Here I am, in the living room
Watching TV, reading a book
today, the book lay open on my lap
Pen and paper at my side
As a word spoken can set me off
Yesterday, it was the word destiny
Something I have just read
Rewrites itself to end up in a poem
Not today.
My mind went on its own journey
This doodling isn’t something I am known for
I wonder what it says about me.
© anita dawes 2020
WEEKLY #TANKA TUESDAY #POETRY CHALLENGE NO. 203 #EKPHRASTIC #PHOTOPROMPT
This challenge explores Ekphrastic writing inspired by visual art (photographs). Diana Peach from last month’s challenge has provided the photo for this month’s challenge:
What
happens
When a ghost’s
pale white image
she sees reflected
With the tears she lets go
Does her wish stir the waters?
Dark hides tiny creatures whisper
When given a heart, let her be loved
Will the magic of the woods give her life?
© anita dawes 2020
Child
Is born
destiny
A child I made
Holding on to love
Never too tight to break
The fragile hold on his heart
To let go, watch them grow, to bloom
To bring back joyful days in the sun
Like Spring tides that never fail to return…
© anita dawes 2020
Standing Stones
I don’t know if I found this almost hidden grotto
With its raging water, or if fate led me there
The water washed over a small altar
An offering of standing stones
To their ancestors or an ancient God
A message, a prayer, for thanks or help
I may never know.
I was fascinated by the four stones
standing on top of each other
Perfectly balanced in harmony
As if meant to hold each other up
Varnished to a shine by running water.
I wondered about the person
who had walked away
Did the universe answer his hopes?
Is his or her life better for having taken the time
To remember the ancient ways?
Leaving my own four stones
I believed my own prayer would be answered
I could feel the hand of the universe
At my back, guiding me home
Happenstance, or fate,
Such a strange thing…
© anita dawes 2020
We humans come in various sizes
each one a discovery of delight
Eyes may well be the windows to the soul
For me, hands tell so much
Smooth, delicate, new-born
To hard calloused working hands
Like my father’s. An estate gardener,
nails black with good earth, he’d say
When my mother reminded him to clean them
Before sitting at our table
Mother’s red, from taking in neighbours washing
It could be said, pride shone from their fingers
They caress, they slap, they clap
to their favourite tune
Best of all, they hold you tight
Keep you fed, safe, warm
throughout your life
Hands speak their own language of love…
©anitadawes 2020
Photo Challenge #340
Christmas may well be celebrated
On the wrong day for Christ’s birth
He also may not have been who we think.
Who cares, Christmas is one of the best days of the year
No matter the date
Snowmen to make under fairy lights
We get to be with family
Eat good food, drink good wine
The kind Jesus turned from water, who knows
It’s tastes good because the company’s good
Gifts are exchanged, games played
The young ones fall asleep cuddling a new toy
The old ones nodding off in their armchair
The remaining few whispering now
So as not to wake the sleeping beauties
New years eve we’ll meet again
In between we skype and visit
Remembering each other’s warmth
The one gift that needs no money
Merry Christmas to one and all…
©anitadawes 2020
Step into a world where fairies, dragons, and other magical beings converge in a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by the celebration of Litha, the Summer Solstice.
Meet Drac, a dragon cursed by his own poisonous deeds, and two pixies who help an old man remember a lost love.
You’ll meet a pair of fairies with a sense of humor, and a young girl who fulfills her destiny after being struck by lightning.
Learn what happens when a modern witch’s spell goes terribly wrong.
Meet the Sisters of the Fey, a group of Slavic Witches who sign a pact with the Rusalki Fey to preserve their magic for the good of all.
Atmospheric and haunting, the prose and poetry, will rewrite the mythologies of the past bringing them into the future.
These enchanting poems and stories are a joy to read and would make a truly beautiful present for anyone who loves the magical world of myths and magic.
I had just finished editing my complicated mystery/thriller and wanted something to undo all the knots in my brain. I chose to read this delightful book written by Colleen Chesebro and it worked a treat!
I was transported back to a time when I saw fairies everywhere, and the years simply fell away as I remembered those golden days of my childhood.
Thank you, Colleen, for restoring the magical centre in my brain…
About the Author
Colleen won the Little and Laugh Flash Fiction Contest sponsored by the Carrot Ranch Literary Community.com in November 2017 for her piece, called, “The Bus Stop.” Her debut novel, “The Heart Stone Chronicles: The Swamp Fairy,” won gold in the 2017 AuthorsDB.com cover contest.
Colleen lives in Colorado with her husband. When she is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her husband and friends. She also loves gardening, reading, and crocheting old-fashioned doilies into works of art. You can learn more about Colleen at www.colleenchesebro.com.
What do you see # 54 – 2nd November 2020
( For the visually challenged reader, the image shows a baby panda standing in a moses basket. Next to it is a wicker basket it is leaning into)
This tiny piece of black and white magic
Tip toed across my heart
Reminding me of the yin and yang
Balance, something this baby panda
Did not have full control of
He slipped and rolled
In his eagerness to play
Explore his new world
As I walked away, I thought
That is the magic of youth…
©anitadawes 2020
