Taking time off.....

I am taking some time off from posting on my blog.  I am studying, practicing, have so much to learn....

Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads

 Tricorn Black, Raven Wing, Nevermore Grey, Nor'Easter

"Tricorn Black," the hat you wear

Growing up I had two aunts

Who made hats

And decorated them

Beads, flowers, feathers, and such

The "Raven Wing" is also black

A mere silhouette in the landscape

The raven collects shiny things

Meets early for coffee

Always has something to say

"Nevermore Grey" a time and place

From which there is no return

I have been there 

I know

On its reverse there is joy

A storm approaches on the horizon

Survival unsure

Some call it a "Nor-Easter"

Some a "Norther"

It all depends on your location

May 30, 2019

Prompt suggested by Margaret, funny names for colors.

All Is Perfect/Poets United Midweek motif/peace

All Is Perfect

What is peace

And where is it found?

A question hard to answer

Still there is an answer

And that answer lies within

When we realize (see with real eyes)

All is perfect

This is not judged

To be what we want

What we think is best

It is all things

That happen

What someone else does

What someone doesn’t do

What someone thinks

Or what we think

None of that matters

For often we cannot see

In that very moment

Something happens

We are upset

Our world falls apart

Our hearts are broken

We have to start over

We lay in our cribs

We cry

We say, but this is not what I want

Still the world continues

All is perfect

May 29, 2019

Today/the sunday whirl wordle 405 -- poets united/poets pantry

Today

The morning bright
Not a cloud in the sky
Today chilly days forgotten
The last signs of winter

Have given up
Their swirling winds and snow
Sweet days of summer
Are here at last

May 26, 2019

Wordle 405

Note:  I have used few words today, the other words didn't fit my poem.

End of Summer/poets united

End of Summer

Summers end

Put away the picnic supplies

No more long continual sunny days

No more hot nights

Sheets soaked in sweat

As climate change continues

Temperatures rise

End of fire season

Cooler temperatures greet

A new day

Autumn most beautiful season

Passes quickly

Soon it will be winter

Change of seasons 

Keeps us on our toes

Putting away

And getting out

Hardly time to remember

Season that has just ended

Look forward 

To the next season to come

May 23, 2019

https://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/EndofSummer

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Light

Happy Birthday Light the Candles

Can we speak of light

In only a whisper?

Is it best to keep voices low?

Honor the sacred

Can we hear light approaching on tip toe?

Or does light come in thundering herds?

Singing all the way

Waking us from sleep

Announcing a new day

A beginning

So small 

It is hard to see

And yet without light

We do not see at all

Shall we stand guard

For its coming

And upon seeing the whites of its eyes

Shall we sound the alarm?

Or do we let it sneak into town

Like an outlaw

Light is so much a part of us

We often don’t see it depart

In the darkness that follows

We strain to see

It remains the other side of the coin

Light reveals the mystery

We need light in order to see

But never see the light itself

May 22, 2019

Note:  For my Son, on his birthday.https://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Light

To Write a Poem

To Write a Poem

I take my place

I am prepared

And yet the mind remains blank

How long will it take?

To capture a thought

A thought that will take flight

Like the butterfly

That dips and weaves

And lands so perfectly

Will the doors open

Let the light stream in

With the softness of a kitten

The strength of the bull

Something insightful

Something wise 

Something true

Something only, I can say

May 14, 2019

https://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/Tuesady,5/21/19-The Tuesday Platform: in lieu of a poem

A Picnic to Remember/Imaginary gardens with real toads

A Picnic to Remember

A best picnic remembered

Was on a rainy day

In the back of a van

Chinese left-overs

In a little white carton

Eaten with chop sticks

Probably doesn’t sound too special

But for me, memorable

Sometimes it isn’t the menu

Nor the place

Rather who you picnic with 

An old friend from way back when

I a grown woman

The VP wouldn’t have thought it right

Still a picnic to remember

On rainy days or sunny nights

May 17, 2019

https://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/Thursday, May 16, 2019 Let's Have a Picnic Y'all!

A Picnic/poets united

A Picnic

Life is but a picnic

Eating out of doors

Spread a blanket on the ground

Fill your plate

Sit down

Lull the afternoon away

Sing some songs

Take a nap

Read for awhile

Perhaps a game of ball

The hour gets late

Time to go home

The ants come out

Or chiggers in your pants

A day to remember

May 15, 2019

https://poetryblogspot.com/2019/05/poets-united-midweek-motif-picnics.html

To Write A Poem/imaginary gardens with real toads

To Write a Poem

I take my place

I am prepared

And yet the mind remains blank

How long will it take?

To capture a thought

A thought that will take flight

Like the butterfly

That dips and weaves

And lands so perfectly

Will the doors open

Let the light stream in

With the softness of a kitten

The strength of the bull

Something insightful

Something wise 

Something true

Something only, I can say

May 14, 2019

Poets United/poets pantry

Mother’s Day

A woman of small statue
Soft and kind
Gracious 

With a lovely voice

She was a power house

Could do anything

A wonderful cook

A nurturer

She loved poetry
Always had time for us

Never complained
The best Mother in the world!!

May 12, 2019

https://poetryblogroll.blogspot.comhttps://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2019/05/poetry-pantry-479.html

The Sunday Whirl/ Wordle #403

A Place Where Shadows Live

I never really liked alleys very much

You don’t know who you will meet
I always think shadows live there
But there are no shadows without lights
So alleys have both

Still, it seems more shadows than light
A place to be shot
A place were tracks are hidden
A place were clues might be hidden

A place were deeds are done
A scary place
A place to hide oneself
Life in the alley

Is not a lifestyle I would like
I would try to get a permit to leave
The siren sounds in the night
A signal something has happened

Help is on the way
Within blocks
Rescue is coming
There is a shift

I have no real experience of alleys
No insight to those who live there
Alleys are simply the way between
A place where shadows live

May 12, 2019

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/Wordle 403

https://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2019/05/just-one-word-apart.html

Apart

To think we will be apart

Is heartbreaking

When we thought

We would grow old together

It is funny we talked about it

On the way to the party

Without knowing that week

Would be the last

We picked flowers by the roadside

Still wet from last night’s rain

We hiked along the rim

Saw the big horned sheep for the last time

We kissed good morning

And kissed good night

My touchstone

My rock

Tomorrow will come

Though we might not be here

To greet the rising sun

Life will continue

There is no promise it will be ours’

Perhaps just a little speck of life

Left over from abundant days

When we were young

May 11, 2019

https://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2019/05/just-one-word-apart.html

https://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2019/05/such-were-syllables-that-possessed-may.html

Yellow Blossoms

Dandelions appear where none grew last year

Faces of yellow call out to the bees

Morph into puff balls

Blown in the wind

There is a plan here

Seeds ride the wind

Find new places to grow

Surprise everyone when they appear

Yellow blossoms show themselves

The sweet scent of early summer

I remember honeysuckle

….and you

May 9, 2019

http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-tuesday-platform.html

“What Have You to Say?”

Some days are like that

When asked, “What have you to say?”

There is no answer

The mind is blank

You have nothing to say

You sit in silence

Hoping no one will notice

There are no sparkling words

You are alone in the room

The clock ticks in the hall

The sound echoes in the room

Like high-heeled footsteps on a hard wood floor

Becoming louder and louder

The sounds bounce off the walls

The moment is more about waiting

Waiting for what, you ask

Waiting for the imagined words to appear

Fall stunningly from your lips

You sit up straighter

In expectation

Still they do not come

Remain hidden

Perhaps they will come later

Perhaps they will not come at all

Perhaps you are dead

Died in your sleep

You just don’t know it yet

The future could be silent

May 7, 2019

http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-tuesday-platform.html

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2019/05/05/wordle-402/

The Sunday Whirl  Wordle #402

Desert Home

Yes, it is a dusty little New Mexico town
And yet I sing, fly and float
Through the dust filled days
Dipping my brush into colors

Making sense without words
From my window I see the coyote
As she traces yesterday’s steps
Carefully placing her paws near the cactus

Every living thing is covered with thorns
Signs of ancient people
Scattered on the desert floor
Painted with complex designs

Off the well-traveled path
Far from the city lights
An orphan finds her way
Stifles the cry that rises from within

The wind shrieks of loneliness
Of days lost in sameness
Yet… in this quiet place
I have found home

May 5, 2019

  

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2019/05/05/wordle-402/

The Small Treasures, Pleasures and Comforts

The Small Treasures, Pleasures and Comforts

Oh, my, the world is so full of these treasures

My cat, Issa, loves to go for a walk

And when the sun comes up

He is ready to go

He wears a little red harness 

His leash is black

The air is cold

As it slides down from the mountains

From here on the mesa 

I can see the snow covered 

Tops of the mountains

I pick up a piece of pottery shard

Nestled in the sandy dirt

At the base of a sage brush

The ancient ones were here

Long before the white man came

The shard is a reminder

This land belonged to them

I run my fingers over the shard

Knowing long ago

A potter created a pot

With his hands he rubbed it smooth

Shaped it for his needs

Now only a shard

Most of the shards are not decorated

But some are

With stripes of black paint

Only once I found a piece with red decorations

The Tewa people who lived in Taos Valley

Were very traditional

There were never many here

This area would not support too many people

We are high mountain desert

What we have in abundance are mountain views

Sage brush

And clean mountain air

May 2, 2019

Sherry has asked us to write a bout the small treasures, pleasures and comfors.

https://withrealtoads.blogspot.com

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Biodiversity -- Knowing the Impossible

All-One

The concept of All-One

Is difficult

As we each look different

Have different preferences 

I look at you

Right into your eyes

And you look right back

I recognize the familiar

You are not so different 

After all

So much we have in common

In so many ways we are one

May 1, 2019

imaginary gardens with real toads
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Knowing the Impossible

To say you know it all

Know what will happen tomorrow

Is impossible

Certainly, you can say about some things

But you never know for sure

There are the unexpected happenings

The surprises out of the blue

There are times you even surprise yourself

This brings us to the question

Do you ever really know about anything?

Do you really know yourself?

Both inside and out

Everyday things happen in ways you didn’t know

Perhaps you thought you did

And can you really say for someone else?

I personally like those unexpected happenings

May 1, 2019

https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/poetry-prompts

Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads/ https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/2019-april-pad-challenge-day-30

To Write is Simply a Mystery to Me

I cannot say I know

For that would not be true

Each little poem

Comes from who knows where

I do not even know what inspires

What is the source of my desire

I simply know I want to write

To put it down

Perhaps it is for safe keeping

Along the way

And maybe just to make notes

Of where I am and what is seen

It happens every now and then

And I never know if it will happen again

Maybe it is just to share with you

The little things life brings to me

April 30, 2019

http://withrealtoads.blogspot.com

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To Stop or Not to Stop, That Is the Question

As a painter

I ask myself all the time

Should I stop, now?

Or should I continue?

…Until I have painted all the life from the painting

Removed all the mystery

Turned the freshness into “stale old bread”

It is hard to quit

Maybe I think, just one more stroke

That will get it

Not wanting to leave any stone unturned

I want to do what I can do

Create a piece of work

Keep the freshness

Stop traffic

And reach satisfaction

April 30, 2019

Note:  I have added a piece I am working on.  The question is always with me.

https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/2019-april-pad-challenge-day-30 https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/2019-april-pad-challenge-day-30

Questions -- To Remember Again A Cat Named Floyd

Questions

Life is full of questions

Questions about the future

Questions about the past

Questions without answers

And sometimes we don’t know the questions to ask

We continually ask questions about ourselves

Questions about you

From sun up to sun down

Who is he

Who is he really

What does he mean when he speaks

Are these words, words we have heard before

I read your poem

And wonder what you are saying

What you mean

Questions without end

Like stars in the sky

Too numerous to count

Questions form in the mind

Answers can come from any corner

April 29, 2019
withrealtoads.blogspot.com/Poems in April - Asking Questio
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April PAD Challenge Day 29/Writers Digest

To Remember Again A Cat Named Floyd

I read your piece about the cat named Floyd

We often think

When animals are so like us

They are amazing creatures

We like that

You speak of his habits

…or where they yours’?

A gentleman

Through and through

Smarter than your average cat

Often, he spoke by the expression on his face

And a beautiful face it was

You gave him shelter

You gave him love

You were his friend in life

He will be with you till the end of your days

He was your companion

Your familiar

You gave him your best

And he, unto you

And that is way of love

It sinks its teeth into your heart

And stays with you

Even in memory

April 29, 2019

https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/2019-april-pad-challenge-day-29/comment-page-1#comment-4229574

A Song in My Heart/ Photographic Images Reimagined -- Ideas/Wordle 401 -- 2019-april-pad-challenge-day-28

Play for Me - Ian Dooley

https://unsplash.com/photos/oSq5ejr23so

A Song In My Heart

A melody floats through the empty house

The words of the song come back to me

From so long ago

Now only memories

Yet memories so clear

It all could be happening today

The sun shinning

The empty house

The water running in the shower

This isn’t our house

For we shall never have a house

Together

You have built a life

And I as well

We are as close today

As we shall ever be

Still I keep the memory 

Stored in a tiny place

Shadowed from the bright light of day

A song in my heart

April 28, 2019

withrealtoads.blogspot.com/Poems in April - Photographic Images Reimagined

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Ideas

You throw the cast over and over
With a grin on your face
Put it exactly where you want
Practice to develop skill

You wait for hours
You wait for the mouse
You watch and wait
Never tire of the task

What ideas are really worth our attention?
Creative ideas
Kind ideas
Ideas, never conjured before

You are the overseer of your ideas
Like a factory you crank them out
One after the other
Unfortunately most are the same

What will diminish you?
It is your ideas
When you think small
You are

April 28, 2019

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/Wordle 401
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An Answer for Every Season

In all seasons we seek the answer

Is there only one answer?

Or are there many?

April 28, 2019

https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/2019-april-pad-challenge-day-27

withrealtoads.blogspot.com/In a Station of the Metro -- https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/2019-april-pad-challenge-day-27/comment-page-1#comment-4229114

Children at Play

The boy in the sailor cap

Mourners gather in the rain

April 27, 2019 

withrealtoads.blogspot.com/In a Station of the Metro

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Go West

The exact direction unknown

Yet, I travel west

Follow the sun

Through the shadow of the valley

Each has his own journey

Much will happen along the way

Keep your eyes on the horizon

Celebrate each sunset

The journey could be long

It will happen as it happens

There is no preparation you can make

That will make the journey easier

If you had it all to do over

You would probably do it the same

Life is but a rodeo

Ride the bull until the bell rings

April 27, 2019

https://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/2019-april-pad-challenge-day-27/comment-page-1#comment-4229114