The Passerby

The Passerby

All the birds that fly

put on a show for free.

The sun up in the sky

creates shadows for me.

Everyday, I pass by

things I don't see.

The sun up in the sky

creates shadows for me.

I don't know why

I ignore flowers and bees.

Everyday, I pass by

things I don't see.

I don't know why

I ignore flowers and bees.

I should modify

my routine to some degree.

Everyday, I pass by

things I don't see.

I should modify

my routine to some degree.

Tomorrow I will try

to gaze at a tree.

Everyday, I pass by

things I don't see.

This is my attempt at a roundelay (guidelines) for Day 24 of the PAD Challenge.

Links

Everybody Plays the Fool:Open Mic April 28

Jazz Improv and Poetry Video April 5, 2018

Sandra Moran Bonus Book Club--Hilary Zaid and Molly Krause Podcast 

Sandra Moran Book Club--K.V. Forrest May 12

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.

What Demands Such Concentration?

What Demands Such Concentration?

What demands such concentration

that the seagull walks with its head

down, eyes focused on the ground?

It makes its morning check of the

inventory--what the tide brought in

and what it washed away.

The bird scours the shoreline and

steps past polished stones and

shattered shells. When it stops,

it picks up the remnants it likes best--

the ones it can digest.

The prompt for this poem was to start a poem with a line from one of the other poems you had written for the PAD challenge. I used a line from Portrait of a Goose Swimming.

Links

Jazz Improv and Poetry Video April 5, 2018

Sandra Moran Bonus Book Club--Hilary Zaid and Molly Krause Podcast 

Sandra Moran Book Club--K.V. Forrest May 12

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.

Is Spring Shy?

Is Spring Shy?

Spring is shy this year.

She shows her face

for a day or two then hides

behind the bluster of winter.

She lets her warmth be felt

so we change to light clothes

then withdraws it, leaving us cold.

She enjoys the flowers for

a few hours then retreats

under a blanket of snow.

I have fallen for her ruse.

Spring is not shy. She is a

prankster who turns us all

into April fools.

Links

Jazz Improv and Poetry Video April 5, 2018

Sandra Moran Bonus Book Club--Hilary Zaid and Molly Krause Podcast 

Sandra Moran Book Club--Faderman Podcast

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.

Shimmer

Shimmers

The sun hits

the water like

jewels spilled

from their box.

All who see

the light show

are richer for it.

Links

Jazz Improv and Poetry Video April 5, 2018

Sandra Moran Bonus Book Club--Hilary Zaid and Molly Krause Podcast 

Sandra Moran Book Club--Faderman Podcast

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.

Seagulls in the Neighborhood

Seagulls in the Neighborhood

When I went out

to play one day,

I saw seagulls

in the sky

above the houses.

They were not

flying by but

circling, like planes

waiting to be

cleared to land.

I went inside.

"Mom, look!

Seagulls."

She peaked

out the window.

"That means

a storm is coming."

I don't know if

that is fact

or superstition;

but whenever

I see gulls inland,

I take it

as a warning.

This poem was written for Day 11 of the Poem-A-Day Challenge. The prompt was warning.

###

Thursday, April 12, the Kansas Time + Place Poets will be reading in Pittsburg, KS. The reading begins at 8 p.m. in the Governors Room, Overman Student Center, Pittsburg State University.

Links

Jazz Improv and Poetry Video April 5, 2018

Sandra Moran Bonus Book Club--Hilary Zaid and Molly Krause

Sandra Moran Book Club--Faderman Podcast

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

InterUrban ArtHouse Photography Group Exhibition

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.

On the Horizon

On the Horizon

There is something on the way.

What it is, I cannot say.

Nothing will keep it at bay.

It may even come today.

It could bring joy or dismay,

but I will not run away.

###

Thursday, April 12, the Kansas Time + Place Poets will be reading in Pittsburg, KS. The reading begins at 8 p.m. in the Governors Room, Overman Student Center, Pittsburg State University.

Links

Sandra Moran Bonus Book Club--Hilary Zaid and Molly Krause

Sandra Moran Book Club--Faderman Podcast

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

InterUrban ArtHouse Photography Group Exhibition

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.

Frozen in Winter

Frozen in Winter

We are frozen in winter.

Time sprang ahead

but the weather didn't.

What will fall from

the sky is anyone's guess.

The wind chills and

the temperature drops.

Will you join me in asking,

"Please, make it stop?"

Links

April 5--Improv Jazz and Poetry Reading

Sandra Moran Book Club--Faderman Podcast

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

InterUrban ArtHouse Photography Group Exhibition

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.

Portrait of a Goose Swimming

Portrait of a Goose Swimming

This portrait is

set in landscape,

a photograph of

a goose swimming.

The body is angled,

white chest down

and brown tail up.

The black neck

curves forward, but

the beak is level.

Beady eyes

focus frontward.

What demands such

concentration?

Friend or foe?

Frolic or function?

The answer is not

in the picture.

This poem was inspired by the Day 2 prompt of the 2018 PAD Challenge, portrait. It's not too late to join in. See the guidelines under Links. If you don't want to take the writing challenge,  check in to see the diverse work that is inspired by the prompts.

Links

April 5--Improv Jazz and Poetry Reading

Sandra Moran Book Club--Faderman Podcast

Thirty Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month

2018 April PAD Challenge: Guidelines

InterUrban ArtHouse Photography Group Exhibition

Kansas Time + Place

Poetic Asides

Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day

Author Page

Follow me on Twitter or click the blue Follow Button to follow this blog.