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December 29, 2015

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Dragon Song

Be careful in the New Year
for if you listen to dragon song,
you might find yourself burning.
You might need to fly and dance
or hear magic in the stars.
You might believe in kindness
and find friends in new places.
The crescendo casts a spell that
will make fortunes rise and set
love spinning like dust devils.
Be careful to keep your feet
solidly on the ground,
or you might hear fairy bells,
float over meadows, shake
hands with poppies, only to be
tickled by delphinium.
Dragons and fairies must be kept
in their place, in the toy chest,
lest the world tilt crazily.
Let others be dizzy with magic
or you might have to rethink
everything in your life.

Note: Happy New Year! 2016 is coming! I snapped the sea dragon photo at the New England Aquarium. If you’d like a dragon fairy tale, I offer the ice castle world of the Dragon and the Phoenix. We are busy frosting gingerbread trains, rolling beeswax candles and making lego Christmas trees. Enchiladas verdes and chilaquiles rojos are bubbling fragrantly in my oven, filling the whole house with the magic of cheese, turkey, tortillas and salsa. Wishing you joy, comfort, hugs and warmth!

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Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

November 18, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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Color on the Wind

Fairyland Mural painted on a brick wall with willow trees framing a unicorn, fairies, mushrooms, an owl and flowers

Used with Permission of Resa Swork

Fairyland is carpeted with flowers,
driftwood sculptures, cairns and shells.
The shyest creatures remain hidden
except for the lilting tinkle of bells. Continue reading →

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

October 12, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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41 Comments

Fields of Fun

Skipping and hopping,
from petal to leaf,
chased by beetles,
is a nectar thief!

Jack Frost’s cousin,
Chill, the Fall sprite,
arrives every October,
to the beetle’s fright.

“Stop right now,
you hairy beast!”
Stinkbugs shout
but he flees east.

He turns the nectar,
into golden art,
dabbed on leaves —
summer’s torn apart.

From nectar to mold,
black spots of blight
multiply and dismay,
as he zigzags in flight.

October’s arrived and
Autumn’s show has begun.
Protest though you may,
he will have his fun.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

September 20, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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61 Comments

Fairy Dust Haibun

To step amongst giant phlox, rudbeckia and Russian sage is to enter a suburban fairyland, a small oasis surrounded by the desert of houses, concrete and asphalt.

meadow blooms
sharp fragrance intoxicates
fingers sap-sticky

Bronxville garden

Goldfinches feast on spiky echinacea seeds, while redheaded woodpeckers knock on fence posts. Sparrows dart under eaves. Day lilies bob, and a rabbit emerges from the grassy leaves, smug and plump. The gardener is the majordomo.

crickets stir
hundreds of insects hum
spiders spin

A shady spot provides a view of an apple tree, too young to bear fruit. At its feet, the profusion of jeweled blossoms is blinding. Magic floats past in the sunbeams. Time slows to this one perfect moment.

Fairy dust gilds bees and
sparkles on flower petals.
Dragonflies hover
like hummingbirds,
held aloft by magic
or science
or faith.
Sudden breezes
bring a rainstorm
of fairy dust,
dried to pollen
by the hazy sun,
solar fast.

But even magic
cannot make summer last.

Note: A haibun is a Japanese form of prose alternating with poetry, often haiku. It’s often a recollection of one’s day, in present tense. A few moments in a garden, and suburbia drops away. These photos and memories are from Bronxville, New York, where I happily helped a friend celebrate his 60th birthday. Bronxville is a village of Westchester County, part of the Tri-State Area that surrounds New York City. People commute to Manhattan in half an hour. Have a magical weekend!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

August 16, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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Vermont Twilight

Fairies dance and twinkle,
mixing with fireflies.
Lilac skies reach toward
lavender lakes.
Goldenrod nods
farewell to the sun.
Mountains darken
and trees disappear in
the dimming light.
Still the dragonflies hum.
Children seek the first star,
the first wish.
They believe in magic.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

August 2, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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67 Comments

Dappled Glade

Light moves and
shadows turn cartwheels
in a dappled glade.
A shadow might be
anything,
squirrel, gopher,
dog, deer or sprite.
Or the absence of
someone dear.
A dappled glade
can contain
anything at all,
or everything.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

July 27, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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26 Comments

Bianca Belle

Bianca Belle knew full well:
A Belle wears white, plain and bright,
To her first ball within fairy Hall.

She wanted to rebel, shh, don’t tell!
She fought, ignoring all she’d been taught,
And did her own thing, finding her inner bling.

She added orange beads, like tiny seeds,
Dangling on citrine fringe: a wild color binge.
Bianca was one in a million at the cotillion.

She set a new trend by refusing to bend
To her parent’s tradition, creating a mission
Of being unique, true to herself, bold and chic.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

July 20, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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42 Comments

Rhodie Abloom

proud full bloom
sprinkled with sage fairy dust
beckoning bees

Note: Hiking in New Hampshire today. Hot, sweltering with thunder shows hovering. I’ll hope for some fairy dust and a well-placed swimming hole. 🙂 Have a great week! Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

July 18, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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21 Comments

Fairy Queen’s Parasol

The white parasol twirls,
dips and bobs in the
Fairy Queen’s slender hand.

The midsummer sun
dapples her pale cheeks,
gilding her glossy curls.

Beetles play at her feet,
like infants in the grass.
Ruby Columbine drops

petals-tears the
flavor of honey nectar,
tasted beside a wild rose ruin.

Her sisters pass out starry bud cups.
The queen nods her thanks.
The sweet scent combines with

thyme and sage, making the air
alive with color and promise.
The Fairy Queen’s eyes hide

behind the tilt of lace as she
hobnobs with nabobs,
each of them drinking.

None may know
what she’s thinking.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

June 21, 2015

Posted under

Holiday, Poetry

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32 Comments

Midsummer Night’s Dream, Part 3

Be kind and courteous to this gentleman;
Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes;
Feed him with apricots and dewberries,
With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries;
The honey-bags steal from the humble-bees,
And for night-tapers crop their waxen thighs.
And light them at the fiery glow-worm eyes,
To have my love to bed and to arise;
And pluck the wings from painted butterflies
To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes:
Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies.

Note: Happy Father’s Day to all fine Gentlemen! Happy Midsummer! And this is the third and final part of my Shakespeare Quotes offered for the 3-Day Quote Challenge, thanks to an invitation by Marlyn at Kintal. I’ve thanked my challenger, offered three quotes in three days and passed the challenge along to any who comment here and express interest. For a midsummer fairy tale, click here. Hope you had a great weekend!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

June 20, 2015

Posted under

Holiday, Poetry

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22 Comments

Midsummer Night’s Dream, Part 2

Once I sat upon a promontory,
And heard a mermaid on a dolphin’s back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath
That the rude sea grew civil at her song
And certain stars shot madly from their spheres,
To hear the sea-maid’s music.

Note: Happy Saturday! Hope your weekend is going well. This is Part 2 of 3 Shakespeare Quotes offered for the 3-Day Quote Challenge, thanks to an invitation by Marlyn at Kintal. Find Part 1 for the rules and an invitation to participate for any quote lovers. For a midsummer fairy tale, click here. Check back tomorrow morning for the final part. Have a magical day!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

June 19, 2015

Posted under

Poetry

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23 Comments

Midsummer Night’s Dream, Part 1

Over hill, over dale,
Through bush, through brier,
Over park, over pale,
Through flood, through fire,
I do wander everywhere
Swifter than the moon’s sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen.
To dew her orbs upon the green .
The cowslips tall her pensioners be:
In their gold coats spots you see
Those be rubies, fairy favours ,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dewdrops here
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.
Farewell, thou lob of spirits; I’ll be gone:
Our queen and all our elves come here anon.

Notes:

Happy Friday!

This is Part 1 of 3 of my Shakespeare Quotes offered for the 3-Day Quote Challenge, thanks to an invitation by Marlyn at Kintal. I am bid to thank my challenger, offer three quotes in three days and pass the challenge along to three others. Instead of putting anyone on the spot: if you comment here and express interest, you’re invited to participate and link to my post.

This is also offered for Poetry Friday, this week hosted by A Year of Reading.