An Inviting Haiku #2
hand-held wand crackles
casts sparkling, inviting spells
on warm summer nights
~
©2020 Tanya Cliff
~
Category: dreams
Pedal On
We were supposed to turn our swords into plowshares
our spears into pruning hooks,
I thought, as the bombs fell,
as the city fell,
as the dream fell,
through miles of explosions, carnage, blood
This was the wrong stuff haunting my dreams
Pedal on
Pedal on, pedal on
Pedal on
for miles through the end of nightmare streams
flowing like toxic sludge,
clogging the living artery
where hope
in heart-attacked, arrhythmic disturbance
beats on
Don’t stop in this dystopian flow
I never want that again
Don’t end it here
Beat on
Dream on
Pedal on
a road less traveled, rarely journeyed on
few find it
Pedal on
Take up the garden hoe, put down the gun
LOVE your neighbor
LOVE mine
Pedal on
Pedal on, pedal on
Pedal on
to clearly streaming consciousness,
visions stellar
Peace
Take up the garden hoe
and plant
Pedal on
through miles of mountains, valleys, stream
This is the right stuff filling my dreams
~
My response to the prompts from the following wonderful bloggers, taken collectively in Stephen’s Level UP Challenge:
Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge: Tuesday, 25, 2020
Eugi's Weekly Prompt – Stellar – February 24, 2020
https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/category/what-do-you-see/
(New!) Wednesday’s Level UP Challenge, 2/26/20 and Tuesday’ Writing Prompt Challenge Round UP
~
It is also my cry out after yet another mass shooting, this time in Milwaukee, not far from my home.
~
©2020 Tanya Cliff
~
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The Sun Melts
The sun melts
Crimson pools spill across the horizon
staining clouds
oranges, pinks, purples
A beacon?
Welcome, Night
The moon
waxing, waning,
in a perpetual dance with an ever-jumping cow
A harbinger?
So long, Day
Sands
through the hourglass
falling, passing
“hush-a-bye baby on the treetop” time
A promise
Living art
rendered in warmest hues
broad strokes across the cool sky
Time
passes by
~
©2020 Tanya Cliff
~
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A Warm Haiku
his strong, ursine hug
gives her dangerous thoughts, dreams
pulse quickens, cheeks blush
~
©2020 Tanya Cliff
~
My response to Stephen’s weekly Level UP Challenge at GoDogGo. Please visit the following creative souls for the promts:
Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge–February 18, 2020
Eugi's Weekly Prompt – Blush – February 17, 2020
https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/category/what-do-you-see/
The complete challenge is available here:
Wednesday’s Level UP Challenge, 2/19/20 and Tuesday’ Writing Prompt Challenge Round UP
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The Glen
Impenetrable
or so it seemed
‘till the creek
by persistent motion
carved a path through hard rock
Now, the waterfalls
pool far below the ridge
light pierces the narrow gap above
and dances
in reflected ribbons
mingling like threads
that weave hope in ripples
illuminating the cool, moss-filled shade
highlighting the brook
no longer trapped
as it flows gently
down the valley’s earthen bed
filling soft crevices
completely–
a thorough lover,
penetrating
in currents
deep in the glen
~
Words and Photography ©2019 Tanya Cliff
Posted in poetry & free verse.
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Gossamer Threads
the gossamer threads unwound
like a bodice unlaced
or a shell cracked
or a brittle paper torn
skin so delicate
that the lightest touch
along the curvature of the neck
more whispered than felt
like a warm spring breeze
created such a tremor within
the old garment was undone
it couldn’t resist the fluttering
what chrysalis can?
the bondage fell away
in tatters, like late snow falling
melting into verdant ground
and new existence
in scales incandescent
a life with wings
resplendent
found
~
Words and Photography ©2019 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse.
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Teach Me of Odysseus
teach me of Odysseus
in poetic words bled
ten years
churned in the waking wake
of departing the nightmare
what did Odysseus see in the rear-view mirror?
the sacking of Troy was no small thing
was Helen worth it?
how would Hector respond?
Achilles?
perhaps Patroclus or Paris might weigh in?
any insight?
I sigh
The Iliad has been repeated over and over and over again
Men, Nature’s most destructive force,
the innards of the Trojan Horse,
spill out and spoil every pristine thing they touch
but teach me of Odysseus
how does man leave the fatal shore?
what demons must he destroy?
what storms, prevail?
how red the wake?
before the safe harbors of home
he makes
~
Words and Photography ©2019 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse.
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Fins and Feathers
shall we travel together?
not back, but ahead
yet, look back
regretting neither float nor flight
that led fin and feather
to this place
look back and consider
we collected nothing
but memory
for all things pass
except love
even the shells we collected on the beach
filling our mesh bags
cracked and crumbled
we shook and sprinkled the remnants
through the gaps
over the chicken feed
the hens laid prolifically
we ate all the eggs
collecting nothing
but memory
”How long does a kiss stick to a cheek?” he asked.
”Forever, silly,” I answered.
even the cheek will fade to dust
as will our fins and feathers
only love will linger
now, let’s swim and soar, crossing
rivers deep and canyons wide
sojourners
just passing
carrying memories in gossamer packages
spun by the living motions
of our fins and feathers
in float and flight
the love that lingers
bound forever to us, tight
~
Words and Photography ©2019 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse.
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My Message
message
in a bottle
written in heart-bled ink
danced in red around the margins
sealed with the dripped wax of my nights’ candles
left adrift at oceans high tide
will you catch this vessel
cherish my soul’s
message
~
Words and Photography ©2019 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Entry posted in poetry & Rictameter Verse.
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Journey (revision)
the world extends its frozen branches to you
adorned
with the decadence
of greedy, icy-jeweled, cruel hearts
your wandering self shivers
you hold out a lonely hand
to feel something
but the frigid limbs burn
branding exposed skin with red-marked scars
you’re numb with bitten touch
you open your hungry mouth
to taste
but the frozen berries stick
you strip them off your tongue
your words come out stained with blood
you brush against this plant, trying to flee
leaves crackle
in mocking laughter
but you, instead, remember love’s warm fires
you sigh homesick desires
you gaze in troubled wonder
to see anything
but the ice reflects the winter sun
blinding your eyes in dazzling sparkle
you squint and tears fall
you inhale, longing for life’s fragrance
and smell nothing
the flowers are all hiding in buds
leaving your nostrils dripping
you sneeze the cold of rejection
you turn and journey home
steps quicken
weary traveler, you know the way
come near, sparks awaken all your senses
at home’s hearth, rekindle your soul’s flame
~
You can read the original version of Journey here.
Words and Photography ©2017 & 2019 Tanya Cliff ~ to contact me
Posted in poetry & free verse.
tanyacliff.com 