Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 18, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

32 Comments

Light in the Dark Naani

Dark falls swiftly,
My neighbor’s windows glow,
Turning the last winter snow pink
And the evening friendly.

Note: Thanks to Blog it or Lose it for introducing me to the naani. The naani, a popular form of poetry in India, has four lines with 20-25 syllables total. Any subject is embraced, often relationships or current events.

References:
http://www.poetrydances.com/naani.php
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/naani.html
http://www.examiner.com/article/naani-an-easy-poetry-form
http://popularpoetryforms.blogspot.com/2013/02/naani.html
http://www.prose-n-poetry.com/display_work/8009

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 17, 2014

Posted under

Poetry, Tales for Kids of All Ages

Comments

28 Comments

Movie Colors Haibun

Used by permission of Managua Gunn, via the Ligo Haibun Challenge.

I watch a movie, leaving my own issues behind. I give myself up to the color, the drama, the swirling action. In it, two women fly through the air, fighting bad guys with samurai swords, disdaining the laws of physics, aerodynamics and time itself, as a year’s events seem to take place in one day. I am exhilarated, lifted along on fantasy, imagining all my problems dealt with by a few swings of a sword and a graceful leap or two. I won’t even need to brush my hair, it will stay perfectly tidy through all of my life’s conflicts. The movie ends with a resolution of sorts. I return to my life with a crash.

She is an actress on a zip line, lifted through the air by elaborate structures, designed by engineers. I have no such assistance through my life’s adventures. I rely on tissues, Wet Ones, spare clothing for the kids and fast talking to solve most of my issues. I can’t slay people who hurt my kids, hit my van or leave dog poop on my lawn. Usually life doesn’t even present me with a “good guy” or a “bad guy,” just fallible people who may or may not have achieved their potential for good that day.

on good days
my boys finger-shoot the bad guys
through the van windows

I admire the beauty in the movies, but feel sad that it is transient, and yet, somehow we expect our lives to freeze at those years when we achieve our best appearances. If only we could look as though we were 30 forever. Here I am, nearly 20 years later, left contemplating actresses at their height of beauty, and feeling glad to have my eyes treated to such pleasure. I am surprised, again, when I look at myself in the mirror. Oh, that’s right, I’m not 30 anymore.

fantasy lifts
imagination carries us high
reality sets us down

I adore the fantasy, the color, the movement, the story that has a beginning, an exciting middle and an end. All the boring days of aching feet, cleaning up messes or healing broken arms is edited out. What if I told my life’s story like that, took out all the boring days, the broken bones, the accidents and the wrinkles? Would I lose myself in those tossed away bits?

broken branch falls
spring buds will never open
seeds disburse on the wind

Inspired by the Ligo Haibun Challenge in its new location, and on its new day, Monday, with the above picture prompt. Thanks to Ese and Pirate for continuing.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 17, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

24 Comments

Winter Blows a Kiss Haiku

bare branches yearn
silver birch buds tightly furled
winter sun teases

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 16, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Humor, Poetry

Comments

53 Comments

Leprechaun Limerick

Over the rainbow, Finn danced.
Leprechauns watched him, entranced.
Nibbling clover,
The world over,
Until, on their gold, he chanced.

Note: The art work is courtesy of my daughter, and the cookie is courtesy of Antoine’s Pastry Shop. I hope you like this limerick for St. Patrick’s Day! A limerick is usually a silly poem with 5 lines having the rhyming pattern AABBA. The A lines are half again longer than the B lines. Even more relevantly, Limerick is an Irish city on the River Shannon.

Just for the love of limericks, here are a few favorites:

There was a young belle of old Natchez
Whose garments were always in patchez.
When comments arose
On the state of her clothes,
She replied, “When Ah itchez, Ah scratchez.”
—Ogden Nash

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, “It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
—Edward Lear

There was a small boy of Quebec
Who was buried in snow to his neck.
When they asked, “Are you friz?”
He replied, “Yes, I is —
But we don’t call this cold in Quebec!”
—Rudyard Kipling

References:
http://www.prose-n-poetry.com/display_work/8009
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-485663-limerick_vacations-i
http://www.thehypertexts.com/The%20Best%20Limericks%20of%20All%20Time.htm
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 11, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry, Tales for Kids of All Ages

Comments

38 Comments

Centered Haibun

Centered, definition: adj., emotionally healthy and calm; emotionally stable and secure.

I learned to pray as a small child by placing my hands flat together, closing my eyes and bowing my head. That ritual helped me focus, set aside distractions and center myself. In yoga, I took quickly to prayer pose, which also uses hands placed together, head bowed and attention focused.

In prayer pose, I hear my breathing, like the waves of the ocean, calming me. I observe the movement of my rib cage, expanding, contracting, and I consciously deepen my breathing, holding it after taking a breath in, for a few seconds of stillness. I learned to focus my intention for that class: to set aside worries, to lay down burdens, and to think only of the needs of my body for those moments.

prayer pose
thoughts echo and grow still
breathe out worries

I haven’t been to a yoga class in years, but I had inspiring teachers, who were generous enough to help me design a home practice. I still practice yoga, and I am so grateful for it.

Prayer pose lets me feel close to the divine, for in the stillness and focusing of my mind I achieve calm. I hear the voice of the universe only in quiet moments, external and internal quiet.

tree pose
branches lifted to the sky
blessed by rain

Linking to Haibun Thinking Week 8: Freestyle Week. A Haibun is prose, culminating in a haiku, often written of a moment along life’s journey.

Reference: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/centered.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 11, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

36 Comments

Red Fairies Hiding Haiku

fairy closes cape
transforms into red berry,
vivid chrysalis

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 9, 2014

Posted under

Art, Poetry, Tales for Kids of All Ages, Young Fairy Tale

Comments

52 Comments

I Want to be a Fairy

Painting by Brenda Davis Harsham

A lovely blogger named Line at Paths of the Spirit wrote this beautiful poem in honor of my daughter’s fifth birthday, and gave it to her as a gift. How sweet is that? I painted a tiny fairy for it and put them together here for all fairy tale lovers who also want to be fairies:

I want to be a fairy
Beautiful and wee
I want to fly with fairy wings
And live inside a tree

I want to be a fairy
Beautiful and wee
I want to play with fairy things
And sleep inside a leaf

I want to be a fairy
Beautiful and wee
I want to eat the fairies’ cakes
And drink the fairies’ tea

I want to be a fairy
Beautiful and wee
I want to have some fairy friends
Who’ll come and play with me

I want to be a fairy
Beautiful and wee
But I am just a little girl
With lots of fairy dreams

Thank you, Line, you are an angel! Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 8, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

33 Comments

The Thaw has Come!

The sun is shining,
Clouds dispersing,
Snow is melting,
Hearts are singing!

Life is a fairy tale! Have a great weekend!!

Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 8, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry, Young Fairy Tale

Comments

50 Comments

Fairy Garden Joy

Happy Birthday to you!!

Fairies came from far and near
To celebrate a birthday dear.
Some pictures here do show
That love, joy and cheer did flow.
My daughter’s face did shine
When on fairy cake her friends did dine.
After dancing, the day was done,
All Fairy guests had lots of fun.
We hope your day is magic, too.
For if it isn’t fun for you, then who?
Now my fairy tale is all told,
Soon other magic may unfold.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 4, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

53 Comments

The In-Between

It’s in the in-between
that the real magic happens.
The seeds are planted,
the roots take hold…
and we blossom into who
we were meant to be.

~ Kristen Jongen

Twilight is an in-between:
Familiar shapes become strange,
Small things fly past and depart unseen.
Even colors seem to change.

Night swirls her midnight cloak;
Her crimson gloves leaves smudges
Of rosy beauty for all commuter folk
To brighten evening trudges.

I throw off my worries of the day,
Set all the heavy burdens down,
Ponder curves rounded on my way
And turn problems upside-down.

This is the right time to plan:
In between the days, one fading,
Streetlights glowing cyan,
Morning’s possibilities parading.

Tomorrow is soon enough
To take all my troubles up,
Even when the pressure is rough,
I embrace this magic time to sup.

Sips of sunset’s beauty rare
Behind black bare-branched trees.
Sweet robin has a song to share.
There in twilight I find ease.

Thanks to Theresa at Soul Gatherings, who first used the above quote and renewed my interest in the in-between.
Reference: http://www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id/bto-bird-id-nightingale-and-other-night-singers

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 3, 2014

Posted under

Humor, Poetry

Comments

39 Comments

Ice-Be-Gone Spell

Walking here is a trick
When sidewalk ice is slick.
Slip, slide, don’t move feet,
Ice be gone, meet sun’s heat.
Crick, crack, save my back!
Shine sun, don’t be slack.
I forgot something, you say?
Salt! That will save the day!

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 1, 2014

Posted under

Humor, Poetry

Comments

47 Comments

Hibiscus Dish Wish

Fairy satellite dishes —
Hibiscus dishes — bring wishes,
Bored fairy wing swishes.
Then she hears a message from Queen Mab.
Fairy Della no longer sad and drab —
Delighted with the urgent mission,
Della hurries with an exciting frisson:
She has the spring fairy ball to plan.
She must hide the location from man.
Della has more spring in her step
And joy in the plan kept.
Counting on fingers — only 20 days left.
All the fairies are humming,
Woo-hoo, spring is coming!!

A little rhyming inspired by Dr. Seuss
whose birthday is coming tomorrow I’ve heard. The title is a nod to his Ish Wish Dish. 🙂