Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 28, 2015

Posted under

Humor, Photography, Poetry

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53 Comments

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Here is the bench before the Nor’easter,

And where is the bench now?

Now you see it, now you don’t!
Mother Nature’s sleight of hand
Is more magical than any of man.
What could be hiding under there?
Perhaps a family of icy hedgehogs
And a passing brownie sipping chai.
Under the bench, they stop to say Hi,
Peeking out at other passers-by.

Note: New England was blessed with over two feet of snow in 24 hours and two snow days! We shoveled four times. We went sledding twice. We had one epic snowball battle. We drank hot chocolate with friends. We had a weekend in the middle of the week! Stay warm! 🙂 School is on again tomorrow.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 27, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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43 Comments

Bow to the Snow Queen

The tree’s snow cloak drags the ground
Until the snow falls, wind-downed.
Released branch springs up with a shiver,
Like a dog, with a shake and quiver,
Rising from its long, low bend,
To the Snow Queen, its lady friend.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 25, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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65 Comments

Stomping, Tromping

Snow in the air,
Snow on the ground,
More in my hair,
Falls all around!

Snowballs packed tight,
Kids laughing and hiding,
Forts left, ice castles right
Tiny tots slipping and sliding.

Tongue sticks out far,
Nothing hits it, no fair!
A snowflake, like a star,
Lands coldly right there.

Ah, how we love the snow,
Sledding, flopping, tromping,
Love when the drifts flow,
Plowing, tunneling, stomping.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 23, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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80 Comments

On Ice

held in my petals
memories of last summer
slumber here on ice

Note: This haiku is my contribution to a long-standing meme, Poetry Friday, which is organized by Kidlitosphere Central and hosted by various bloggers, around the web. I am very excited to participate for the first time. This week you can visit A Teaching Life and see links to the poetry. Some of my friends write kids poetry. If you do, you should check this out. They publish anthologies of the Poetry Friday offerings periodically, and I have it on good authority that they actually PAY for the use of the poem!!! LOL What a concept! (Okay, it’s not going to make me rich, but hey, a dinner out… maybe.)

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 19, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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44 Comments

White Queen’s Fall

Pawn lost at the dawn,
Blacks carrion crows
Checkmate at the close,
Victory now seems small:
King mourns White Queen’s fall.
Perhaps the price of war
Is too high after all.

Note: The game of chess is a bloodless battle to the eventual doom of an opponent. Do you play? Are you ruthless? Are you willing to sacrifice your queen?

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 15, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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52 Comments

Snow Day Wanted

One of the very best reasons for having children
Is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

— Susan Orlean

Cold, gray day with
Snow on the way.
Tiny flakes fall,
Hardly any at all.
Just a tease,
Tickling trees.
Children haunted:
Snow day wanted.

Notes: I read this to my son. He sadly shook his head and said: “I don’t think we’re going to get a snow day this year.” Poor guy, we’ve had almost no snow. No sledding, no snow shoeing and no snowmen! On a more prosaic note, I have just spent days updating all my contents pages, poetry, flash fiction, haiku and haibun. I’m still emotional thinking of the many outrageously wonderful compliments left, which make me blush to read the reviews on the contents pages. You might see yourself quoted there. 😉 Thank you all for reading and commenting. I know how busy you are, and I am deeply moved and appreciative!! You’ve restored my ego to almost life-sized just in time for attending a writer’s conference in NYC! I’ll be preparing for that in the next few weeks. Remember the magic! Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 12, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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63 Comments

Snow Queen Haibun

I walk through my own personal cloud of crystalline breath. The nighttime is silent but for the thuds of snow falling from branches. The modern world disappears, and even the family van is a slumbering dragon. I pace the silent woods, twilight falling to full dark quickly.

ice chokes the pond
water reflects the dark sky
even my breath stills

I return to a long-ago winter. Lacy snowflakes fall all night. School is cancelled. Frost stars seal the window glass. I don three layers of clothes before pushing through drifts over my head. I forge new pathways. I enter an icy, secret world with caves, trolls, mountains and a snow queen.

hiding from monsters
across alien frozen worlds
in the quiet, is me

Note: This is a haibun, a Japanese form of writing, alternating prose and poetry, in this case, haiku. It has many rules. It should be present tense. The haiku should be without punctuation, except where a stop is indicated by a comma. Basho made this form famous.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 11, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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28 Comments

Frosted Pain

Snowflakes,
Frost snakes
Down the pane
Blurring the lane.
Cold rattles,
TV prattles,
Frozen thought:
What was sought
By crazy terrorists
Killing cartoonists?
The earth may still turn
But do what we learn?
Did they feel pain and rage?
Want a world stage?
But don’t praise god —
Your reasoning is flawed.
Revenge, blood, death,
Stop and take a breath.
Remember joy and love,
They come from above.
Embrace life and creation
And stop the devastation.

Note: Je suis Charlie. I am Charlie. I stand with free press and with peace through love of differences. I honor all religions, and my heart weeps for all the Jews who feel fear, all the Christians who feel under attack, all the muslims who don’t agree with the actions of terrorists, and all the other religions who feel sorrow. I feel sorrow at having to explain these events to children and immense sadness for the families of victims. No matter your beliefs, please help me speak out against violence and terror.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 3, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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48 Comments

Snow White Seeds

Winter Queen Snow-White,
Reigning over gardens past,
Spreading seeds near and far:
Tiny spin-drift wind-sailing
Sprites, tiny bits of last year,
Carried through cold to the next,
Come fill my garden with purple,
Amber and russet possibility.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 1, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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66 Comments

Found Magic

Sunset-glowing mums
Cast an earthy magic
Over a vanilla day.
My blue mug steams,
The bitter scent of green tea
Mingling with honey’s sweetness.
The calendar suggests newness.
January First: a new morning,
A new chance, a new start, a new dream.
Frozen grass crunches underfoot and
The sky is blue, clear and cold.
My breath steams like my mug:
Superheated for a magical brew,
Making all things seem new.
I resolve to find magic,
In any small detail, new or old,
Find magic and learn to take hold.

Note: Happy New Year to all my friends!! These blooms are thanks to Trader Joe’s, a magical place.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

December 31, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Photography, Poetry

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33 Comments

Winter’s Golden Song

The years stack like a tower of books,
Each with its stories: lights shining,
Songs sung and music woven throughout:
“People writing songs that voices never shared,”
“Standing at the crossroads of the hill,”
“I see trees of green, red roses, too.”
“Two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard,”
“Looking for adventure in whatever comes our way,”
“I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold,”
“I’ll always remember you like a child.”
“Puff the magic dragon lived by the sea.”
“One pill makes you larger, and one makes you small.”
“Sunshine came softly through my window today,”
“Happiness runs.”

Happy and Prosperous New Year!! May you be showered with good things this coming year.

This is my 500th Post!! Woo-hoo!!

Warmly, Brenda

(Lyrics were swirling around in the gray nimbus clouds, thanks to Louis Armstrong, Steppenwolf, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Peter, Paul and Mary, Neil Young, Tracy Chapman, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan and Cindy Knoke, yes, Cindy!).

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

December 25, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Photography, Poetry

Comments

74 Comments

Christmas Wishes

May your dreams inspire you,
May you rarely feel blue,
And almost never angry red.
May all bad things remain unsaid,
May magic touch you and yours,
And love find you, opening new doors.

Note: Merry Christmas!! My family was lucky to see the Boston Ballet perform the Nutcracker a few days ago. The daughter of a friend was dancing the part of Mother Ginger’s child. We had such fun, we bought these two ornaments to commemorate such a special night. I wish you many blessings to you and yours. Warmly, Brenda