Would a fairy drive a car
shaped like a cedar branch
with green needle fenders?
Maybe a maple leaf flying carpet?
I’d want a Japanese model,
red and sporty, Continue reading
Tag Archives: Rain
Stained-Glass Garden
At dawn, rain started
with a few quiet drops,
like the whisper of dandelion
seeds, sticky with wishes. Continue reading
Greening Glade
Greening glade
seems still and quiet,
but it’s a magic circle
where birds sing
incantations Continue reading
Earth Tones
Creeks sing to wake the frogs.
New leaves whisper, waking the wind.
Old, crooked trees have their own
music, a quiet unfurling of
wandering woodland notes.
Continue reading
Puddle Heaven
Stamp, stomp,
puddle heaven,
fountains everywhere
when you’re seven.
Laugh and howl,
wet socks,
drippy drops everywhere,
forget clocks.
Arrive speckled
with muddy blots,
not welcome everywhere,
stomach in knots.
Will mom see past hems
dripping dark dots?
Rather than dirt everywhere,
she sees cheetah spots!
Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham
Notes: Poets find joy in puddles:
“The world is mud-luscious…
[and] puddle-wonderful”
— e.e. cummings
Since writing a haibun on puddles, I’ve wondered how cumming’s mother viewed him, arriving home. My poem’s been in its chrysalis, but finally that wondering took shape and spread wings.
Another fun poem about puddles is Puddle Splash by Roann Mendriq:
What is it about rain puddles,
that make one want to splash?
That turns us into children,
in a quick and happy flash?
Read the rest here.
Big thanks to Robyn Hood Black, a wonderful poet and author, for hosting this week’s Kidlitospere Poetry Friday extravaganza.
Gamine Grin
Gray rain, icy day,
can’t take my grin away.
Copyright 2016 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: It rained all day, and I have the flu, but I can’t let it get me down. Have a magical week.
Berries Dry
Birds feed
on berry seed
red feather
autumn weather
no rain
summer’s gain
hot day
children play
rain hat
turkeys fat
eat weeds
swollen seeds
rain late
streams in spate
school’s out
puddles: shout
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: No matter what the weather, the birds eat and the kids play. Flocks of turkeys roam the neighborhood, pecking and munching. They’re as tall as my children and unafraid of anything but dogs!
Mushroom Abloom
Misty morning rain —
Abloom go fairy umbrellas.
Sprites huddle and hide —
Only a toe might show.
Mushrooms glisten.
Gilded droplets
form slowly,
roll to the center —
a pool of fairy nectar.
Deer step warily,
brown eyes dewy, and
nibble mushrooms.
Sprites tickle their chins
and spin widdershins.
So again it begins.
Abloom!
Hide and seek with the fawn
till Mama Doe gives a yawn,
and the rain is gone.
So are the mushrooms.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Vermont River Wishes
Clouds framed a glaring window,
where the sun failed to shine.
Winds loosed a hailstorm of pine cones.
The icy river churned and burbled,
depositing silt onto smooth stones.
Upriver, the dam released water slowly.
The waterfall below demanded rain,
but it lay heavy in the black clouds.
A few drops spattered in the gorge,
unnoticed by waders in the flats.
The river shrugged smooth shoulders,
showing its sharp granite bones.
Children chased fish downriver,
while parents soaked tired feet,
listening for thunder and
dreading the long climb out.
Canoers beached their boats,
donned yellow lifejackets,
and floated around the rapids,
bobbing in the slow side current.
Children pointed, laughed,
and longed to be in the thick of it.
I am the children. I am the river.
I am black clouds longing for release.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: These photographs are of Quechee Gorge and Ottauquechee River, Vermont.
Mountain Cloudburst
Tears fall from dark clouds,
spit spatter splash!
Thunder rip roars!
Wipers swish swash!
Fog swirls on the mountainside
then descends like ghostly legions.
Blue mountains disappear
behind a blurry sky.
Whoosh,
the car emerges
into sunshine.
Only the leaves prove
the rain danced.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Rain Chain
Raindrops linger in a
Caressing slide down
Purple trumpet petals.
Petals are lavender tutus
Worn by fae ballerinas
In endless pirouhette.
Pirouhette in the rain,
Cool on a hot brow,
Steamy from summer fun.
Fun is full moon magic,
On a long bright night.
Dew falls like raindrops.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This poem is my variant of a chain poem. The last word of the stanza is used to start the next stanza, and then the last word of the poem loops back to the first word. Tonight my daughter couldn’t sleep with the full moon shining through her window. It’s the first full moon she ever remembers seeing, and it has a special magic for her. Do you remember seeing your first full moon?
Plus, YEAH to Carly Lloyd who again slotted home a Penalty Kick, leading the women’s U.S. soccer team to a semi-final win against Germany. Yeah to the whole U.S. women’s soccer team!! The final of the women’s world cup is Sunday, and I wish I could be there!!
Behind the Ferns
Behind the ferns,
A dragon shakes the rain
From golden scales,
Yawns, stretches and
Rises from her rest.
Human eyes are fooled,
By shadow and light,
A color camouflage:
We see only
An iris at its best.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This dragon is dedicated to gardeners, landscapers, garden center owners and nature lovers everywhere. To people whose lives are dedicated to the transient, yet enduring, beauty of nature. If you’ve ever planted a single bulb or watered a houseplant, this is for you, too. And it’s already time for Poetry Friday again! How did that happen so fast? This week is hosted by Jama at Jama’s Alphabet Soup, a haven of tasty poetry.
Friendly Fairy Tales 