the sky night 

Walks scattering poems”

The same stars shine in

Kyoto

As fingers touch the keys

Stars appear

On the sheet music

Instead of

Notes

A choir sings the song

Of scattering poems

The hour late 

Music floats through the

Window

August 23, 2018

My World is a Beautiful Place/Poets United Midweek Motif -- The World is a beautiful place

My World is a Beautiful Place

My world is a beautiful place

All that I see around me

Takes my breath away

Mountains, streams

A dazzling blue New Mexico sky

A 360-degree abstraction

The labyrinth of sage brush

On the sandy soil of the mesa

Like rolling waves out to sea

The cactus adorned with spikes

Or lovely pink or yellow flowers

Everything in the desert

Has stickers or will bite you

Each has its own protection

It isn’t easy to live in the desert

As with most other things in life

You have to really want to

A striped lizard 

Might suddenly appear

Or birds of every kind

Fill the air with flight

Or they just might

Land right next to you

Each day a new canvas

The sun rises to light the splendor

Radiates through the day

Closes the day 

With colorful sunset

Red, gold, silver, purple

There is no end 

To the visual delight

That is the world 

August 23, 2018

Life is a Veil/imaginary gardens with real toads -- a reverse poem

Life Is a Veil

Life a veil

A world without flaws

Garden chimes sound

Comforts me

You hold out your hands to me

I hold out my hands to you

Comforts you

Garden chimes sound

A world without flaws

Life a veil

August 20, 2018

Alone in The Desert/the sunday whirl -- wordle 365/ poets united poets pantry

Alone in The Desert

He hikes the dry
Dusty trail
The unrelenting sun
Stares down at him

He follows the path
Into the gorge
Down to the river
All is green

Ten degrees cooler
In the misty shade

In the distance are
Remembered smoke signals

Hanging in the purple sky

From years past

Full of mysteries

Never spoken

The coyote howls

In the early evening

Speaks in tongues

Unknown to man

Terror rolls through him
He hides

The natural world reaches for him

He doesn't know the meanings

He thinks

He is alone in the desert

August 19, 2018

Wordle 365    

My Totem/imaginary gardens with real toads

My Totem

At the top of my totem
Would be a "God’s" head
Of sorts
A round ball

Like a blue marble
The earth my origin
The top of my totem
Would float in a starry sky

Then would come the
Porpoise that played in the bay
Morning to night
Followed by the soft pawed cat

My familiar
Constant companion
His wise eyes
An applied stone

Of the clearest blue
And a knowing smile
Forrest animals would follow
The deer, elk and the moose

Then the smaller animals
And many, many insects
All kinds, sizes and colors
Head to toe, my totem

August 18, 2018

I do not know what was carved on my Grand Father’s chest?  But I will look deep and see if I can divine my totem.  This is what I know about my Great Grand Father, who came to this country from Ireland, in 1858.  Two of the three brothers, settled in Trinity County, in Texas.  Where they grew cotton, on a large plantation.

I do not know what religion they followed, but there were only two churches in their county, the Baptist and the Methodist.  It was said, he didn’t really like the Methodist, for they were not pious enough, but he could not abide the Baptist…so he supported the Methodist Church.

A Poem Without Meaning/imaginary gardens with real toads

A Poem Without Meaning

A poem as confusing as can be

Words put together

Without meaning

I read your words carefully

Upon completion I wonder

What in the world are you saying

A poem without meaning

Back to the drawing board

So, they say

Gather words

Burn the house down

Tell me your heart

August 16, 2018

School Daze/dVerse

School Daze

My school was old

Red brick buildings

The teachers were the same

Tall ceilings

The windows went 

All the way to the top

On warm days 

The teacher would open

Those very tall windows

The breeze would come in

And cool down the stuffy room

Which smelled of disinfectant

And eraser dust and paste

Lockers were in the back of the room

Where we would remove our coats

And place our lunch

The halls were dark

Light would stream in 

From the end of the hall

The floors polished

The play yard barren

There was some play equipment

And a tennis court

We played group games

At recess

I remember a circle

A red scarf and running

I was a good student

But someone was talking

All the time

Would interrupt my thoughts

At last, I found out it was me

August 15, 2018

Hand Holding Day/imaginary gardens with real toads

Hand Holding Day

The greatest fear

For humans is death

Though we were born for it

It will be the final step 

In your journey

Makes a strong man cry

How are we to cope 

With that knowledge

All that we love

What is tender for us

I reach for your hand

You reach for mine

You hold me tight

A strong young man

You promise 

Never to let go

The man resting

On the side of the road

Asks, “But why

Should we continue”

I offer my hand

Symbol of connection

Symbol of safety

Symbol of care

My fingers are aware

Of your rough skin

You have toiled 

At hard labor

All of your life

Do not fear

All is as it should be

Like Spring blossoms

End of Summer

Their time spent

August 13, 2018

My favorite box....dVerse

My favorite box

Is made of wood

Several different kinds of wood

In the shape of a heart

It resides in a small skin wrapper

When open it reveals nothing

It is empty

Yet so beautiful

The beauty of it

Fills my lonely heart

August 14, 2018

Hand Holding Day/dVerse

Hand Holding Day

The greatest fear

For humans is death

Though we were born for it

It will be the final step 

In your journey

Makes a strong man cry

How are we to cope 

With that knowledge

All that we love

What is tender for us

I reach for your hand

You reach for mine

You hold me tight

A strong young man

You promise 

Never to let go

The man resting

On the side of the road

Asks, “But why

Should we continue”

I offer my hand

Symbol of connection

Symbol of safety

Symbol of care

My fingers are aware

Of your rough skin

You have toiled 

At hard labor

All of your life

Do not fear

All is as it should be

Like Spring blossoms

End of summer

Their time spent

August 13, 2018

Home of the Blue Lizard, Desert Fox and A Host of Other Desert Dwellers/the suday whirl -- poets united poets pantry

Home of the Blue Lizard, Desert Fox and A Host of Other Desert Dwellers

The desert is quiet

Thin blue lizards 

Sit on rocks

Blend into their world

When it rains

Longing does not yield

Its grip on the heart

All is quiet except

For the rhythmic rain drops

Falling on the roof

Like the ticking of the clock

Later… when the sky is brilliant

Weather dry 

Tail dusty

You will wonder about 

The dark mood that colored

Your world  

The Rio Grand

Still sleeping in its bed

A tune lilting on the wind

Ripples the surface

Speckled trout

Swim below

August 12^th, 2018

Wordle 364

CALLING UP GRIEF/imaginary gardens with real toads

CALLING UP GRIEF

In dead of winter

“under the night sky she mounted a mare and rode”

No one knew where she rode

On those dark and dreary nights

She always pointed to the paint

Brown and white, In the field

She always said it was hers

The one she rode under the night sky

A pretty little girl

Sheltered and protected from

All things that hurt

And yet, over time

Hurt would find her

Like a curse

Dictated by 

The local witch

Her urge to ride

Could come at any time

Was not limited

To the dead of winter

She said, she was calling up grief

August 9, 2018

THE SOUL OF MY LOVE/dVerse

THE SOUL OF MY LOVE

I have always found 

It difficult

To believe

What I cannot experience

And yet 

time is a good example

I am here

Time passes

I cannot see it

Time passes

I cannot feel it

Time passes 

I have become 

An old woman

Unaware of passing time

Each day

Seems to be exactly

Like the day before

Another example

Is the “Soul”

What is it

Where is it

How to know

It exists

Someone told me once

It is the “you of you”

The very essence of you

That makes sense

I will accept it

August 9, 2018

A POEM ABOUT A POEM/poets united midweek motif

A POEM ABOUT A POEM

A poem about a poem

Oh, let me see…

I stop along the road

And I wait for it to catch 

Up with me

Tell me who you are

And what business

Do you have with me

You say you are a counter

You will count the tears for me

You say you are an explorer

And you will help me see

You say you are a master

You will hold my thoughts

For me, until I am able to

Hold them for myself

You say you like to play

And you never know for sure

Exactly where you are going

You are big enough to hold

All of the thoughts unspoken

You are a good friend

And promise to always

Be there for me

To have and to hold

From this day forward

Until the end of days

August 8, 2018

WORDS BOUND TOGETHER WITH TWINE/the sunday whirl -- poets united poets pantry

WORDS BOUND TOGETHER WITH TWINE   

On another day

In another time

Far away

Bones were stacked

Like cord wood

Tied with a skein 

Of woolen yarn

The color red

The sound of a guitar

Floats above the sage

Joins the sounds of church bells

That welcome the morning

A sweet refrain

On another day

In another time

Far away

We walked along the sea

Kicked sand

Collected shells

You would run to each shell

Bend down

Examine it carefully

Today, with the weight of the world

Upon us

We collect stones

Count shameful transgressions

Rest in the shade

Of our wig-wam

Bind words together with twine

August 5, 2018

Wordle 363