Sunset sledders,
free and unfettered,
plummet downhill,
as Saturn and Jupiter align. Continue reading
Sunset in Westford
Category Archives: Holiday
The Darkest Month
short, dark days
let the fairy lights shine,
long and bright
Copyright 2020 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
Season of Thanks
Thankful for family,
the four who stay with me
despite this year of separations. Continue reading
November Chill
November’s damp chill
settles into my bones
despite weak sunshine
National cemetery,
row upon row of flags
Copyright 2020 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
November on the Brain
The first startling snow melts.
The evidence of an odd year
disappears into wet puddles
and sodden soil, cold and drear. Continue reading
Maple Down Ditty
autumn rain
slapping five with maple leaves,
pitter-pat splats
Copyright 2020 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
Halloween is What?!
At first, Kelly can’t believe the news. But when dragons puff angry fire, she knows it’s true. Trick-or-Treating is canceled!
Something must be done.
Monsters need some fun. Continue reading
Ode to Photography
Time,
present and past.
Frozen moments,
remembered and forgotten.
Beauty,
ordinary and extraordinary.
Photographic power
reveals in light and dark
what my mother looked like as
a young girl,
or my father as
he welcomed me to the world,
or myself
as I smiled between
brother and sister
whose faces are only visible
in black and white now.
Lost faces, missed warmth, people
linger in shades, lines, and shapes,
like hieroglyphics of the past.
Copyright 2020 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes: For World Photography Day today, I offer this ode, in gratitude for how concrete my memories are, of times past.
Happy Valentine Friday!
Roses are red,
violets are blue,
it’s Valentine Friday
so yippee and WAH-HOOOO!
Copyright 2020 Brenda Davis Harsham Continue reading
Warm by the Fire
May your holidays
be warm by the fire,
full of light and cheer! Continue reading
A Halloween Story
Halloween Party Prep
The littlest Trick wept white, cobwebby tears when Lord Phantomdor chose potion-boiling witches.
Choose me! he thought. Too shy to shout, he stayed still as a pumpkin.
Trick’s cheery smile was not Halloweeny, but he couldn’t frown with a party coming. Nor could he let go of his wish.
Trick smiled despite tears trickling and tangling into a thick, stingy mess while Lord Phantomdor chose ghasties, spook-dashes, rook-chompers and bald-banters, until
Lord Phantomdor’s eyes fell on the scariest –
now looking like a funnel spider lair –
the littlest Trick had turned into the best party decoration of all.
And was chosen.
Copyright 2019 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes: This 100-Word Story (not counting the title) was written for Susanna Leonard Hill’s spooky kids lit contest. Feel like crafting one yourself? Or witch-crafting one?
Writing Tip — first figure out what your main character wants and why s/he can’t get it. Then tell his/her story with a beginning, a middle and an end.
Hope you stay safe and don’t eat too much candy today!
Friendly Fairy Tales 