Brrr, when the wind blows,
Burrs in the dog’s paws,
Burrs on the backside.
Little stingers clinging,
Beware of sitting
After a woodland tromp.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Tag Archives: nature
Journey of the Rainbow Leaf
Citrine, amber, sage, russet, claret,
Green of tree and brown of earth:
Every autumn shade gleams
Between its yellow veins.
Tiny fairies ride wind swells on it:
A magic carpet to buzz bushes and skim ponds.
Three baby hedgehogs with shivering quills
Hide beneath it, from a cold rain.
Then it’s sewn into a cape for the Harvest Queen,
She of the forest and glen,
It swirls like an autumn rainbow.
Its folds flash between dancing courtiers,
As all the fairies make merry.
Soon the bitter winds will blow.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Sycamore Lace
Crazy-quilt Sycamore tree,
One leaf, no longer perfect.
Yet the leaf shines with green,
Making oxygen for me,
And sweet sugar sap,
Flowing slowly into the tree.
The leaf scars show a beetle’s feast,
But those same imperfections
Are where the light shines through.
Note: I am often reminded of my own imperfections, my scars and my secret sins. I accept these things about myself as I accept them in the ones I love. I wrote once before about finding beauty in scars, a post called Beauty in the Broken Places. Today, Line and I were talking about imperfection and perfection being like two sides of a spinning coin, always rotating between the two.
Thistle Bristle
Round purple hedgehogs
Rise above a bed of green thistle;
Bees circle them like moons,
Dodging spines that bristle.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This flower is Globe Thistle (Echinops ritro). The bees were too quick for me, none lingered to become famous on my blog. 🙂
A Pine Tree Wakes
When I wake from my long dreaming,
I first look up at the sky.
Far above me, magic dances in white clouds.
Mother Oak holds me fast, in her roots.
Poetry is the movement of her leaves.
Far below me, the river sings its longing for the sea.
Rivulets sink toward the secret aqueduct far below,
The dark, watery womb of all life.
Some droplets rise to adorn cloud castles.
Singing waters plunge over falls,
Scenting the embrace of Lake Ontario.
Flocks of starlings bank and turn.
Wildflowers thirst, drink the spray,
And tremble on the cliffs.
The leaves feel the passing of the season,
As the water does not. As I do not.
We are constant, the water and the pine.
I hold fast to my cliff; I sink back into my dreams.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: These photographs were taken at Letchworth State Park, where the Genesee River has carved a deep canyon in its headlong rush to join Lake Ontario, the Easternmost Great Lake, that lies between the US and Canada.
Sunflower Shining
Sun shines so bright,
She bows her head and squints.
As the summer fades,
Her petals wilt a bit, but
She is still aflame with color.
Sunflower drowses and dreams
Of golden days past.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
American Lady Butterfly
I called for you, and you came!
Magic is in the air, holding you aloft,
Magic is in the color of your wings
And your graceful dancing flight.
You pause and look at me as intensely
As I look at you, my American Lady.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: I published a post recently called Butterflies Wanted, and then right afterwards, I was delighted to see an American Lady butterfly three or four times. This once, she even let me have a photograph. Although I still have not seen a Monarch, I feel quite happy with my Lady.
Happy Fall!
Goldenrod has grown long yellow fingers.
A crowd of eager mums are mid-laugh as
Hedgehogs nibble skunk cabbage.
Even white snakeroot,
Abloom at the wood’s edge,
Looks deceptively harmless,
But the deer leave it be.
Purple asters open wide, tiny but cheery.
Summer fairies line their beds with milkweed down,
Make quilts of hydrangea petals and
Dodge spiky, armoured chestnuts.
Dahlias bloom, large as dinner plates.
Happy Fall!
Note: The autumnal equinox is September 23, 2014, and this is the day summer changes to fall in the Northern Hemisphere, where I live in the USA. The earth is now tilting away from the sun and we will have shorter days and less warmth for 6 months.
Dragon Spines
In my mind’s eye, I see them fly:
Spiny leaves become dragons on high.
They chase my dreams in the moonlight
Following dust devils up out of sight.
Day comes, catching them in the sky.
They sleep like puppies, and so do I.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Butterflies Wanted
Butterflies wanted,
Butterflies sadly missed.
Long blooms languish,
For want of their friends.
One swallowtail came, all alone.
Two cabbage butterflies danced and played,
But where have the Monarchs gone?
I remember them from my youth.
Now my youth is gone and so are the Monarchs.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Red Feather
One feather with vanes of red,
Laying on the ground so blue
Fills me with a sudden dread,
Now will all the leaves change, too?
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Witchy Flowers Three
Wonderful witchy flowers
Vivid visions
Spread smiles
Sing in sunshine
Fascinate fairies
Enchant elves
Bewitch bees
Weaken my knees
Even the sky weeps
With longing
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Friendly Fairy Tales 