Punch of peach,
Late summer bloom,
Labored year round,
For this shining moment
At the end of summer.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Happy Labor Day to all those in the United States!!
Note: This bloom is a daylily of a most unusual shade. It looks like a rose, doesn’t it?
Deep in the wildwood,
Beneath the green leaves,
Hide a welter of wee folk.
They play tricks, keep their secrets,
Hobnob with toads and kiss dragonflies.
Tuesdays, they take tea with an elderly dragon,
Nibbling hazelnut tarts and sunshine flan.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Uncommon mother,
Uncommon tired,
Living for 36 days,
Still, evanescent, wired.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This dragonfly is a Common Whitetail mature female.
The way was crisscrossed with roots and rocky.
Bellissa, the wood nymph, carefully tread
The sunlit path of shadow and dappled light.
Her ears were full of the music playing:
The symphony of green rustling leaves and
The decrescendo of the cicadas.
A crescendo of a dog’s barking by the shore
Caught her attention, and she hid in the silver birch.
The excited pup romped, shaking off an avalanche of drips.
She climbed toward a peak, leaving the shore behind,
The wind grew stiffer and the trees bent.
Ahead lay possibility, wonder and magic.
Always moving toward the next place,
Where imagination filled in the wood with secrets,
Caves, trolls, dragons, gnomes, friends and foe.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Oval iridescent green body,
Wings of bronze, quiet and still,
Always hungry, tasting nature’s nectar,
Making lace of leaves, living life with a will.
Note: This is a Popillia Japonica or Japanese Beetle. The photo was taken in Dover, MA in the Noanet Woodlands.
Friends are like flowers.
They bloom, and they inspire.
They make the world beautiful.
We never forget.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: I dedicate this post to the memory of Ajaytao. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. He was a bright light in our world, and his spirit continues to brighten our memories. He was a good friend to me, welcoming me here, and I will miss him. I feel blessed to have shared the world with him. Namaste, Brenda
Opposites: rain and sun,
The yin and yang of life.
Clear cooling drops
Cleanse and refresh.
Even as I welcome the rain,
I long for the sun.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
fine golden dust
gilds the lily, draws wee folk
fairy footprints shine
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
With treacle, a radish and bee’s knees,
Fae Rose grew apricot roses with ease.
She turned away blight,
With joy and delight,
And her ladybugs gave aphids a squeeze.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This poem is a limerick, rhyming AABBA.
Magic hides in the quiet spaces:
Weights lift in the greening.*
Tree branches and bark take shapes
In the corner of the eye;
Lights flicker like fairies dancing.
A turned head, and the magic’s gone.
An arched bridge holds infinite
Possibilities for revealing
Secrets, just over the crest.
Only children can climb it.
Invite the magic to sup jasmine tea
And nibble an almond sweet,
And soon the whole day seems a dream.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
* Note: This use of “greening” is meant to refer to the process of feeling younger in a garden, feeling the years drop away and spirits lift. Greening can be defined as the return to youthful characteristics.
Frog was completely alone! Toad was worried: was Frog sad? Frog answered: “I am happy. I am very happy. This morning when I woke up, I felt good because the sun was shining. I felt good because I was a frog. And I felt good because I have you for a friend. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to think about how fine everything is.”
— Arnold Lobel, from Days with Frog and Toad, Alone
Today the sun was shining,
Breeze and sense of ease, entwining.
The frogs were swimming,
All the world was grinning.
Dragonfly fairies danced,
The scent of lilies entranced.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Friendly Fairy Tales 