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June 22, 2015

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Daisies Dear

No pruning,
No fertilizer,
No special care,
Still you bloom,
Wide open,
With smiling flair,
In field, meadow,
Roadside and
Everywhere.
Daisies sing a
Daisy song,
A quiet fanfare.

Note: Woo-hoo to the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team who fought long and hard against Columbia tonight! Congrats to Abby Wombach, a great Captain. She hails from Rochester, NY, where I (mostly) grew up. Yeah Carly Lloyd for scoring on the (second!) PK and then stepping up as Captain! FIFA — International soccer tournaments should not be played on turf!! 130 degrees on the field/pitch?! Shoes MELTING?? Seriously?

Also, hello to Poetry Friday friends! Thanks to Carol at Carol’s Corner for hosting this week.

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Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

June 3, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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39 Comments

Purple Panoply (Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Purple)

Purple Loosestrife on the river

Butterfly bush longing for a butterfly

Awash in Asters

Two-purple Irises

Deepest Purple Iris

Note: Cee has called for purple this week. Purple Prose is writing that is unnecessarily flowery or ornate. In honor of my purple post, I will write some purple poetry:

Amethyst petals embrace the bee,
stamen and stigma anoint him
delicately
with amber pollen.
The drunken bee flies
erratically,
bringing back dusty manna of
lush lavender, iris,
loosestrife and pine tree,
into the humming hive
far up in the forest canopy.
Are his eyes still full of
wildflower fields and
purple panoply?
The drone
dances in the honeycomb,
transforming
gold dust into honey.
How does the tiny being do it?
What magic knows he
that none of us can see?

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 10, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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52 Comments

Cherry Blossoms for Mother’s Day

Our oldest love, our first love,
Unfolds with our own birth,
Grows as we take our first steps.
The love that makes us children again.
We love you, Mom!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 14, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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27 Comments

Fairy Squill

Salutations small Siberian Squill,
Rising from the icy dregs of a hill.
Bowing in breezes on a fairy mound,
Its still shadow doesn’t make any sound.
After Lady Winter’s chill ermine shroud,
Its azure beauty makes me sing out loud.

Note: This drooping blue beauty is Scilla siberica, one of the earliest blooming bulbs. I apologize for not having time to comment on posts this week. My van is in the shop, my middle child is on crutches, my novel deadline is looming and I’m nowhere near done. My kids will soon be on spring break. If only I had more time, or more brains or more hands. Something. Meanwhile, at least there’s magic! Hope you have a great week! Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 22, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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55 Comments

The Love Challenge

There are four questions of value in life, Don Octavio.
What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made?
What is worth living for and what is worth dying for?
The answer to each is the same. Only love.

— Lord Byron

Purple flowers in stone wall

Love is elusive prey,
Love curves and flows
Down lonely love’s path,
Can I find love?

Love’s flower-shaped bell rings:
Love calls to hearts,
Stony in love’s graveyard,
Can love find me?

Love weighs like stone,
Yet, somehow, love floats.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love’s light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

— Maya Angelou (from Touched by an Angel)

Note: Perhaps you read and enjoyed my poem. Perhaps you thought, that’s not how I would write about love. Perhaps the quotes have inspired you. Whatever you may have thought, I invite you to please take up your pen or let your fingers dance over the keyboard. I welcome you to join in the Love Challenge, just comment here and give me a link. I will be happy to read your poem.

I dedicate this poem to Marlyn, who invited me to take up the Love Challenge, and gave me these rules (some of which I even followed):

Write about love using only 10 lines.
Use “love” in every line.
Each line can only be 4 words long.
Nominate 10 or so others who are up for the challenge.
Let them know about the challenge.
Title the post, Love in Ten Lines.
Include a quote about love.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

February 21, 2015

Posted under

Humor, Photography

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45 Comments

Monster Icicles Swallow New England

One hundred inches* of snow has fallen!

That’s 8’4”. Taller than the world’s tallest person. Taller than Big Bird!

Shorter than some of our icicles!

We’re exhausted from beating icicles off our houses and from launching newly fallen snow to such towering heights. But we’re still smiling and planning the next party (going to one this afternoon in fact).

So woo-hoo to all of you!!

Warmly, Brenda

*Note: For the rest of the world, that’s just over two and a half meters — so much less impressive written that way.

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

December 12, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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31 Comments

Winter Wonderland

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream-
Lingering in the golden gleam-
Life, what is it but a dream?

— Lewis Carroll

Alice frosts pink fairy cakes
And carries them on amber platters
To the party in the tippy-top of yews.
Icing sparkles with snowflakes:
Tea party treats for mad hatters.
Alice pours tea and lets guests choose.
The Red Queen chases drakes.
Feathers fall amid snowy spatters.
The Cheshire Cat grins and chews.
White Rabbit calls “Land sakes!”
The March Hare nods and natters.
Not a few party guests snooze.

Note: In addition to getting the holidays in hand, I have a new project. I am now offering Fine Nature Art prints for sale on Society 6. Your purchase would help support Friendly Fairy Tales.

Have a magical weekend!

Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

November 26, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Photography

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30 Comments

Thankful

I’m thankful for the beauty in every season and for the words that flow from it.
I’m grateful to all of you, sharing your day with me, may your days be filled with magic!

Warmly,

Brenda

Note: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here, a time to remember our blessings, appreciate the earth that gives them to us, and embrace our family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

November 24, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Photography, Poetry

Comments

41 Comments

Giving Thanks

Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.

— Albert Einstein

storm wind gusts
shakes leaf from its anchor
it falls, giving thanks

Note: Happy Thanksgiving to those in the United States, and Happy Fall to everyone else. This was inspired by the air spirits in the Carpe Diem #611 Haiku challenge, Sylph.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

November 20, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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19 Comments

Catkin Fuzzy

Catkin fuzzy, catkin round,
Hiding there without a sound,
Are you there to amuse
Or are you there to confuse?
You look like a tiny teddy bear,
Huggable and light as air.
Perhaps you hide baby fairies,
Sleepy from eating mulberries?
Does a woodpecker tap tap tap
Or just perch there for a nap?
Would you rather be a dogwood tree
With spiky fruit and tree esprit?
You cannot be just a shrub!
You keep your secrets, that’s the rub.

Note: I have been trying to get a catkin in focus in a photograph for over a year! Woo-hooo!!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

November 15, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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32 Comments

Blaze of Glory

Oak
Leaves bloom
Fiery Red
Artful couture
Fall

Note: This poem is a lantern poem (also spelled lanterne), a Japanese form, in the shape of a lantern, with five lines and a syllable count of 1, 2, 3, 4, 1.

It is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

— Albert Camus