Facets

I see

Little mouse in the grass clippings

Out of sight of my cat

Or so I think

Soft fur

Gold and shadows printed

With white

Like calico

Shadows and light

Falling through the trees

Gold and gray

Then my cat moves

Purring. Suddenly!

Teeth on my fingers

Claws on my arm

Purr under my hand

On my lap

In my heart

Ferret, hummingbird, goldfinch, snake

My hunter’s trophies

Crystal snow falls deep

Heavy trail – the dog

Light trail – my cat

From house to fence

The top of the fence

Black, with paw space

Enough for walking

Pale tree trunks slashed

Rich brown underneath

Good scratching

Good ladder

My calico cat

Perched in a tree
Green peaches behind
Brown dog below
 
You came to me

Stepped into my heart

So my heart beats

So you live on

written for dVerse

Sea Square

Sea things weathered and washed ashore;

things drifting; smoothed like sandy pearls.

Weathered smoothed until all points gleam.

And like all shells taken home,

washed sandy points taken become treasured.

Ashore pearls gleam. Home; treasured; renewed.

written for dVerse

Reflected

Causeway through the sea runs wide

With glinting water either side

Only thread between pier and castle

Parted by water's glimmering babble

In this fluttering mirror appears

Shadow of the sky austere

Silhouette of a knight riding tantivy

Her armor flashing in the sea

written for dVerse

Paper flight

Fold for me a paper plane

We’ll fly away, just us twain

Lifted on a dulcet strain

I’ll be the pilot and steer us clear

While you behold the sights my dear

The clouds once so far draw near

See the heights we will attain!

We’ll fly over snowy peaks

Dive down with delighted shrieks

With mistrals breaking across our cheeks

Racing against the pearly cranes

Then hie we to the milky river

Past the moon shining silver

There we’ll land for new adventure

Propelled on by a sirin’s refrain

This poem is a Zejel, a Spanish from with the following pattern: aaa, bbba, ccca, ddda and can be continued for as long as one likes.

 

Definitions:

Dulcet -  pleasant to hear

Hie - to go quickly

Mistrals - cold northern winds in France.

Sirin - the Russian version of the Greek sirens. The sirins can be benevolent, which is what I wanted portrayed in the poem.

written for dVerse

Hummingbird

Feathered gem flown out of sight

Then back gleaming in the light

Perhaps the smallest in flight

Yet I’ll meet no bolder knight

written for dVerse

Clerihew

for dVerse

Once there was a princess named Ariel

Who desperately wanted to be terrestrial

It seems that if she’d stayed as a fish

She might have ended up on a dish

Feast

for dVerse

Adobo

I know the recipe now

Peppercorns, soy sauce, and fowl

But then all I knew was this

A bowl of friendship delish!

Halo-Halo

First thought on beans in desert:

Oh no! But now I assert

Milk, nata, bananas, beans

Mixed is better than ice cream

Pandesal

One perfect bread for breakfast

Hot with crumbs across the crust

Feasting starts with bag in hand

Lasts all the way home as planned

 Just a few of the wonderful tasty dishes in the Philippines.

Invitation

for dVerse

The window stands open.

Rustling autumn leaves,

the breeze notices.

Taking the invitation

crosses the desk

where the book opens

and the leaves rustle

an invitation:

Ride with a gallant knight;

Lose yourself in the woods;

Fly though serendipitous clouds.

The book stands open.

Luna

for dVerse                                   

                                     full gibbous glimmer

                                     maiden aunt

                                     watching playful stars

                                     

nieces and nephews    

sitting still                   

only for moon’s stories

                                    

                                     ancient silver tales

                                     of magic

                                     wolves and unicorns

Wish

for dVerse

As the maple leaves fall down from the trees

Tossed and carried by the mellifluous breeze

Wish on each glorious red soaring leaf

And watch your wishes blown with belief

Riding on the russet air sailing boats

Higher and higher in the sky they float

Then plummet like a joyful roller coaster

And pop up again like toast from a toaster

Stand there and watch until the breeze ends

Catch the leaf in hand; see what it portends

Shining red gold like a fairy’s song

Hold it close; gaze at it often and long

Somewhere on that autumn day your wish took flight

Now follow it always into the light

Fern Fairy

for dVerse

River sallies through the emerald valley;

ferns twine and twist in the soft breeze gently.

While white mist shrouds the valley in magic,

fern queen rests in her living green hammock.

Over seeing her realm of fairies, birds

clover, redwoods, bees; entwined with the ferns.

All hers from great tree to tiny sporange,

prowling cats and fishes spotted orange.

Hers to guard and hers to keep and hold sound-

ly. So she keeps her vigil o’er her ground.

At her woven throne her subjects shower

thanks. And with laurel wreaths they endow her;

spider silk, saffron slippers, almond milk,

acorn caps, mustard seeds, and patchwork quilts.

This is their world tucked between the ferns,

and all this is safe beneath her sojourn.

Sporange - A real word that does indeed rhyme with orange. It is a form of sporangium, which is  where spores are produced in plants like ferns.