Magnetic Haiku

 

I wanted to play with my magnetic poetry set, and came up with this haiku for dVerse Open Link Night.  If you wish to leave a comment, feel free to “complete” my haiku by turning it into a tan renga (two 7 syllable lines added to the end of the haiku).  Magnets optional!  🙂  (or feel free to just leave a comment about your thoughts on this haiku if you prefer).

The Fable of the Boy Who Wanted More

A young boy faithfully took his lunch to school each day, because he knew that without it, he would be hungry. If his parents would have let him, he would have taken much more than he needed, because he always wanted more.

One day, a classmate of his made a deal with him to provide him with a gift if he would part with a portion of his lunch. This boy saw the promise of a gift as a means to acquire more. The next day came, and despite the fact that he had given away part of his lunch, he did not receive the gift. The classmate, however, promised him that the gift would come the next day, and would be even better if the boy once again gave up part of his lunch. This went on, day after day, week after week, until months had gone by.

Eventually, this boy came to realize that his desire to acquire treasures had actually robbed him of what he already had.

when one has greed
soon the need for
more leads to less

~~

Written for dVerse, where Bjorn has us writing haibun.  Haibun are usually a bit of prose, followed by a haiku, but Bjorn asked us to be creative, and gave us license to use other short poetic forms rather than haiku.  I chose to end my poem with a than bauk.

Light vs Shadow

sun’s luminous warmth
pouring light through the glass door
banishing shadow

~~

Written for Anthony Desmond’s prompt at dVerse where he has asked us to write a poem using at least 5 of the following twelve words:   Messiah, Allegory, Luminous, Plate, Shadow, Door, Persona, Glass, Vitiligo, Epochal, Pernicious, Warmth.  I decided to see if I could jamb five of those words into a haiku that still made sense.

Responding to the Psalms: Psalm 1

I wrote this on my other blog (Bryan’s Thoughts), but wanted to share it here too, as this site has a different set of followers

Bryan's Thoughts

I’ve been considering trying something a bit different.  I want to work my way through the Psalms, and respond through poetry to the verses of Scripture.  I hope to plan a few of these, but certainly not all – If I make it all the way through, I may eventually choose to publish the lot, but we shall see.  My responses are not meant to be commentary on the Psalms.  They are not meant to be theology.  They are certainly not meant to be considered as Scripture.  They are simply my thoughts about the Psalm.  If you do not believe as I do, and therefore disagree with what I write, I am OK with that.  If you find the Psalm, pared with my responses to be pleasing poetry, that is good.  If you find my responses become a challenge to you to draw closer to God…that is even better! (Scripture…

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Enjoy It While You Can!

Spring has been quite slow in coming here
but fin’ly, buds are showing on the trees
and I can feel that there’s warmth in the air

I am relieved that if I look, I’ll see
there is some green when I look at the lawn
(I’d really rather not have to re-seed)

This weather has me thinking about plans
for holidaying with my wife and kids
we won’t go far, perhaps just down the lane…

there’s not much time before return of cold
and so I want to savour every bit
of spring and summer because I know I should!

So celebrate the warmth before the bite
of winter and it’s harsh and bitter nights

~~

at dVerse, Karin has us writing in slant rhymes (or near rhymes).  I decided I wanted to try using the slant-rhyme technique in a Terza Rima sonnet (aba bcb cdc ded ee rhyme structure).  I think that some of my rhymes are a little bit far, even for slant, but I hope that I got it close enough).  Not my best poem…I was certain that slant rhyme would be easy…after all, I wouldn’t need to find real rhymes, but I found this challenge to be deceptively challenging (and that is a good thing!)

That’s Not What I Meant To Say

Over at dVerse, Mary has us using quotations in poetry.  We can pick the quotation, and we can place the quote before, after, or within the body of the poem.  I have chosen to use a phrase that my son once uttered as a header to a rather silly poem.  Hope you enjoy!

~~

“I misunderstood what I was thinking”

It’s hard to think about one thing while thinking of another
like thinking of sleep and talking about slork
…I mean weep
…I mean work
So often we fry and tail to tultimask our thords and our woughts
and then nobody has a talk what we were clueing about.

~~

The above quote is courtesy of my son Gavin, who, upon realizing that what he had said, and what he had meant to say, were two different things.

Thrive

At dVerse, today, Victoria has asked us to write Tilus (tee-loo-hz) poems.  This form was invented by fellow dVerse poet, Kelvin S.M.

 

I

rain-drops fall from dark clouds
giving seeds

life

II

warm sun shines on the earth
and those seeds

grow

III

both joy and sorrow are
needed to

thrive

~~

Kelvin’s description of the form:

Tilus [tee-loo-hz] is a form created by Kelvin S.M. and falls under the category of micro poetry. The form is divided into two parts: the first part is composed of two lines following a 6-3 syllable count; the second part, a one-syllable word to close and/or complete the subject layered in the first part. The whole piece must, only, contain 10 in overall syllable count. The main focus of Tilus is on the world of Nature, and how it can open a new door to a wider understanding of life and beyond. The form aims to be epic in emotions expressed, more importantly, than to be epic in words.

The notion behind the name ‘Tilus’ was actually derived from the reversed spell of my mother’s maiden name, my middle name—’Sulit’ which is used in Philippines as an expression to mean something precise, practical, worthy, etc. There is a lot of usage depending on the current scenario. I have never given much attention to its meaning until recently when I decided to use it as name for my invented form. I even figured out lately upon research that in some countries the term ‘Tilus’ means ‘a piece of land’.

Reluctant to Reveal

Over at dVerse, Marina Sofia has asked us to write poetry about identity. Although I can be quite outgoing with those whom I know, I do find it difficult to get to know new people. The following reveals a bit about my reluctance to reveal…

~~

Beneath the trimmings, what would you see
would you look close, or would you flee?
a dan’grous thing, one’s soul to bare
for what if you don’t really care?
or what if you should laugh at me?

Maybe, I’ll show you, by degree
and hope some parts will cause you glee
but you will see some horrors there
beneath the trimmings

I’d love to show you, and be free
so you would know what makes me be
I’ll tell you now, though, to be fair
reveal myself? I do not dare!
you’ll have to earn my trust to see
beneath the trimmings

Gulliver Locke – Chapter Six

As the Boyer’s arrived home from their walk, Jadith’s dad grabbed the door latch, opened the door and turned to his wife and daughter and exclaimed, “Somebody has been here!”

“How do you know?” asked Jadith’s mom.

“Because the door is unlocked!”

It was the same every week.  Jadith was getting a bit tired of the joke.  Of course the door was unlocked.  They didn’t even have a lock.  Jadith just rolled her eyes at her dad and followed him into the house.

“Somebody HAS been here!”  her dad said again.  Judith was getting a bit frustrated that her dad was choosing to continue the joke, but as she scanned the room, she realized that for once, her dad wasn’t joking.  It wasn’t much, but there were some leaves that had been tracked into the house.  She knew that those had not  been there when they had left.  As they entered the kitchen, she noticed that there was an empty bowl on the kitchen that had the remains of porridge in it.  Nothing appeared to be missing, but things were certainly amiss!

Jadith’s dad was still holding his stout walking stick, and her mom grabbed a cast-iron skillet.  Thus armed, the three of them began looking through the house.  When they arrived at the bedroom, they were shocked to see a boy…fast asleep on the floor next to Jadith’s bed.  Even more shocking, he was covered from head to toe in oatmeal.

Jadith’s dad poked the boy with his stick.  Gull woke up and, seeing the three Boyers staring at him, he let out a scream of fear, but then, trying to calm down he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to break into your house, but I was lost.”

Jadith’s mom and dad relaxed their grips on their “weapons”, and her mom said, “Why don’t you come to the kitchen, and we’ll get you cleaned up.  You seem to be one rather messy eater!”

Gull began to explain about the oatmeal being good for rashes, but was told, “Don’t worry about that right now, just come to the kitchen.”

After they had gotten Gull cleaned up, he asked them if they could help him find his way home.

“Ah…you see…that’s a problem,” said Jadith’s dad, “If you get home, the townsfolk will find out about us living here.  You might even remember how to find our place and lead them to us.  No, I’m afraid that you can’t go home.”

***Author’s Note:  Some of my readers have remarked on this story being suspiciously similar to the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  That is only partially accurate.  The Goldilocks story is a work of fiction based loosely on a true story.  THIS story.  The original title of this story was Gull D. Locke and the Three Boyers.  Somehow, over time, as stories often do, this one became corrupted.  “Gull D. Locke” was changed to “Goldilocks”, and the “Three Boyers” became “Three Bears”.  And, of course, the Goldilocks version only told part of the story.  If you stay with me over the next while, I will endeavor to tell you more of the story as I continue to research it and reveal it to you,

Theological Discussions With a Three Year Old

The following is based on an actual conversation I had with one of my boys a few years back (he was about 3 years old at the time)

“Daddy, are you God?” he asked
with all the innocent sincerity
of a three year old.

We were standing just outside
the upstairs bathroom
next to the linen closet

“No,” I said “I’m not God.”
And I tried to explain in a way
that a three year old would understand
the difference between me and God

And then he said something
that still has me chuckling
five years later…

“Well, you’re kind of shaped like him,
because you’re BIG!”

But as much of a laugh
as he gave me that day
the sobering thought
that accompanied my laughter
is this:

If my children can’t see God through me
How will they ever learn
to see him at all?

~~

Written for dVerse where, today, Claudia has us writing poems that include conversation.