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.
Among the white yacht-trees,
Zipping near and far,
Marina fairies splash and play,
Sleek, trim and yar.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
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.
hazy heat dances
cello music sings from windows
sunflower bows
Note: This haiku was in response to the Carpe Diem Haiku prompt, Sunflower.
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
suburban waterfalls
dry blossoms dappled with damp,
clematis stars
Note: This haiku is in honor of Chèvrefeuille, who is now running haiku prompts on WordPress, yeah!! I had such trouble finding him on blogspot. This week’s prompt is Waterfall. If you’ve seen the Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, here’s your chance to join the party.
We can never have enough of nature.
— Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Turquoise-tailed baby bluegills tickle our toes.
The scent of pine and wildflowers wafts to my nose.
Purple loosestrife and asters dot the green wayside.
Children splash, fishermen cast, not even fish can hide.
Green-dappled water buoys and refreshes tired mums,
Dragonflies eat mosquitoes, and ants carry off crumbs.
Thoreau wrote of being alone, but that was far in the past,
Instead lots of people hike, fish, swim, play and eat a repast.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.
— Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Note: We visited Walden Pond today, and had a great time! I hope you had a great day, too. 🙂
Reference: Thoreau Quotes from Walden
A wandering dragonfly pauses to mock:
“Catch me if you can,” he seems to say.
“I’m a loner, the cardinal of dragonflies,
“You won’t spot me again, if I have my way!”
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This dragonfly was spotted in the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco, California. Best I can tell, he is a mature male Flame Skimmer dragonfly. He looks a lot like the European Red-Veined Darter or Nomad dragonfly. I have a Scarlet Cardinal living in my yard, and his black eyes often find me in my garden. This dragonfly reminded me of him, even when I was 3,000 miles from home.
Jilly-June the Summer Fairy
Lived high on a magic hillside,
Making cordial from black cherry
And hiding her sadness inside.
Pretty moonflower,
Tattered and chewed,
Still you glow sweetly,
Each night renewed.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: I called this flower a moonflower, not because it’s the moonflower morning glory, but because it’s a flower I found glowing at twilight, under the moon. It’s a clematis. I hope my poetic license is up to date. 🙂
Wet sand between my toes,
My feet sink lower with each wave.
Toes wiggling, soon I’m ankle deep,
Losing my balance and entranced by
Silvery sea foam, cresting the waves and
Soaking my rolled up jeans.
I laugh with each cold shock.
Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham
Friendly Fairy Tales 