NaPoWriMo 2020 Day 11: Love in Bloom

Image by Ein Kaffee kostet mehr als € 0.55! from Pixabay

some yellow acacia for you
with your eyes of cornflower blue
a sprig of Syrian mallow
to show my heart is not shallow
a cedar leaf shows I'll be true

~cie~

Prompt: The Language of Flowers

Tan Renga Wednesday on Saturday: Cherry Trees in Full Bloom

Image source

springtime is coming

hope to put the longer days

to practical use

shadows become longer

cherry tree in full bloom grows

~Chèvrefeuille & cie~

notes

Once my son and I are done clearing out that blasted mobile home (the one where I lived for 18 years and he lived for close to ten) we will finally be able to concentrate on what we want to do with our new home. I would like to plant a few dwarf fruit trees. I've always loved cherries, both as a fruit and a plant. I try to keep looking to the future, to have aspirations but also keep in mind the need for practicality due to my health issues.

The Ageku of this Renga is © Chèvrefeuille. The Hokku was written by me.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday: Winter Chrysanthemum

Image by Marjon Besteman-Horn from Pixabay

Winter chrysanthemum,

Wearing nothing

but its own light

I wear a sweatshirt for warmth

and think about my garden

~Mizuhara Shūōshi & cie~

notes

The Hokku is © Mizuhara Shūōshi (1892-1981). The Ageku was written by yours truly.

Carpe Diem New Beginnings: Snowdrops

you always told me

whenever I saw snowdrops

it means you are near

are you here with me again

or is this wishful thinking?

~cie~

Carpe Diem #1790: Sunset Flowers

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seen for a moment

in the last of the sunlight

sparkling wet flowers

~Cie~

Notes:

Here is the poem by Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694) provided for inspiration.

in the twilight rain

these brilliant-hued hibiscus -

a lovely sunset.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday: Reverse Renga: Crystal Dewdrops

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blue morning glory

closed against the rising sun

holding onto night

pink morning glory in full bloom

covered with crystal dewdrops  

~Cie & Chèvrefeuille~

Notes:

This time we were given the Ageku (two-line stanza) and had to compose the Hokku (three-line stanza). So, the three gloomy lines are mine. You know me. Or not, if you're lucky.

Carpe Diem #1767: Daisy: A Senryu

golden-eye daisy

I know that he don't love me

'cause nobody do

~Cie~

Notes:

Inspired by the 1892 song "Daisy Bell".

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #104: Photoshopping Haiku + Haiku My Heart: Camellia

Image by Beverly Buckley from Pixabay

Unfolding before

the eyes of a little bird

a bright camellia

~Cie~

Here is the original Haiku by Yosa Buson (1716 - 1784)

Unfolding at the

hand of the glass polisher:

a camellia!

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Sunflower and Foxglove

at this time of year

sunflowers line the roadside

golden soldiers march

too much is toxic

but given in small doses

it can help a heart

~Cie~

Note:

The cardiac medication digitalis is made from the foxglove plant. Patients taking digitalis must be monitored closely for symptoms of toxicity.

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Baneberry

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withstanding extremes

a plant may make its debut

within my garden

~Cie~

Notes:

I am seeking plants suitable for Zone 5. They need to be able to withstand both heat and cold and not be too thirsty. The Baneberry seems like a possible addition.

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Cahaba Lily

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a field of stars grows

in the galactic garden

cahaba lily

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Columbine

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they say columbine

is the flower for my state

I've never seen one

growing in the wild places

on the hills or in the plains

~Cie~

Ghost Town Grover and Cactus Clem wanted to share their poems too!

Please understand that they wouldn't know

A Haiku from the sole of their shoe

Visit the Artist

A Columbine Poem

by

Ghost Town Grover

I might of seen a columbine

When I was working in the mine

Trouble is, I wouldn't know

'Cause I wasn't looking for nothing except for gold!

Visit the Artist

Cactus Clem's Columbine Poem

I might like to see a columbine

But what I really like is to drink wine

I like some beer and whiskey too

But I don't never eat no stew

Eatin' isn't in my plan

But I gotta drink 'cause I'm a Cactus Man 

To follow the adventures of Grover, Cactus Clem, and their friends, and maybe even find some good stuff to buy and support the Grover Hotel renovations, please visit the Good Stuff From Grover blog!

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Milkweed

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I must remember

plant milkweed in my garden

for the butterflies

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Peony

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dainty peony

a garden's painted lady

makes a home for ants

dainty peony

ants climbing in the petals

seeking space to rest

a garden's painted lady

something from another time

and at once timeless

makes a home for ants

petals form a cozy bed

hidden from the sun

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Cornflower

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cornflower blue eyes

yellow sun surrounding black

pretty rainbow eyes

where have you gone dreaming now

have you become the music

For Gem and Gerry

Notes:

If you prefer poetry without trivia, the bus stops here.

If you enjoy Cie's various ramblings, stick around.

This little trivia blurb was created by me for a trivia post regarding eyes which appear to change color. This is the result of a harmless condition called central heterochromia. This person's eyes were primarily blue, but there was a circle of yellow pigment close to the pupil which caused the eye to appear green or hazel depending on the light. I just thought this was a really interesting phenomenon. 

The person whose eyes were used as an example of this condition is no longer among the land of the living, and I kind of don't feel like talking about that.

Gerry Clifford, the male protagonist in Team Netherworld's longest-running WIP, Fetch, is described by the smitten Pepper Baiij as having rainbow eyes.

Rainbow Eyes is one of my favorite songs. It was written by Ritchie Blackmore and the late Ronnie James Dio.

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Honeysuckle

I can remember

the smell of honeysuckle

New Mexico night

~Cie~

Notes:

I recently completed and am about to submit my manuscript for the Insecure Writers' Support Group anthology contest. The genre is middle-grade historical fantasy/action.

I normally write for adults. I find writing for youth extremely challenging. I ended up opting to write a lightly fictionalized autobiography of myself between childhood and my pre-teen years which centered around my imagination and the fantastical fiction genres which inspired me. In writing about myself I ended up opening a lot of pockets of unresolved grief.

The place I lived between the ages of four and nine was a semi-rural pocket in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where people could have small farms and keep chickens and such. We had a very large yard, a half-acre. Unfortunately, the house was in rather a shoddy condition and cockroaches the size of school buses had a tendency to get inside. The bugs are huge in New Mexico, and I was not keen on that. But I did love the little skinks and horned toads and such. We also had many beautiful plants around such as the honeysuckle vines, and the cicadas would sing us to sleep.

I was a very shy child and did not have many friends. The characters I met in fantasy worlds were my friends, as were my pets and the animals in our yard.

Although I was born in the Western United States and raised in the Southwest for a number of years, my parents were both from New York. When certain relatives would visit, they would ridicule my accent. A New Mexico accent is a bit of an off-Texas drawl. To this day, I bristle whenever anyone askes the seemingly innocent question: "where are you from?" To me, that question is loaded.

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers: Yarrow

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like yellow yarrow

I am plain, scrubby, and rough

my beauty unseen

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #97: Depth of a Flower

Wildflower Bouquet

I

windy weather

calling the flowers by name

each nods

windy weather
inspiring too much thinking 
melancholy thoughts

calling the flowers by name
the flowers in a graveyard
have names of the lost

each nods
no fight when the time has come
blowing away home

II

depth of a flower

flying away with the bee

some mystery

depth of a flower
what hides deep inside beauty
mystery within

flying away with the bee
nectar feeds tomorrow's child
hope for the future

some mystery
can spark curiosity
or can drive one mad

Jane & Cie

Notes:

The "sleighs" of these two Troiku were created by Jane Reichhold (1937 - 2016). The Six Horses of the Apocalypse escaped from my unstable stables.

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers 2019: Zinnia

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I have a feeling

that zinnias will appear

in my new garden

a dainty-looking flower

which thrives in harsh places

~Cie~

Notes:

Those of you who are only interested in the poetry can hop off the bus here.

Those who enjoy trivia and my Grover updates, keep on truckin' with me.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that zinnias thrive in harsh climates. (Wikipedia entry here.) Another fun fact: they are native to scrub and dry grasslands.

Colorado has notoriously awful soil, but I remember my mother growing zinnias in her garden. I have a bad reputation as a plant murderer with a serious black thumb. Zinnias, however, seem like they might be able to withstand me.

Here are some recent images from the Grover Hotel renovation. The awful extension has been successfully removed, along with the back porch which was rotting and barely attached to the house. Our thanks to Northern Colorado Excavating for the assistance in removing this strange structure, which was serving as housing for wasps. Fortunately, no-one got stung.

If you purchase a product using one of the links below, I earn a small commission.

Carpe Diem Field of Flowers + The Legend of Seacliffe House: Daisies After the Storm

around the mansion

daisies standing strong together

after the storm

around the mansion

dark shapes lurk in the shadows

even in daylight

daisies standing strong together

like my companions and I

these wonderful friends

after the storm

we concentrate on our work

we stand together

Chèvrefeuille & Cie

Notes:

The "sleigh" of this Troiku was created by Chèvrefeuille. The Three Horses of the Apocalypse were wrangled by me.

I always appreciate the inspiration for a poem relating to a Team Netherworld WIP, in this case, The Legend of Seacliffe. After a tumultuous night riding through a terrible storm to take his mother away from the brutal Diamantina Lamb, mistress of Lambswood, Randal Messana finds shelter and kindly assistance from the servants at the mysterious Seacliffe House. As the sun rises and dries the rain, he notices a patch of daisies thriving in a meadow a slight distance behind the house as he is assisting his new companions with their chores.