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May 26, 2014

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Plum Island Haibun

Seabirds scream overhead before diving into Pavilion Beach’s gentle waves. Tide pools reflect the sky. Surrounding sand is cold and muddy, squashing between my toes. A salty wind scrubs my skin raw.

The Ipswich beach is not crowded, but on one side, a sausage dog sniffs my feet and looks askance. On the other side, college students discuss over-drinking and under-studying, their laughter louder than the waves. Across the Sound, Plum Island’s sands gleam whiter than wishes. I daydream about solitude over there: just my family, the seabirds and the sunshine, sea winds blowing my cares away.

I look down at the ripples left by the tides. Overlaid are footprints of people who arrived, gazed at the same sights as me, and then departed. They left these traces of life behind: bare feet, shod feet, children’s feet, bird feet. I add my footprints to the chaos left by other beach lovers. I am part of a greater whole, separate, yet no different.

white boat bobs
sails furled, engine quiet
bird feet leave no trace

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 25, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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33 Comments

Flower Maelstrom

colorful maelstrom
paradise of May flowers
butterflies welcomed

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 23, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Humor, Photography, Poetry

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38 Comments

Rhododendron Fairy Cafe

“Look at the baby!” An elder fairy cooed then sipped nectar of jalapeño.

“Oh, she’s so cute!” A barrista fairy chimed in, while handing out honey-frappes.

“Look how pink she is!” A third fairy exclaimed, sipping her honeysuckle frappuccino.

“Thanks, my dears,” the mother fairy replied, “I just hope she naps!”

Happy Memorial Day, everybody, from the Rhododendron Fairy Cafe!

Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 21, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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54 Comments

Honeysuckle

Wild Honeysuckle

Fair flower, that dost so comely grow, 
Hid in this silent, dull retreat, 
Untouched thy honied blossoms blow, 
Unseen thy little branches greet: 
  No roving foot shall crush thee here, 
  No busy hand provoke a tear. 

-- Philip Freneau

Hummingbirds hover, long beaks seeking
Trumpets of nectar in a wild blooming hedge.
Honeysuckle, so sweet and fragrant,
Small, shy flowers, perfuming the air.
What magic allows you to bloom early and long,
Leaves first to green and last to wither?

Reference: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/wild-honeysuckle

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 16, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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20 Comments

Bewitching Haiku

fae iris magicks
sprinkled generously
bewitch passersby

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 15, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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52 Comments

Forsythia Fairy Path

Forsythia: golden bells curving overhead;
A green path winds through the hedge.
I step under the archway and stop dead.
A forsythia fairy flutters, about to fledge.

The air is filled with crystalline shine,
And a magic gale forces me backward.
I catch a glimpse of the fairy in flight, sublime.
Then the path is empty; my tale fractured.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 13, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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75 Comments

Charming Ladies Haiku

grand duchesses
charming ladies in waiting
tulips for the queen

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 12, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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37 Comments

White Wakerobin: Alliterative Haiku

found in a forest
longing for large, long-tongued bees
tranquil trillium

Note: This haiku is Alliterative, which means that its words start with the same letter.

Reference: https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/trillium/grandiflorum/

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 10, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Poetry, Tales for Kids of All Ages

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47 Comments

Nature’s Joy for Moms

Plugged into pretty pink,
Powered on, pumped and plumped,
Pleased to hear parties planned.

Just jazzed by joy,
Jumping for color,
Jogging my memory.

Many other happy springs:
Mingled colors and aromas,
Mother’s Day memories.

Note: This post is dedicated to all moms, full-time, part-time, for-all-time moms. Moms near, moms far, moms always in the heart, whatever the name: Mom, Mum, Mam, Mama, Mommy, Step-Mom, Ma, Mamasita, Mother. Please let me know other names for Moms, and I will add them here. Much love to all Moms!!

Happy Mother’s Day to these special moms:

Sue Ann, Fairport, New York (Get Well Soon and come home from the hospital, too!!)
Jessie, Palm Springs, California
Jo Anne, Los Angeles, California
Mary, Bedford, Massachusetts
Cathryn, Burlington, Massachusetts
Julie, Billerica, Massachusetts
Jennie, Billerica, Massachusetts
Mickey, Syracuse, New York
Susan, Fairport, New York
Ellen, Newton, Massachusetts
Donna, Machias, Maine
Elizabeth, or Betty, Matias, New York (and Happy Early Birthday, too!!)

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

May 8, 2014

Posted under

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.