Fingertips of trees
Gusts of wind bear thistledown
Symphony in gray
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Tag Archives: winter
Speak for Compassion
On this bench, many times I have contemplated skinned knees, heard stories of woe or watched battles royal fought by three- and four-foot folk. Now the snow and cold drives us indoors, where children’s pains seem more internal as well.
Speak softly
Without haste,
For a word,
Ill-placed,
May strike a blow
To one hurt
On the inside.
This we can avert.
Reflect on any
Plans or actions.
Evil arises from
Creation of factions.
Harsh words divide,
Conquer and defeat.
Imagine being the other.
Use compassion. Repeat.
Whether we are talking about children, adults, religions, towns or countries, we all need to pause and reflect. To imagine life as the other.
I don’t like to moralize,
Or antagonize,
But in the face of evil
Speak I will.
Choose an action
From compassion.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: The combination of poetry, interspersed in prose, is called a haibun. This recent rash of school shootings, terrorism and racial and religious violence moved me to speak together with many others, in a movement started by Yvonne Spence. Let’s create a better world for our children, a magical, safe world where differences are celebrated rather than used to divide and ridicule.
Snowy Trees
Snowy trees up to their knees
In a snow-packed deep freeze.
Bend, creak, snap and sneeze,
Branches speak with the breeze.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: New England has been blessed with about 90 inches of snow in three weeks. Roads are narrow and icy. Snow banks along driveways and roads are mammoth. Visibility is nil. The White Wizard has sent a blizzard unlike any we have ever seen.
Sunsets Burning
I have seen from my window
the fiesta of sunset in the distant mountain tops.
Sometimes a piece of sun
burned like a coin in my hand.
— Pablo Neruda, from Clenched Soul
Black-fingered trees
Yearn to touch the sky’s palette
Aglow with sunset
Icy winter dormancy
Kindled by sunset passion
This Tanka poem was inspired by Valentine’s Day, sunsets and Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Merely Day by Day. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Very Red Berry
Berry Cordial,
Cherry Pie,
Wild treats
Made under the sky.
Winter crimson,
Sudden and rare,
Makes me imagine,
Makes me stare.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: We are buried in snow in NE. An ocean of snow as far as the eye can see, walls of snow over our heads. And it’s snowing!! With more to storms predicted for later this week. It was all fun and games until the snowblower broke.
Wild and Stormy
Snow creatures fly through the night,
Swat the tree and stick there tight.
The storm is wild; the creatures light.
Next day they remain, mossy and white.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: I hope to catch up on your blog posts tomorrow when my traveling is done. Hope you have a great week ahead, all my friends! Warmly, Brenda
Three Tree
Fairies rocket down the Three Tree,
On zooming toboggans, happy as can be.
Can you see them tumbling and swerving?
Oh to be tiny, magic and free. Yearning.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This poem is offered as part of Poetry Friday. Thanks to Elizabeth Steinglass for hosting this week. I am out of town, but I will be back in a few days. I look forward to catching up with all of you when I’m back. Warmly, Brenda
Winter Joy
Snow
Flakes fall
On Rhodie,
Making leaves droop.
Pulse slows, goes dormant,
Warm heart retreats in,
Waiting for summer thaw.
Sees children building snowmen:
Hears laughter bloom like spring time.
Small girl shrieks as boots fill with snow.
An icy silence falls as doors slam.
The snowman’s crooked smile: winter joy.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This poem is an Etheree, increasing by one syllable in each line, with a syllable count from one to ten. This poem is to connect with Poetry Friday. This week, the meme is hosted by These 4 Corners.
Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Here is the bench before the Nor’easter,
And where is the bench now?
Now you see it, now you don’t!
Mother Nature’s sleight of hand
Is more magical than any of man.
What could be hiding under there?
Perhaps a family of icy hedgehogs
And a passing brownie sipping chai.
Under the bench, they stop to say Hi,
Peeking out at other passers-by.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: New England was blessed with over two feet of snow in 24 hours and two snow days! We shoveled four times. We went sledding twice. We had one epic snowball battle. We drank hot chocolate with friends. We had a weekend in the middle of the week! Stay warm! 🙂 School is on again tomorrow.
Bow to the Snow Queen
The tree’s snow cloak drags the ground
Until the snow falls, wind-downed.
Released branch springs up with a shiver,
Like a dog, with a shake and quiver,
Rising from its long, low bend,
To the Snow Queen, its lady friend.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Stomping, Tromping
Snow in the air,
Snow on the ground,
More in my hair,
Falls all around!
Snowballs packed tight,
Kids laughing and hiding,
Forts left, ice castles right
Tiny tots slipping and sliding.
Tongue sticks out far,
Nothing hits it, no fair!
A snowflake, like a star,
Lands coldly right there.
Ah, how we love the snow,
Sledding, flopping, tromping,
Love when the drifts flow,
Plowing, tunneling, stomping.
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
On Ice
held in my petals
memories of last summer
slumber here on ice
Copyright 2015 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: This haiku is my contribution to a long-standing meme, Poetry Friday, which is organized by Kidlitosphere Central and hosted by various bloggers, around the web. I am very excited to participate for the first time. This week you can visit A Teaching Life and see links to the poetry. Some of my friends write kids poetry. If you do, you should check this out. They publish anthologies of the Poetry Friday offerings periodically, and I have it on good authority that they actually PAY for the use of the poem!!! LOL What a concept! (Okay, it’s not going to make me rich, but hey, a dinner out… maybe.)
Friendly Fairy Tales 