Autumn in the Garden

Magaly's invitation to the danse -- "Share any poem you like. Any form. Old or new. We’ll delight in it. If there is a hint of Autumn or October in its lines, I’ll probably dance with it. Fine, I will kiss it on the mouth."

So - another from deep in the archives - a demented sonnet offered here in honor of halloween, with mouth and tongue all moist and eager.  [Beware the teeth and claws.]


                      CELIBATE FATE

For four more weeks she keeps her innocence --
Mere carnal yearning since she was beguiled
Into wedlock with Selene's child
And his twenty-seven days of impotence.

The moon's once-in-a-cycle minstrel song
Called him out to last night's bloody rending,
Announced his victim's grim and grisly ending,
Siren to his lunatic Wulfsarkergang.

A shimmering crystal moonbeam, cold and clear,
Illuminates what never was but always were.
Its gray light casts the sacrifice's setting,
But her blood never flows at his blood-letting.

Her celibate fate follows Nature's whim:
The moon, not she, brings out the beast in him.

                                 ~~::~~

Better House and Garden

Building houses link.

butterfly cocoon

changing for the better

in a house of silk

~~::~~

a home is not made 

of boards and bricks and mortar

it is built from love

~~::~~

Images in the Garden

The challenge is to write a poem in any style matched to one or more images.   Simple as that.

I'm short on time this week - playing Sibelius's 2nd Symphony this evening - and, of course, a day late.  So one short simple verse.

fox on an island

in shimmering images

thinking of rabbits

~~::~~

Afterthought: I like it even better with 1st and 3rd lines reversed.

Tuesday in the Garden

Please share a poem of your choice and enjoy the company of your fellow scribes. 

Another one from the archives.  And with halloween looming, another tilt toward the macabre.

                  PASSIONATE PRETENSE

Her throat, no longer perfect, but still white,

Invokes the crimson from the sunset glow,

As she awaits the dark - to taste, to know

Carnality incarnate in the night.

       The sun's suffusion stains her skin to pink

       With its last russet bloom, as if she were

       A blushing maiden, innocent and pure,

       On satin sheets where white and scarlet link.

What has her throat to do with being white?

Like thorn and petals torn they two entwine,

But not as lovers do -- instead, to dine

In sweet engagement of an ancient rite.

Her white throat is a passionate pretense

That now, twice pierced, belies her innocence.

Briars in the Garden

"Both read the Bible day and night; but you read black where I read white."
-- William Blake

I'm a little late to this one.  Checking the analysis of Blake's poem we find that he was protesting the biblical interpretations that the Anglican church was imposing on ordinary people, particularly regarding the repression of human sexuality.  I'm not a believer, but I was brought up in the Catholic church, had 12 years of religion classes, occasionally paid attention, and have some familiarity with the teachings of Jesus.   I find the beliefs and attitudes of American conservative christianity to be anti-scriptural, nihilist, judgmental, hypocritical, hate-based and intellectually offensive.  On the other hand I find the concepts and attitudes of progressive christianity to be enlightening and fulfilling.   If I were a believer, I would find them compelling.

So Blake's 1794 poem resonates with the religious landscape of 2017 America.  I went back to the shadorma again to express my thoughts and feelings.

Wikipedia

Thistle Flowers

Where is love?

Evangelicals

Have grabbed it;

Transformed it

To judgment and damnation

Out of hate.

~:~

Where is God,

That loving father?

Remaining

In Crown thorns?

Does he bind his love for us

In brambles?

~:~

Salvation -

What then does it mean

If they change

All the good

Into the coffers of a 

Mega church?

~~::~~

Oh, no - I exceeded the 12 line limit! 
Lo siento. 
At least they are short.

Awhapery In the Garden

Today we have a list of obsolete English language words to chose from, and an invitation to use others, which I have taken advantage of.

Not feeling up to attempting rhyme, or anything long-form, I've chosen to do another shadorma, as befits my dwindled attention span.  But I'm delighted to finally get to use the word "swyve." which has been sitting idle in my vocabulary for decades.

BEMOANING

Oh Wasteheart!

Coney-caught again:

Awhaped by

Dowsable.

She swyved with a losenger

I’m betrumped!

Here it is translated

LAMENT

Woe is me!

Cheated yet again:

Confounded

By lover.

She screwed a lying rascal.

And tricked me.

Glossary
Awhape -- confound
Betrump -- deceive or cheat
Coney-catch -- cheat or deceive
Dowsable -- sweetheart
Losenger -- false flatterer, cad
Swyve -- copulate
Wasteheart -- expression of grief or dismay

L.A. Times Crossword Wednesday, October 18, 2017 Robin Stears

Theme GUARDS! GUARDS! As we shall soon see, each theme entry is a [more or less] in-the -language two-word phrase that contains two quite different kinds of GUARDS. In all cases, each theme word can be followed by the word GUARD to yield a different in-the-language phrase.

17 A. Eastern seaboard, facetiously : RIGHT COAST.  I can't recall hearing it addressed as such, but it makes sense if you look at a map.  But why facetiously?  RIGHT GUARD is a lineman position on an American football team, and the deodorant brand he might chose after a shower. The COAST GUARD is a branch of the U.S. military that protects life, property and territory along the country's shore lines.

25 A. Unlikely to run : COLOR SAFE.  These colors don't run.  Hence the term.  Also a palette of 256 colors that is consistent on any computer monitor.   A COLOR GUARD is a uniformed group who present or parade an institutional or national flag on formal occasions.   To SAFE GUARD is to take active measures to protect against some undesirable event.

46 A. Secret overseas cash stash site : SWISS BANK.  I think the Cayman Islands and Cyprus give them some competition these days.  The SWISS GUARD is a small force stationed in the Vatican, responsible for the safety of the Pope.  They are famous for their colorful uniforms.

Makes the Pope Color Safe?

A BANK GUARD protects your deposited savings.

58 A. What Aladdin craved and Jasmine wanted to escape, in the Disney film : PALACE LIFE.  Aladdin is a street urchin who longs for wealth and luxury.  Jasmine has it all and finds it profoundly unsatisfying.  So - a match made in heaven, right?  The PALACE GUARD is responsible for keeping the PALACE and its occupants safe from street urchins and other miscreants.   A LIFE GUARD is a certified swimmer and CPR expert whose job is to keep us from drowning at the beach or pool. 

They get along swimmingly

And, at last, the unifier.  37 A. Increase security twofold ... and what 17-, 25-, 46- and 58-Across literally do : DOUBLE THE GUARDS.   Twice as many guards should keep out twice as many urchins. And this is the apt description for the other theme entries, each having two kinds of GUARDS.

 Hi Gang, JazzBumpa on duty to GUARD your way through today's puzzling adventure.  Robin Stears has given us a good one with four clever theme entries and a grid-spanning unifier.  

Carpe Diem #1281 Suzuran (Lilly of the Valley)

Lily of the valley is a classic summer kigo.

Summer Bells

sweetly poisonous

with dangling nodding white bells

a lovely vision

appealing to the senses

wisely do not be seduced

~~::~~

Tuesday in the Garden of Weirdness

Here, Rommy tells us:

"You all know the drill.  Share a piece of poetry as the spirit moves you, new or an old favorite. "

So here is an old one, one of my demented sonnets from many years ago.  This pastiche was going to be a humorous parody of a well known sonnet, speaking of a relationship gone cold, but instead took a much darker turn, perhaps in keeping with creepy October.

Enjoy.

Or not.


              THY PALLID LOVELINESS 

Shall I compare thee to a winter's night?
Thou art more lovely in thy pallid chill.
Rough winds shake bare limbs, but thine hold tight,
Ever rigid, rigorous, and still.

Sometimes too cold the evening sky-light glows,
Encircled in a wisp of winter cloud
That with the gray dawn sends the falling snows,
Blankets the earth with its white morning shroud;

But thy eternal winter shall unfold,
Never to thaw thy fast frigidity. 
And rigor shall not lose the mortal hold
That binds thee in frozen rigidity.

Now once again I breathe on thy cold flesh,
And with thy pallid loveliness enmesh.

~~::~~

Some appropriate music

Carpe Diem 1280 - Wheel of Creation

"Haiku is not only the poetry of nature, but it is also a way to find that peace. While strolling through nature we become one with nature, become part of nature (as it was once meant to be) and than we experience the beauty of our Earth. We have to cherish her beauty, Earth is the only source to find peace of mind and heart. Isn't that what we all see as our goal?"

-- Kristjaan  [<-- link]


Perhaps this cartoon is relevant.

you and i

in that tantric moment

we are one

~:~

spiritualism

we are all seekers

in philosophy

~:~

even here on earth

we are made of stardust

one with everything

~:~

even moose and goose

in the darkling forest mist

we breath the same air

~~::~~

Carpe Diem 1279 - Yekaterinberg Aleph

This time we are inspired by an incident in Paolo Coelho's novel, Aleph.

In the Aleph, all things are one, and all of the past, present and future are contained.

in our past lives

were we friends or lovers

now we meet again

~:~

i've always loved you

since the moment i was born

and perhaps before

~:~

our lives intertwined

spanning across space and time

choice or destiny

~:~

now we are old

when we say our last good-bye

know we'll meet again

~~::~~

This reminds me of a sonnet I wrote long ago.


                          THE SUBSTITUTE

There are those whose lives are meant to be entwined,
Lovers thrust together by the force of destiny,
When choice and fate converge, that they may be
Connected at the soul, the heart, the mind.

Within their closed circumference one can find
Two curves in perfect fit -- his yang, her yin,
That in each cycle once again begin
To cluster into love's sweet spiral bind.

But consider -- if in the vast span of infinity
One of them becomes displaced in small degree;
Is born a decade late, perhaps is sent
To the farthest corner of the continent --

The distant echo of an unfelt touch, an unseen face.
Who will be the one who comes to take his place?

~~::~~

Fussy Garden Form

Today we are exposed to a form that is new to me - the shadorma - a 6 line, syllable-counted haiku derivative.  I love haiku/senryu, as you can see by scrolling through this blog, so I like this ideas.  The first one is just playing with the name; the second is how my day is going; the third is today's weather, and the last is in the haiku spirit, reflecting my affection for the amphibians I find in my yard.

Correction, a day later - this form is not a haiku derivative.  It comes to us from Spain.

shadorma

it’s not a shadow

nor gray shade

nor color

standing out in black and white

waiting to be read

~:~

lonely day

i sit by myself

just writing

scribing thoughts

my lovely wife lies in bed

sick and all alone

~:~

falling rain

in early autumn

thick gray clouds

the whole day

night falls and darkness deepens

winter is coming

~:~

slow hopping

under the bushes

mottled tones

blending in

hiding from the hawk’s sharp eyes 

a brown speckled toad

~~::~~

Carpe Diem - Time Glass

Kristjaan offers us two inspirations today, a picture and a verse,  along with a time limit to respond.  In the press of other things, I don't participate every time, but today I have a few moments.  So I'll give a thought to each.  Most of my writing has taken a somewhat dark, sad or lonely turn lately.  Who knows why?

the picture

lonely flower

~~~

walking lonely now

after last night’s adventure

losing her flower

~:~

the verse

a little verse

lighted a fire in my heart 

addicted to love

© Chèvrefeuille 

~~~

that fire in my heart

bursting out in flaming words
my love is scorching

~~::~~

Cruel Imagination in the Garden

“Bodies, can’t you see what everybody wants from you?”

CRUEL - a Quadrille

I didn’t hit her often

Only when she deserved it

How could one so beautiful be so cruel

Not so beautiful with bruises though

And welts

Oh the anger

When she ran away

How that made it worse

Why do I miss her so

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #1275 nakedness

Some naked thoughts for this CD prompt.

here we are naked

remembering mother eve

she was merely nude

~:~

here we are naked

if only we were alone

what would we then do

~:~

here we are naked

homeless starving and thirsty

who comes to help us

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #1274 Ryuko-ji (compassion)

Salient quotes from the prompt --

Today I have chosen one of the temples on Shikoku Island to inspire you with. This temple is named Ryuko-ji and is devoted to the Buddha of Compassion. One of the main ideas of Buddhism.

"Wordlessness" is (in my opinion) one of the pillars of haiku. Look at our haiku. Three lines, approximately 17 syllables and around 15 or 20 words. It's a very short poem, but in that poem the strength is the scenes that are told about without words. So "wordlessness" is part of haiku.

Of course, I come at this obliquely.

does my stone face show

the sympathy that i feel

this i cannot say

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #1273 Into The Sea

Hmmm - scroll down my page and you'll find the last few entries are poems of some sort, all related in some way to a body of water.  Well - it is the source of all life.

Today, a tan renga, the first stanza © Jane Reichhold (1937-2016.)
Second stanza by me, the wonderer.

melting into the sea

the full moon
leaves a candle bright 

illuminated path way

could i walk on that water

~:~

dVerse Tuesday Gardening

Should I apologize for standing this Hope prompt on its head?

Well, I too have been thinking a lot about the world lately.  It seems that everything is going sour - from killer wild fires and hurricanes to killers and idiots and megalomaniacs running the world - into the ground; which is a strange way of putting it.

Anyway, my verses have taken a sad and lonely turn of late - thankfully, not reflecting my conditions in real life.

So here is a Quadrille.



           Hope On The Strand

I met her on the strand

Told her my name

She said hers was Hope

We talked then hid away and did some things

My mistake to fall in love so easily

Since she soon sailed away

Now I walk the strand alone

Hopeless

             ~~::~~

Why We Never Catch Mermaids

Wavelet

Why We Never Catch Mermaids

Mermaids
So lovely to behold
And to be held by  .  .  .

Ah, though -- careful when you kiss that pretty mouth
Lips and tongue so very salty-sweet
But watch out for those teeth
That bite like knives through stout fishing nets

Imaginary Garden - Camera Flash

The entries I've read for this prompt have tended toward a dark turn - and, indeed, the photo surely invites that.  But it jogged a memory for me - of when I happened to be in the water at just the right moment.  This is an older poem, but - hey - the challenge is wide open --- so . . .

The date stamp on the file for this poem is August, 2000, so I suppose that's when I wrote it. It is the narrative of a real incident, just as it happened. My wife and I were driving around one day, rather aimlessly, and went into a park. There was a lake, and we took our shoes off, and waded along the shore line. It wasn't crowded, but there were quite a few people there, in the water, and along the beach.

I am not a religious person, but this was a deeply moving event. Every time I re-read it, I have to fight back the tears.  Here is how it happened.


               SAVING TIME

Such a simple thing, to lift a child.
Hands grasp her sides, a second pair of ribs
Beneath plump arms, and swing her high:
Inconsequential weight on angel's wings.

Farther down the beach a gathering:
Mexican Pentecostal Church of God
All clad in white and black, their Sunday best,
With angel voices raised in Spanish hymns.

That little girl, no taller than my knee
Has not yet mastered walking on dry land.
In childish guile she flees her family's eyes
Makes her way to water's edge, and in.

Senor Juan Baptiste strides chest-deep
Into the lake. The others, arms raised high,
Invoke God's power as he grasps behind the neck,
Supports each penitent beneath the waves.

When no one else was looking at this girl
I saw her falter, fall, then float face down.
Two splashing steps, hands on her ribs,
I raise her out and draw her to my chest.

We could have driven past this lake today,
Or lazed another minute on the shore,
Or turned our wading walk the other way,
Instead, I found myself above this child.

Juan Baptiste mouths a Spanish prayer,
Lifts his new-found brother from the lake,
As I lift and hold this child close to me,
Saved, as by the very hand of God.

                        ~~::~~

An inspired after-thought

All water flows to the sea
Taking with it everything we've lost
Friends lovers pets tokens memories
Only the memories can be brought back
Dragged to the bony shore in neural nets

                  ~~::~~

Fireblossom Friday In the Garden

Another Friday trip into the garden for me - or maybe  .  .  . who is that?

Sometimes, a duplicate of a living person takes form, called a Doppelganger. The double does things the original person is unaware of, but others see. 

"I didn't know what I was doing." "I didn't know what my double was doing." (!) "I don't know what came over me." Maybe these are more than just common expressions. Maybe our wills are not always our own. What do you think? Let's write about it. 

My Doppelganger - a Villanelle

Yeah - that’s what I was thinking:
I would never do those awful things.
Not even if I had been drinking.

Always clever, never shrinking,
This is what my doppleganger brings.
Yeah - that’s what I was thinking:

All those women: their forlorn hopes sinking;
Sad songs plucked on their heart strings.
Not even if I had been drinking.

My wife is glad that I’m the one she’s linking;
Not stuck inside HIS binding wedding rings.
Yeah - that’s what I was thinking:

All those women’s sobs, their sad tears blinking
In memory of those cheating, piercing stings.
Not even if I had been drinking.

That doppleganger always slyly slinking
Into that good night after those flings.
Yeah - that’s what I was thinking:
Not even if I had been drinking.

Carpe Diem #1269 -- Reflection

Reflections

~:~

in my mirror

after these many decades

my father's face

~:~

mountain and sky scene

reflected in a calm lake

turn it upside down

~:~

who is the fairest

she asks her oval mirror

it does not answer

~:~

the old mirror
with its lines and distortions
what truth does it tell

L.A. Times Crosssword - Wednesday, Oct 4, 2017 C. C. Burnikel

Theme: OLD VINYL.  Each two word entry has the letters L and P as its alpha and omega [so to speak.]  These letters signify a Long Playing phonograph recording - i.e. one with several songs on a side.  More will be explained when we get to the unifier.

17A. *Vodka cocktail often served with a sugared rim : LEMON DROP.  Made with vodka, Triple Sec, simple syrup and fresh lemon juice.  Pucker up.

60A. *Largely bygone penal colony : LABOR CAMP.  A prison camp where hard labor is enforced.

3 D. *Store website feature : LOCATOR MAP.  Here is the locator map for the restaurant where we had a wonderful lunch with some relatives yesterday.

8 D. *Shari Lewis puppet : LAMB CHOP.

Spunky

30 D. *Totally drunk : LIQUORED UP.  Self-explanatory, and no image needed.

39 D. *Light source with hypnotic bubbles : LAVA LAMP.  Suitable illumination for nudism and getting high in a variety of ways.

I am not making this up.

And now the unifier -- 26 A. With 49-Across, it keeps repeating itself ... and, based on the first and last letters, an apt description of each answer to a starred clue : BROKEN.

49 A. See 26-Across : RECORD.

So, now we see that the wide split between the L and the P indicates that the RECORD has been BROKEN - but not in the sense of a historic feat of athleticism.  In the old days, back in my yute, a phonograph record that was scratched or broken would catch the play-back stylus and keep repeating the same groove section on the recording surface, groove section on the recording surface, groove section on the recording surface.  Very annoying.  Hence, a person who repeated himself a lot would be compared to a BROKEN RECORD.  

Raising this up a notch, conceptually, is the fact that the unifier itself is broken.  So we have a pinwheel formation of theme fill, that also includes the symmetrically placed two-part unifier.  Very clever and unusual design!

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa on duty.  Let's see where our own hostess and travel guide C. C. takes on this trip.