WhimsyGizmo is hosting Quadrille Monday in the Pub ~ the magic word is "Much"
How much voodoo
went into choosing
Quadrille's magic number
“forty-four”
[curious minds need to know]
what's wrong with twenty-three
when I play the lottery
“pick your own”
I play “forty-four”
and “twenty-three”
both there Saturday night
looking for four winners
your tips, pretty please?
Susan's Challenge
Time for a meet-up in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ Björn is hosting and it's Meeting the Bar Thursday ~ our challenge ~ a Cinquain!
margaritas
having fun in the sun
the breeze is cool the sand is hot
olé
frolic
till the sun sets
never forget this day
we were meant to be together
always
********************
and for a change of pace ~~
test me
i come alive
at the top of my game
nobody's gonna stop me now
no way
test me
throw me to wolves
i will teach them to dance
i want to go where i am scared
solo
Punam is hosting Poetics in the Pub today ~ how we manage setbacks in our lives is the topic of conversation / and the topic of our poems!
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From the viewpoint of American workers there have been better Labor Days ~ last week the president announced his unilateral cancellation of the federal government's contracts with unions representing scientists, engineers, staffers at NASA, NOAA, the Patent Office and the International Trade Administration.
This ~ after contract terminations representing many thousands of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Health and Human Services. The total number of workers 'trashed' now exceeds one million ~ approximately one-fifteenth of American workers covered by a union contract ~ by far the largest single act of union busting in American history.
Of course there are court cases pending ~ trump tells us it's his “right” to cancel union contracts because of "a clause” stating contracts should not extend to departments and agencies dealing with matters of “national security.” Explain to me how doctors, nurses, therapists and social workers caring for veterans, park rangers tending to Yosemite and Yellowstone, the massive number of federal employees who keep our nation running ~ endanger national security in the course of their work.
upheaval and angst
tornadoes and hurricanes
will it ever end
~ lewk, a slang term that describes a distinctive, carefully curated, and often impressive personal style
~ broligarchy, a small group of wealthy men who wield significant power over government and society
Grace is hosting Open Link in the dVerse poets Pub ~~~ Anything Goes!
It's time for a Quadrille in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ Kim is hosting ~ the magic word is
"Rumpus"
Knotty pine walls
shuffleboard glow
Elvis and Ricky
on turntable slow
spin the bottle laughter
a quick stolen kiss
Johnny Mathis crooning
what 'forever' is
on the verge of high school
the world in bloom
our small town hearts throbbed
in that rumpus room
Time for Meeting the Bar in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ Laura requests we use the 'ubi sunt' motif in our poems; ask open-ended questions beginning with the likes of "where are all" / "where is the" ~ questions that remain unanswered.
Harvest Moon (wallpaper by boodie at DeviantArt)
Where Is the Dancing ~ the Magic ~ the Moon
why is the harvest moon not
low and large ~ resting on the horizon
where ~ oh where is it hiding
where is the music ~ the singing
melodies i can no longer hear
where is the man who knew
how to dance me dizzy
our threads pulled taut
between the here and gone
I'm still in love with him
i want to dance with him again
Melissa is hosting Poetics Tuesday in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ she asks we 'take a walk' wherever we are ~ observe as though in a museum. Interpret, be curious about what it is we see ~ end our poem with an open-ended question ~ no small feat. I stopped wandering upon reaching my bedroom.
Sanaa hosts Prosery in the Pub providing this line from poet Yvor Winters
"Time and the Garden" to wrap our stories around!!
The future gathers in vine, bush, and tree: Persimmon, walnut, loquat, fig, and grape.
Just like that, the fruit awaken!
Meet Persimmon. Bright and brave, ready to leap into the unknown!
Walnut. Wise, thoughtful, with a pocket full of riddles!
Loquat. Golden, quick, full of surprises!
Grape. A giggling tumble of mischief and delight!
Fig. Gentle, kind, certain that every story deserves a happy ending!
Together, these unlikely friends discover their orchard is more than just roots and branches.
It’s a place where courage blossoms, laughter multiplies, and dreams grow sweet as fruit in the sun.
Step inside this enchanting story and taste the magic of a fairy-tale harvest you’ll never forget!
* Origin of "Little Miss Muffet" Nursery Rhyme is Unknown *
Painting by John Everett Millais 1884 ~ Wikipedia
* Little Miss Muffet sits on a tuffet
eating her curds and whey
it's hot and mid-summer
ghostly goblins ~ surround her
terrified ~ she cries who are you?
The past ~ come to haunt you
Big Ghoul proclaims, you pilfered our breakfasts
when kids all were we
time to turn tables ~ now, now can't you see?
We're taking revenge ~ switching things up
sweet breakfasts no longer for you
it's gruel and cold toast, weak tea in a cup
your future ~ Miss Muffet .. BOO HOO !!
Bjorn hosts Open Link Night in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ Anything goes!
Why do trees conceal the splendor of their roots?
From Pablo Neruda's ~ Book of Questions
Lisa is hosting Tuesday's Poetics challenge ~
our poems should capture what is meant by the word
"power"
Welcome to the dVerse Poets Pub, my Friends!
[ Power: A specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude ]
the seeds were there
awaiting nourishment
long before i knew what it meant
to water someone else's roots ~~
some seeds need a lifetime, and i
with soil under my nails
have never stopped tending
De [aka Whimsygizmo] is hosting Quadrille in the dVerse Poets Pub ~~ 'Jabbering' is our challenge!
Eighty-three marching to eighty-four
my words prance like brass bands
down the cobblestone streets
of your patience
I tell you too much about everything
the cat's gift on our front stoop
our neighbor's torrid affair
tomorrow I will march even louder
jabbering and unstoppable
Merril is hosting Meeting the Bar in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ we are using the "cherita" poetry form today!
the Gilded Age
oh how I would have embraced fashion
the bows, frills, lace, intricate beadwork
corsets guaranteed to cinch my waist
décolletage with shoulders exposed
no mere ornament, a lady of substance
Lillian is hosting Poetics in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ it's about Forests!!
[ Sending healing energy Lillian's way ]
David Bruyndonckx ~ Unsplash
Twelve / soft in the bones
but braver than I knew
a borrowed sleeping bag
zippered tight / my cocoon
spread over pine needles
resting on damp earth
A circle of girls / not quite strangers
not quite sisters / until the camp fire was lit
crackling like a living thing / never fully gone
burning low and steady / counselors laughing
speaking in voices that made safety feel easy
like it had always been there
In morning smoke / pancakes crisped at edges
sweetened with syrup and smoky joy
i didn't ask what lay beyond the woods
i didn't need to / it would wait
it would always wait
And when i was ready
i would walk into the forest
not fearful / not quite fearless
but filled with something strong
just beginning to name itself
cheeses, meats, deliciously planned
crackers stacked, olives snug
each fig and nut, the perfect plug
off I went to our neighbor's place
broad smile on my charcuterie face
halfway there - fate was mean
a sidewalk crack unseen - unseen
down I went, splatter and splat
grapes in the gutter, cheeses flat
almonds scattered, crackers broke
food art gone ~ in one fell stroke
scooped it up with wobbly grace
plopped the brie back into place
olives, figs, prosciutto too
lucky me ~ able to renew
what a spread! the neighbors cheered
didn't see the olives smeared
wine in hand, the night went on
charcuterie board ~ my art reborn
Laura hosts Meeting the Bar in the dVerse Poets Pub ~ our challenge the Memento form ~ poems about moments in time that stand out ~ that we celebrate year in and year out ~ birthdays, anniversaries, holidays
at the tender age of eighteen
not old enough to vote
feeling
ill-prepared for what lay ahead
pledges made at alter
kneeling
**
teenagers, mere babes in the woods
a wee one on the way
our son
decades passed, ever so quickly
gave him three siblings, job
well done