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Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 8, 2014

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Photography, Poetry

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58 Comments

Fairy Fiddlehead Haibun

[Sh]e was a poet; and they are never exactly grown-up.
― J.M. Barrie

Walking in the woods today, I listened for the music of the wind. I heard the crescendo of growing things, and a soft decrescendo of falling magnolia petals. Trees in leaf harmonized with delicious sap running, after a long frozen winter. Squirrel feet danced so fast, they seemed to be touching only clouds. Bees, drunk with plentiful nectar, wobbled in flight. Landing on pear blossoms, the bees turned round as though tumbling down hillsides, spinning, dizzy, buzzy.

stretching straight sunshine-ward
furled fairy fiddlehead,
music makes me merry

Note: A haibun is prose followed by poetry, often a haiku. If any of my other haibun-writing friends are parched from a reduction in prompts, feel free to take my picture or the quote as a prompt, and write your own haibun, just please give my name as the photographer. Ping me or leave a comment here, and I will be happy to read it! I don’t know how to do the linky, so I can’t offer that. The quote was originally “He” not “[Sh]e” so it can be either way.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 8, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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35 Comments

Clarity Pyramid: FAE

FAE
Fairy
Magical

Winged joy in child’s heart
Connected to nature
Hides in imagination

“For to have faith is to have wings.”

Note: The quote is from Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie. This was inspired by Paint the World with Words, hey, Amreen, I hope you are feeling better soon!! (She apparently had a bad week or two.) A Clarity Pyramid is a poetic form with so many rules that I decided not to write one, right before one popped into my head in that mysterious way ideas have. I’ll set out the rules: 7 lines, increasing in syllable count, 1/2/3 then 5/6/7 culminating in an 8 syllable quotation. The title should be the one syllable line, bold and in all caps, and then the rest of the poem describes or elucidates the title.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 8, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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15 Comments

Sunset and the Bee

Bees gather nectar, frantic to finish tonight,
Before the ending day’s golden twilight
Has turned into black, stormy night.
The first spring blooms are key
For life of tree
And bee.

Note: My poem has six lines, with the rhyming pattern, AAABBB, and 12 syllables in the first line, and then decreasing by two syllables per line, until the last line, which has 2 syllables (or: 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2). I wanted to use a diminishing syllable count to parallel the dwindling of bees from colony collapse disorder. This poem is similar to a nonet, but the nonet has nine lines, with 9 syllables on the first line, and then it decreases by one syllable per line until the last line, which has one syllable.

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Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 3, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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42 Comments

Ideas Blossom at Writer’s Conference

Ideas blossom with a sweet fragrance,
Opening wider with rhythmic cadence,
Each part of nature has its special time,
Thoughts spring musically into joyful rhyme.

Note: Here is some pink for ThinkingPink. This weekend, I am away at the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators spring conference. Ideas are flowing, and I’m jazzed and inspired. If you aren’t a member of a writing organization and you have not yet been to a writer’s conference, I hope you’ll consider it. Not that WP isn’t great, but meeting people in person is powerful, too. I’ll be back next week, and hoping to catch up with everybody!

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Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 1, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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31 Comments

May Queen

Sad May Queen and her court,
Drenched, washed by rain,
Cold droplets cascade off,
Heavy heads rise when
The torrent ceases, blue sky
Teases, clouds chase the wind.

Then state visits commence,
Foreign dignitaries hasten toward
The still glistening, but elegant
Tulip Magnolia Queen.
Bees kiss her hands, aquiver,
Trembling to touch her perfume.

A sensitive courtier
Drips tears onto the lawn.
Pink petals fall and
Lay like lotus blooms
On a glassy pond, quiet
Except for water dripping.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 30, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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42 Comments

Waiting Flowers

On this rainy day,
Cold damp enters the stem,
Stiffening the buds.
Red veins dry to yellow.
Petals close tightly,
Waiting for the sun.
Waiting for the bees.
Waiting for the children.

Continue reading →

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 28, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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34 Comments

Silver Naiad Reflections

Silver Birch,
Forever dancing,
Wet roots deep, holding fast,
Trunk curved
Toward the far bank,
Always gazing across the way.

Silver Naiad,
Still and thoughtful,
Wet feet, connected to earth,
Body curved
Toward the water,
Gazing always toward Olympus.

Note: This poem is dedicated to Line, a magical being, eyes ever upward, wings brushing our cheeks with joy.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 27, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry, Tales for Kids of All Ages

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34 Comments

Hectic Mountain Laurel

The invisible spring wind
Shakes silky blooming branches
And tastes sweet flower petals.
The flower fairy fragrance swirls.
The tallest branches dance,
Encircle the sun, hug the wind.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 26, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry, Tales for Kids of All Ages

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33 Comments

Longing for Daffodils

In Winter, I long
for color and flowers.
In Spring, I yearn
For Wordsworth.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

_______________________________________

Do you have a magic moment that fills your heart with joy at the memory? I will share one of mine with you. Years before we had kids, my husband and I shared papaya, salmon and pineapple sushi, on a balcony overlooking the pool at the Kauai Marriott Resort, which was on the ocean. If you want to see what it looked like, the Marriott site has lots of pictures. The sushi was the best I had ever tasted. I have many more, too, and I hope you do, too.

Warmly, Brenda

References:

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174790

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lihhi-kauai-marriott-resort/

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 25, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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21 Comments

Infernal Internal Poem: Fae Clan

Blue with missing sun’s hue,
Forlorn fungus is winter worn.
Spring, its insides begin to zing —
Humongous will grow the fungus.

See some color in the woods like me,
Hiding fairies will be giggling, gliding.
Pearly wings beat, sending air whirling.
Can you hear them? They are the Fae Clan!

Thin hibernating animals can now grin,
Food is aplenty, no time to brood.
Fairies plan to gather and be merry:
Sharing, dancing, laughing, caring.

Note: The Infernal Internal is a new poetry form I created. The first and last words within each line rhyme.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 24, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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59 Comments

Visual Haiku: Shadow Painting

Note: A visual haiku is a photograph that implies the presence of something not there. Here the shadows reminded me of Japanese Brush Painting, making the bark a canvas. Can you guess what made the shadows? For other visual haiku, click here and here.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

April 24, 2014

Posted under

Poetry

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7 Comments

When Children Laugh, Angels Smile

Here are some rhymes that speak to my inner child, playing in the garden with fairies. I hope you like them! My kids and I are enjoying vacation week! I’ll try hard to catch up with everyone next week. My reader has been losing my likes again! Have a magical long weekend!! Warmly, Brenda