Even the rain

At times difficult to detect,

Though subtle and small,

Beauty breathes, it survives.

Even the rain can’t hide it.

Rare Pear

10 Words by Dzvinka: green, pear, spring, love, eight, cardinal, robin, blue, boat, create

 

What to paint is the question,

Signs of spring a strong suggestion.

 

A study of a robin or cardinal to start,

Or a complex composition of abstract art,

Portraits of people I love and admire,

Scenes that motivate, arouse and inspire.

 

Seascape with boats along a rocky shore,

Or a sketch of roads to search and explore,

Decorative designs of the eightfold path,

Depiction of a nude day dreaming in a bath.

 

A drawing of a storm or silent safe beach,

Still life of a rare pear or of a perfect peach,

Capturing the light of a casual blue moon,

A landscape of green, moments into June.

 

Why create is the real question,

To indulge and satiate needed expression.

Reflections while reclining

Staring at the moon after midnight
2,000 miles from home,

Thinking of those I’ve come to know,
Considering the shortness of life -

And in this glow knowing
The earth is so very, very small,

And the moon disappears as quickly
As it appeared to me.

Waiting for Chess

10 Words by Tatiana: tall, periodical, spears, chills, hairy, intense, shark, January, voice, chin

 

Though the January snow was persistent,

She was determined, consistent, insistent.

She was on time, always steady and reliable,

He’d be late, this fact was undeniable.

 

They were scheduled for coffee and a bit of chess,

She pondered future moves that would impress,

She flipped through a nearby pretty periodical,

Her page turning was unconscious and methodical.

 

How dare he delay the game and make her wait,

Already half an hour late for their chess date.

Of course he’d come in with some tall tale,

And as always leave out any important detail.

 

As she sat and waited for the male opposition,

Pages were torn, tattered in that limited edition.

What would she say when he’d finally arrive,

Perhaps she’d be nice and allow him to survive.

 

Or maybe her words would feel like spears,

She knew she was not afraid to cause tears.

But upon his late arrival she just sat and smiled,

It was a friendly game, but definitely not tame or mild.

 

She kept secretly silent and muted her voice,

Uncharacteristic, but smartly strategic by choice.

Chills ran through her with every single move,

She would win just to teach him and to prove.

 

She was a natural, a vicious shark at defense,

Plans of attack were fierce, merciless and intense,

Her moves were hairy and quite alarming,

Yet she remained beautiful and always charming.

 

After three challenging and harrowing hard hours,

No player lost, and surprisingly, no one was devoured.

A grin came upon her chin and likewise on his jaw,

The game between this man and woman ended in a draw.

The Sphinx

I am still on a speeding train

Moving at 102

I’ve been down and out

Reading and breathing Camus

Looking at the Sphinx

Praying for just one wink

But only a schizophrenic is so lucky.

Country Hue

10 Words by Tamara: blue, clouds, trees, happiness, air, flowering, animals, contentment, spring, uplifting

 

Time tends to float and fly by quite fast,

Though ten years have certainly passed,

 

Since I left the big city and the crowds,

In exchange for blue skies and white clouds,

 

Grateful for the fields and numerous trees,

Ultimate happiness with the air and breeze,

 

My hope and vision are continually flowering,

Nature is gracious and truly empowering,

 

I am a friend to the animals and the wild,

Whether strong and fierce, or meek and mild,

 

From the harshest winter to the sweetest spring,

I find contentment in what each season brings,

 

Every morning is uplifting and moments new,
My bliss continues to consist of a country hue.

The Dance

10 Words by Amadeu: step, move, smile, touch, drop, close, closer, kiss, insinuation, kill

 

four steps, three moves

insinuation

frustration

 

two smiles, one touch

kill

chill

 

a little close, a lot closer

stop

drop

 

five fights, one promise

kiss

bliss

A Little Chicken Soup

10 Words by Richard: chick, pea, purple, foot, marker, prick, ring, vein, pencil, salt

 

Once upon a tedious time,

Souls were nourished by prose and rhyme,

 

Today professionals dissect tired brains,

But pains still pulsate through purple veins,

 

Aches persist from foot to head,

Writing, reading and thinking, surely dead,

 

Doctors analyze our intricate fears,

But ringing persists in our delicate ears,

 

We sign checks in pencil and wills in marker,

Change time to make our trips home darker,

 

Online, every day, new and better advice,

What not to wear, what food, what device,

 

There are no tales like the Princess and the Pea,

No tests for identities or physical sensitivities,

 

We are still pricked by the thorns of a beautiful rose,

Hoping to be nourished by either rhymes or prose,

 

But present day bodies are clearly fed,

With bowls of salty chicken soup instead.

The Blue Jay

“Still waiting,” she sighed.  The lake was now soft, and the sky drunk in blue haze. She had been sitting on the edge of the mattress for quite some time, being awakened that morning by a passing blue jay. Simply sitting and waiting to see the sun rise over the eastern pines.

 

Her decision to sleep above the boathouse to clear her thoughts failed. She spent much of the evening thinking, spending too much energy in seeking meaning. She sat alone, but was slightly comforted by the moon’s company. Just slightly, for at times she did not like the moon at all. It was always content, and always smiled.

 

Still looking for answers that morning, but finding it difficult to concentrate. The birch tree leaves rustled and seemed to be encouraging her outside. The morning lagoon breeze was cold on her skin, but she remained seated. Interrupting her thoughts, a woodpecker worked on the rotten willow tree that rhythmically scraped the old pine roof with each breeze. She could no longer focus, and threw on some clothing and exited the boathouse. She walked quickly over the damp grass and sand, down to the dock and stepped into the cool lake water. Young fish immediately started to circle her feet. She took a deep, long breath. “I feel relaxed.” In a few moments, the sun began to rise, and she managed to smile. “Seemingly simple,” she thought, “Why did I not feel this before?"

 

“I am not alone. I am part of this all. Not a single body, but part of everything alive around me. I feel the rapture of being alive, and do not care if I have an answer. I am not concerned. I have the morning sun and the blue jay's song above me.”

Sincere Morning

30 words by Omar (and his sons Ibraheem & Imraan)

Omar: dole, coal, sincere, derriere, quaint, faint, probable, plausible, meander, oleander

Ibraheem: chicken, cup, play-doh, stool, peanut, dinosaur, water, bottle, lego, pencil

Imraan: faint, sofa, mama, soap, second, starbucks, junk, peppermint, avocadoes, cable

 

Mail is early today, so derriere off the sofa,

Clouds are dark as coal, rain highly probable,

Seconds sorting junk mail, setting it on the stool,

I detect a quaint, faint scent of peppermint soap,

But perhaps it is just bright, colorful Play-Doh,

Love and appreciation of Ibraheem and Imraan,

Playing with Legos and dancing with dinosaurs,

Waiting for mama to come home, they are hungry,

Anxiously awaiting her famous chicken soup,

I doled out some salty peanuts to the two smiles,

Myself considering ripe avocados on the counter,

I’m fine with my cup of starbucks and bottled water,

Mail was early today, so derriere back on the sofa,

Perhaps a movie on cable, one with a plausible plot,

Or perhaps just “White Oleander,” my mind meanders,

I choose a pencil and paper instead, my life is sincere.

Snow (Cніг)

10 Words by Peter: angelic, demonic, foreshadow, ukrainian, goddess, feast, static, fractal, blurring, arrival

 

Psychedelic angels foreshadowing farewells,

Angelic goddess tears cast demonic spells.

Statically soaring high through Ukrainian skies,

Dramatically foretell the arrival of grey goodbyes.

Falsely dancing free, but blurring spirals guarantee,

Waltzing fractal snowflakes, future feast of the Black Sea.

Poppy Point of View

10 Words by Amadeu: green, red, blue, freedom, see, passion, know, darkness, joy, you

 

I’ve experienced green,

But only in one dream.

I’ve known ruby red,

Very read, enough said.

 

But blue is of a different hue,

Too new to behold, to view.

Freedom is the actual key,

Myriad of colors of others to see.

 

In darkness I cannot create,

Silhouettes in shadow do not relate.

Known for passion in black line,

My artistic fashion, inspiration divine.

 

The forever child, urges of a boy,

Knowledge of man, spirit of joy,

You may one day see the hues,

Of my painted poppy point of view.

Chain Reaction

10 Words by “Little Craig”: satisfaction, bliss, heroic, gamble, resonate, blue, karma, love, seven, inferno

 

Satisfaction from reaction

Entertained by each distraction

Soul searching for true bliss

Diverted by each new kiss

 

Heroic gambles resonate in blue

And green hopes in golden hues

Red skies give a sound suggestion

But air is free and lacks direction

 

Karma characters perform in a play

Love and friendships from yesterday

Towering inferno and seven sins

Chain reaction, the nature of twins

Favorite things

Geese flying south, a beautiful mouth,

Peach kisses, "do good" wishes,

Smoked salmon, tea with jasmine,

Fresh strawberries, familiar movies,

Unexpected flowers, warm showers,

First day of spring, unconscious paintings,

Cinnamon Bay, bellow of a blue jay,

Star sapphires, autumn fires,

Conversing with cats, night bats,

Crescent moons, flowers in June,

April Fool’s Day, the month of May,

Lilies of the Valley, empty allies,

Interesting conversation, pleasant relations,

My face in the sun, feeling one.

Red Expectations

10 Words by Dzvinka: promise, expectation, feeling, love, daisy, friends, blue, apple, fall, happy

 

Blue promises and red expectations,

Struck with luck, but perhaps with lust,

Then falling lovely in love,

As the fateful apple, or just as simply,

As a single happy daisy.

 

First and foremost, fondly friends,

Then feeling to unending reeling,
And feeling again.

Beautiful Blue Nostalgia

10 Words by Amadeu: linda, azul, nostalgia, agora, mar, vida, luz, dança, branco, negro

 

Light or dark, black or white,

Marching now to life's dance,

With beautiful blue nostalgia.

Making the Artist's Due Date

10 Words by Tatiana: erotic, space, time, change, structure, force, energy, number, quantity, symbiotic

 

Erotic race in a symbiotic space,

Change of mine in a range of time,

Forced-fed energy, a sourced quantity,

Invisible numbers, divisible structures,

But sleep is soon, next phase of the moon.

The Crawdad and the Catfish

Illustration by Ken Lambert

10 Words by Ken: blind, familiar, mystery, intimate, explore, babble, crawdad, immerse, obscure, solitude

 

"How do you know what's around that corner?"

The crawdad asked in absolute horror.

"Not sure," catfish said without a care,

"I guess I'll find out when I get there."

 

Immersed in obscure solitude tonight,

Nearly blind on this new moon night,

At peace with the intimate and familiar.

I smile because I can hear the river.

 

Listening to it babble, sing and speak,

Mystery urges me to explore and seek,

And though I've seen every eddy and bend,

I cannot say I know this mutable friend.

 

The river changes with every season,

It does not abide by logic or reason,

And though I can't see the road before me,

I trust I'll get there, no need of a warranty.

 

"How do you know what's around that corner?"

The crawdad asked in absolute horror.

"Not sure," catfish said without a care,

"I guess I'll find out when I get there."

The Apology

10 Words by Nikolai: drizzle, yellow, philosophy, curb, age, branch, leave, field, sleep, complacency

 

Intentions of philosophy in a technological age,

A warn out apology on a tattered yellow page.

Current field of vision, complacency in sleep,

3-dimensional drizzle, hopes still running deep.

Curbing all perceptions, branches lift and leave,

Instinctual detections, everything up the sleeve.

Moments of Amadeu

10 Words by Amadeu: beauty, woman, truth, life, feeling, meaning, sensual, line, white, black

 

What is life?

Strife in feeling,

Where is meaning?

 

Screening sensitivity,

The curse of creativity.

Why won't it leave me?

Forever immersed…

 

The white paper teases,

But sensual black line eases,

The beauty of woman,

My duty, my truth...

And the door opens,

And reopens...