Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 15, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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52 Comments

Snow Day Wanted

One of the very best reasons for having children
Is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

— Susan Orlean

Cold, gray day with
Snow on the way.
Tiny flakes fall,
Hardly any at all.
Just a tease,
Tickling trees.
Children haunted:
Snow day wanted.

Notes: I read this to my son. He sadly shook his head and said: “I don’t think we’re going to get a snow day this year.” Poor guy, we’ve had almost no snow. No sledding, no snow shoeing and no snowmen! On a more prosaic note, I have just spent days updating all my contents pages, poetry, flash fiction, haiku and haibun. I’m still emotional thinking of the many outrageously wonderful compliments left, which make me blush to read the reviews on the contents pages. You might see yourself quoted there. 😉 Thank you all for reading and commenting. I know how busy you are, and I am deeply moved and appreciative!! You’ve restored my ego to almost life-sized just in time for attending a writer’s conference in NYC! I’ll be preparing for that in the next few weeks. Remember the magic! Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 12, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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63 Comments

Snow Queen Haibun

I walk through my own personal cloud of crystalline breath. The nighttime is silent but for the thuds of snow falling from branches. The modern world disappears, and even the family van is a slumbering dragon. I pace the silent woods, twilight falling to full dark quickly.

ice chokes the pond
water reflects the dark sky
even my breath stills

I return to a long-ago winter. Lacy snowflakes fall all night. School is cancelled. Frost stars seal the window glass. I don three layers of clothes before pushing through drifts over my head. I forge new pathways. I enter an icy, secret world with caves, trolls, mountains and a snow queen.

hiding from monsters
across alien frozen worlds
in the quiet, is me

Note: This is a haibun, a Japanese form of writing, alternating prose and poetry, in this case, haiku. It has many rules. It should be present tense. The haiku should be without punctuation, except where a stop is indicated by a comma. Basho made this form famous.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 11, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

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28 Comments

Frosted Pain

Snowflakes,
Frost snakes
Down the pane
Blurring the lane.
Cold rattles,
TV prattles,
Frozen thought:
What was sought
By crazy terrorists
Killing cartoonists?
The earth may still turn
But do what we learn?
Did they feel pain and rage?
Want a world stage?
But don’t praise god —
Your reasoning is flawed.
Revenge, blood, death,
Stop and take a breath.
Remember joy and love,
They come from above.
Embrace life and creation
And stop the devastation.

Note: Je suis Charlie. I am Charlie. I stand with free press and with peace through love of differences. I honor all religions, and my heart weeps for all the Jews who feel fear, all the Christians who feel under attack, all the muslims who don’t agree with the actions of terrorists, and all the other religions who feel sorrow. I feel sorrow at having to explain these events to children and immense sadness for the families of victims. No matter your beliefs, please help me speak out against violence and terror.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

January 3, 2015

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

48 Comments

Snow White Seeds

Winter Queen Snow-White,
Reigning over gardens past,
Spreading seeds near and far:
Tiny spin-drift wind-sailing
Sprites, tiny bits of last year,
Carried through cold to the next,
Come fill my garden with purple,
Amber and russet possibility.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

December 25, 2014

Posted under

Holiday, Photography, Poetry

Comments

74 Comments

Christmas Wishes

May your dreams inspire you,
May you rarely feel blue,
And almost never angry red.
May all bad things remain unsaid,
May magic touch you and yours,
And love find you, opening new doors.

Note: Merry Christmas!! My family was lucky to see the Boston Ballet perform the Nutcracker a few days ago. The daughter of a friend was dancing the part of Mother Ginger’s child. We had such fun, we bought these two ornaments to commemorate such a special night. I wish you many blessings to you and yours. Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

December 15, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

25 Comments

Frost Enchants

Thousands of frost stars
Twinkle on every fallen leaf.
The sky is an aching blue.
Balsam intermingles with spruce.
Diamond dust paves the autumn path
With glinting winter magic:
Sparkles in each sunlit step.
In shade, the wildwood is quiet.
Cold frost rimes the fallen log.
Breath is visible, and runners steam.
One ray of weak sun is enough to
Blind, dazzling the senses.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

December 12, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

31 Comments

Winter Wonderland

In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream-
Lingering in the golden gleam-
Life, what is it but a dream?

— Lewis Carroll

Alice frosts pink fairy cakes
And carries them on amber platters
To the party in the tippy-top of yews.
Icing sparkles with snowflakes:
Tea party treats for mad hatters.
Alice pours tea and lets guests choose.
The Red Queen chases drakes.
Feathers fall amid snowy spatters.
The Cheshire Cat grins and chews.
White Rabbit calls “Land sakes!”
The March Hare nods and natters.
Not a few party guests snooze.

Note: In addition to getting the holidays in hand, I have a new project. I am now offering Fine Nature Art prints for sale on Society 6. Your purchase would help support Friendly Fairy Tales.

Have a magical weekend!

Warmly, Brenda

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

December 10, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

34 Comments

Evergreen

If you get simple beauty and naught else,
You get about the best thing God invents.

— Robert Browning

The
Opposite
Of greening
Must be browning.
Cold settles into fibers
And olive-brown blooms,
Likewise the heart slows,
Older passions fail to flow.
Snow settles on fading green,
Leaves sagging with resignation.
Even the pungent sage withers.
Yet, the possibility of vitality
Withdraws into the roots,
Lingers to bloom again.
But not love – love is
Evergreen.

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.

— Robert Browning, Sage and Poet

Note: This poem is a concrete poem, about leaves, in the shape of a leaf.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

December 8, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

45 Comments

Winter Goddess

Tiny snowflakes fall like stars.
Crystals twinkle on my boots,
Glowing with spun-sugar magic.
Jack Frost dances just out of sight,
Sending temperatures plummeting.
Infant-flakes lay cradled in russet leaves.
Snow flurries billow like the
Translucent skirts of a Winter Goddess.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

November 18, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

46 Comments

Crowned Cats

Echinacea seedpods,
Ruffled and out of sorts,
With your cat faces,
Squashed by snowy caps.
Snow is still thin,
Yet will come thicker soon.
Eventually you will win,
Another spring will come.
Your roots will labor and birth a
New crop of seed pods,
Born to wear snowy crowns.
So the seasons go around.

Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 23, 2014

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

39 Comments

Berries Blue Etheree

Blue
Berries
Dwindling
As winter ends,
Providing forage
For creatures small and large,
Drawn by beautiful sapphire
Fruit of the evergreen bushes,
Jewels strung there by Mother Nature,
Loving provender for her hungry kin.

Note: This poem is an Etheree, starting with one syllable
on the first line and increasing to 10, one syllable per line.
For another great example, check out Ginz&Tonic.

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