Poems of the Week ~ by C.C., Kathleen and Grace

We have three delightful poems for your enjoyment and contemplation this week, my friends, written by  C.C., of Conscious Cacophony, Kathleen Everett, of The Course of Our Seasons, and Mary Grace Guevara of Everyday Amazing. We think they go well together, and will leave you feeling uplifted. Enjoy!

Sunrise in Mexico - by CC

NEW DAWN

yes, love is a shadow
a tattered tassel
hanging
frayed
in the wind

but, every morn’
the sunrise offers you
a bouquet of orange
for you to interpret
as you choose

will you board
up your heart
hold the line
in silent darkness
or listen to the drum
that still beats
in your chest
and dance to
the speakers
that pump music
through your soul?

yes, love is a shadow
but light filters
back in
when you honor
the signs at work
in each new dawn

CC photo

Sherry: I love the honoring of the signs in each new dawn. A wonderfully hopeful message, C.C.

C.C.: Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite poets. Her words always strike me with such force that I often feel emotionally compelled by them. When I read, "Love is a shadow. How you lie and cry after it. Listen: these are its hooves: it has gone off, like a horse" I felt compelled by sadness, thinking of someone who gives up on life when Love gallops away. I had this image of someone boarding up her heart in silent darkness and beating her chest, lying and crying alone forever. 

What a shame! There is too much beauty offered up to us each day. Live for it. Stay open to it. Embrace it. It's there for the taking for all of us. So, I was inspired to write about the choice that each new dawn offers every single one of us, no matter what hoofbeats echo in the grief and shadows of the darkest corners of loss in our lives.

Sherry: I love the idea of those hoofbeats of grief. I think we all have heard them a time or two. Thank you for this, C.C., and for the lovely photos of that new dawn. I always think how wonderful it is that, no matter what is happening in our lives, the new dawn comes up each morning, giving us a brand new day in which to begin again. Morning is one of God's best ideas, I think.

Kathleen enchanted me, with her recent lines about Dusk, a charming fellow, presented in this poem as I have not seen him before. Let's read:

Kathleen and Bob

Kathleen Everett photo

DUSK AND TWILIGHT

dusk saunters up the lane
whistling for his dog
and filling his pipe

leaning against the fence post,
he squints into the setting sun
and waits for twilight to arrive

wrapped in a mantle of early evening stars,
she skips down the lane
her steps light and lovely

tipping his hat,
dusk climbs the western ridge
trailing shadow
and wisps of smoke

as twilight fills the darkling sky
with the smiling crescent moon
and the scent of sweet honeysuckle

Sherry: I absolutely adore the voice in this poem, insouciant Dusk strolling along, filling his pipe, anticipating Twilight tripping down the lane in her long skirts. Such gorgeous imagery and delightful personification.

Kathleen: This poem came about when I was writing snippets of poetry on Twitter. It was one of those long spring afternoons when the sun was stretching out shadows and the character of dusk just came to me. And of course, he needed a partner, so why not twilight. I love giving them a life and a bit of a story. Maybe I will follow them again to see where they might lead.

Sherry: I could read a whole chapter like this, and never stop smiling! Let's take a look at Grace's poem, also rich in imagery, shall we?

TODAY I LET THE LIGHT IN

the sun is a milk-cotton daisy
blooming along side glorious tulips

              i will not count
              creases on my forehead

the sky sings a breezy fruity tune-
while dandelions sip yellow tea 

             i will not rue
             emerging strays of white hair

the wind brings lake's salty tears-
seed pods open, spraying golden grains

             i will not bother
             creaming my wrinkled hands 

the trees are shimmering glassy chandeliers 
covering cracks, like leavening on dry crust- 
             
             i am grateful -
             another day of beginnings

Sherry: Grace, from the title to the closing line, this is so uplifting, and so welcome in these days of dark news. We do need to remember to be grateful for the beauty and love around us. It is our solace and relief. How did this poem get born?

Grace: That day was my special day, my birthday.   I wanted to remind myself of the beautiful lessons I have learned from other people who are aging gracefully.   That of acceptance and perseverance, and also a healthy attitude towards embracing change.  I still have many things I want to accomplish, so this year will be another year of milestones for me.  

I also love nature and marvel at the changing seasons.   Each season is beautiful and though there is decay, the cycle of life is always a journey of beginnings.  

These lines are positive affirmations for me. I count my blessings and I am grateful for the love and support I have at home, at work and with my friends, including poets and writers around the blogosphere. 

Sherry: Positive, indeed. We have to hang onto gratitude for our blessings, for the beauty of nature, for friendships near and far. Our solace in turbulent times, which make such blessings even more dear. Thank you, Grace.

Thank you, dear poets, for lifting our spirits with your beautiful poems. I hope our readers come away with more hopeful hearts from this reading.

Wasn't this lovely, my friends? Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!

Life of a Poet ~ Conscious Cacophony

Today, my friends, we are visiting with C.C., who writes  at Conscious Cacophony . It never fails, when I prepare to feature someone, that they tell me, "Oh, I'm boring, I'm not very exciting", and then they knock my socks off by dropping a sentence somewhere in the interview that opens up a rich and unexpected story. C.C. did this very thing, not once, but twice! Read on! And here is a hint: there is a love story and a lion in this interview! Wow!

Poems of the Week ~ The Power of Nature

In summer, we bask in nature's warmth and beauty, gather in lusciousness from our gardens, watch flowers blooming, hummingbirds humming, nature outdoing herself,  showering us with her goodness and bounty. I thought in this lush season we might enjoy reading a few poems about nature, written in recent weeks. Three that caught my eye were written by C.C. of Conscious Cacophony, Truedessa of  True Wanderings, and Gabriella of Gabriella's Writing Corner.  Let's dive in!

Sherry: C.C., would you tell us a bit about how your poem "Wildflowers" came about?

C.C.:  I can give a bit of background to it. Typically, Nature is soothing and healing for me and can always ground me in her embrace. But I went through a particularly difficult time towards the end of my marriage, during which even Nature was incapable of lifting me up....I was just so stagnant and my soul so broken. 

It's been three years since I left my husband. I wrote this poem to signify the end of that season of my life.....to represent that it's time now to let Nature do her work in me again, to allow the joy to flow, to grow....for those wildflowers to bloom once again. It's time for something different. Enough with the stagnation!!

WILDFLOWERS

I flay myself out upon the earth
bruised and bleeding
but she does not buckle, ever,

under the weight of my grief

I should be grounded

in her steady embrace

but I stumble and trip

upon my rocky

jagged soul

stagnant

after years of drought

dried up yesterday’s

luscious, fertile hope

my stony heart

a fallow ground

for Joy’s seeds

now, more crumbled

than Fall’s leaves after

an icy Winter beating

I finally surrender

to Nature’s wisdom

seasons are for change

and it is time

for something different

Let the wildflowers bloom.

Sherry: Let the wildflowers bloom, indeed, my friend. I especially love "my stony heart a fallow ground for Joy's seeds." Hopeful and brave, a turning towards life and joy again. The power of nature to heal, both herself and us. Thank you for sharing with us the meaning of this poem. It enhances the reading of it for the reader, for certain.

Now let's take a look at Truedessa's poem, "Finding Rhythm on Rockin' Waters".

Truedessa: First, I would like to say I am honored to have my poem featured at Poets United. "Finding Rhythm on Rockin' Waters" was inspired by the picture I took on a recent trip. The moment was captured on my camera and in my heart. It was a beautiful day and I was feeling reflective. I walked along a cliff wall taking in the sights and sounds. How many had taken this walk before me? My poem is about resilience, our inner strength and faith, that keeps us moving much like the rockin' waters. It is about believing in dreams and following them, even if you have to fall a time or two. More importantly it is about healing and finding balance in the journey.

Sherry: Such an important message, my friend. Nature and we humans both require balance, to be well.

Finding Rhythm on Rockin' Waters

Sometimes in life we skin our knees

on jagged rocks in the journey

making our way to healing waters

Rocks of various colors and shapes

the very bones of mother earth

each joint holding us together

Tranquility as blue water waves

hello, come rest your weary soles

let your thoughts flow freely

Wash away yesterday's sorrow

off a rocky coastline a ship

of dreams billowing sails

Chatty seagulls tell a story

dolphins splash offering a song

healing body, mind and spirit

Once again finding rhythm

with each breath of salted air

standing on solid rock

Sherry: I especially love "making our way to healing waters" and rocks being the "bones of mother earth". I can see the ship of dreams, and hear the dolphins' songs. Your use of such beautiful imagery is uplifting, and it also reminds us of our connection to the earth, which grounds us when things get rocky!!

I was really blown away by Gabriella's recent poem, "Apocalypse". Gabriella, how did the idea for this poem come to you? 

Gabriella: The poem was born out of concern for climate change and the fact that I find that politicians worldwide seem to be only moderately worried and ready to call for action, as well as take necessary and urgent measures.

Sherry: I share that concern, as you know. You wrote this for a dverse prompt to write in the style of Emily Dickinson, which you achieved wonderfully. Were you satisfied with it on completion? 

Gabriella: My writing was very much impacted by the form. I wanted the poem to be short and include as many Emily Dickinson techniques as possible. I wished to write in common meter since it is a meter that is quite characteristic of a lot of her poems. Obviously I was then limited to using iambs and this is a challenge, when your first language is not English, even if you know where the stresses are in each word.

I also wanted one or two images. The blue moon was an easy one as I had seen mentions of it during the day as this rare occurrence was to take place on Thursday night. The ‘muffled birds’ and nature choking came rather easily when I wished to express the idea that the air was too polluted for anyone or anything to breathe any more. When I used ‘prevails’, I thought of sail for the rhyme and the last image came almost instantly. I pictured a vast and empty ocean where the last sailing boat was folding its sails.

I then proceeded with the dashes for pauses and eventually capitalized some words that I deemed important. 

I do not remember reworking the poem but, as I mentioned, I struggled with the meter. I was happy to have encapsulated my main thoughts within the scope of two stanzas, as I was not certain I could have added another powerful one.

Sherry: I think you achieved your objective flawlessly. It is an impressive write. Do you feel the future is as bleak as this poem foretells, or do you hang onto hope that humanity will get it together in time to turn things around?

Gabriella: I hope that we humans will wake up before it is too late. Sometimes it is hard to hang on to that hope though.

APOLCALYPSE

what ever will remain when all
is Gone - the last blue moon
observed - when lights are Out
and muffled birds just Swoon

who will be left to testify -
when Darkness falls, prevails -
feel nature Choke and see
this planet fold its sails?

Sherry: The impact is stunning, Gabriella. Thank you so much! The power of humans to upset earth's equilibrium, the power of nature to respond.

I agree, it is hard to hang on to hope. Tough legislation was needed years ago; they are moving far too slowly, while global warming is accelerating. Yet we need to go on hoping. Mother Earth is so beautiful, and generous, so deserving of our love and gratitude. And our protection.

I hope you enjoyed these three wonderful offerings, poetic friends. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!