Poetry Thursday - The End of March

"It was cold and windy, scarcely the day
to take a walk on that long beach
Everything was withdrawn as far as possible,
indrawn: the tide far out, the ocean shrunken,
seabirds in ones or twos.
The rackety, icy, offshore wind
numbed our faces on one side;
disrupted the formation
of a lone flight of Canada geese;
and blew back the low, inaudible rollers
in upright, steely mist."

- Elizabeth Bishop, The End of March

This is just the kind of day we are having here... wind gusts up to 30 mph, a plummeting temperature throughout the day, and moody skies above. It sounds like we have two days of this brief return to cold weather, and then Saturday may bring rain, but warmer temperatures. Welcome to spring!

Poetry Thursday - Year's End

As a blue moon rises over the waning year

spilling soft light through cloud-lace,
and tree shadows,
we burrow into the comfort of home.

Warm air from the woodstove
curls through hallways,
through doorways,
through the memories of bygone days.

Stories rise like the moon,
up through gales of laughter,
up through tears of loss or longing,
like ribbons, weaving things together...
weaving us together.


~ a poem for New Year's Eve, by aisling, 12/31/2009

Poetry Thursday - Snowfall

cystal petals fall

a gift from heaven to earth

flowers made of ice

a haiku, by Aisling, December 3, 2009

all photos by Aisling, December 3, 2009

Poetry Thursday - Give the world to the children

"Let us give the world to the children at least for one day

Let them play with it as if it's a spangled balloon
Let them sing and dance among the stars

Let us give the world to the children

Like a huge apple or a warm loaf of bread

at least for one day

so that they'll have enough to eat

Let us give the world to the children

so that even if it's for one day

it will learn what friendship is

The children will take world

out of our hands

and they will plant immortal trees."

Nazim Hikmet (1901 to 1963)

The words of this Turkish poet, translated here into English, remind me of why we conduct youth foreign exchange. You can find out more about this poet here.

Poetry Thursday - "A Wish-Fulfilling Jewel"

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we would be studying Tibet this year, to learn some history and culture of this beautiful land and its beautiful people. The writing of Woeser touches me with both veils of emotion and a stunning, poignant clarity.

In a poem, translated into English, called The Past, we read in one of the stanzas:

"This lotus, withering, cannot be my lotus.
My lotus is the lotus of the past,

Enfolding the snow mountains, lovely,

Many a prayer flag, five colors fluttering,

Oh, many prayer flags, five colors fluttering."

In One the Road, she tells us:

"On the road,

I clutch a flower not of this world,

Hurrying before it dies, searching in all directions,

That I may present it to an old man in a deep red robe.

A wish−fulfilling jewel,

A wisp of a smile:

These bind the generations tight."

In that same way that an other-worldly flower and a smile can bind the generations tight, so Woeser's words can bind cultures together. To learn more about her writing and her stuggle, and to read these poems in their entirety go here. As I read her poems and consider Tibet, I find myself thinking, If only there were a wish-fulfilling jewel...

photo above from June, 2009, with "water-color" photo-editting enhancement.

Poetry Thursday - Home

Home

a poetic ramble

New shores,
Same skies.

Different flavors,
New aromas,
Water, food, and air to breath,
Same needs.

Unfamiliar traditions,
like prayer flags on Tibetan wind,
Catching the eye
But comfort, reassurance, connection,

The reasons for tradition,
Are not unfamiliar at all.

New sounds on the fickle breeze,
But the same tide,
From the same moon,
Rolls the deeply connected seas.

New hills,
New roads,
And unfamiliar words…
Same sweet, irreplaceable Earth.

~ by Aisling, October 8, 2009
Photos by Haiku from her trip to Turkey, August 2009

Poetry Thursday - Last Days of August

Since this is the last Poetry Thursday of August, I am posting this haiku... however, I plan to fully enjoy these last few days of the month, which are also the last few days of my "summer vacation" from college.

cone flowers linger

petals waving in the wind

farewell to august

a haiku for the last days of august, by Aisling, 8/27/09

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you peace in these last days of August.

Poetry Thursday - Haiku for an August Morning

an august morning
dew spills from petals to earth
sun spills from the sky

~ august morning haiku, by aisling, August 19, 2009

all photos by aisling, August 19, 2009

1) garden in early morning 2) bachelors button 3) the first cosmos bud 4) lady's mantle; alchemilla mollis 5) balloon flower 6) web in grass 7) morning sun over the eastern hills

Poetry Thursday - Healing

I take a walk along the lakeshore
Bare feet in clean white sand
And my thoughts are turning in my mind
Like this pebble in my hand.

There is beauty in these hills,
Something sweet that lingers on,
In the woods and in the fields
And in the wind so free and strong.

I take a walk along the lakeshore
To put my mind at ease
And the sun settles slowly
As my restless heart seeks peace.

There is healing in this water
In this lake of green and blue
There are depths and there are shallows,
There are currents, deep and true.

There is healing in these hills
On the paths through quiet trees
And the night birds softly sing
As, at last, I walk in peace.

~ Healing, by Aisling, August 13, 2009

photos by Haiku, August 2009

Poetry Thursday - a haiku

sun on the water

yet more beautiful and bright

daughter on the dock

Poetry Thursday - One Bloom

One of my favorite tulips is a sweet rosy purple variety called Purple Prince. This little poem that I wrote, a tanka, tells why this year only one of this variety bloomed.

a purple bud blooms
alone in a pool of green;
at dawn in the spring
with their shy white tails waving
deer ate tulips for breakfast.

tulips for breakfast, a tanka by Aisling, May 7, 2009

photos by Aisling, May 6, 2009

Poetry Thursday - Dandelion

bright pom-poms appear

yellow cheer on the green grass

sunshine reflected

~ dandelion haiku by Aisling

April 30, 2009

photo by Aisling, 4/30/2009

A Beautiful Thursday Afternoon

wind taps the window

dances through the room singing

come outside to play

~ a haiku, by Aisling, July 24, 2008

Most of the day, I've been in the house cleaning. I've scrubbed the inside of the refrigerator, done several loads of laundry, and done some reorganizing in my bedroom. I'm accomplishing some things that are long overdue, but the beautiful day is calling to me. When this next sinkful of dishes is done, I think I'll go outside and pull some weeds in the garden. I'll take a look around and see what is ready to harvest so that I may plan dinner. I may even wander over to the "berry bramble" and nibble a few golden raspberries.

Where-ever you are, whatever the weather, I hope you enjoy the beauty of the day.

photo by Aisling, Thundercloud Plum & today's beautiful blue sky

Unfurling...

soft catkins emerge

lilac leaf buds swell with green

spring is unfurling.

~ Aisling, April 17, 2008

photos by Aisling, April 17, 2008 1) willow catkin 2) sensation lilac leaf buds 3) little bee on the first daffodil to bloom this year.

Poetry Thursday - Handmade

Our Christmas tree is very homespun and eclectic, with no design scheme what-so-ever. Handmade creations, made by artists of all ages, hang amid mass-produced ornaments received as gifts and in stockings over the years. There are ornaments my husband made as a child, with his aunt or at a neighbors house, and there are ornaments I made with our children. There are both colored and "tiny white twinkle lights" because there is no consensus in the house as to which is better. Dotted around the tree are my favorite mid-twentieth century glass bulbs. I have only a few, but I love they way they reflect the sparkling lights - white and colored.

The styrofoam ornament above is one that my husband made as a child. It is hanging on the tree next to an ornament our youngest son made at preschool last year, and above one that his aunt crocheted early in our marriage. At Christmas time, the years and memories of our family are all stitched together, homespun and heartwarming, like a patchwork quilt.

(a Christmas Ornament haiku)

made by little hands

some so many years ago

some just yesterday

~ haiku by Aisling, December 20, 2007

Poetry Thursday - Gathering

Some of my favorite children's books read like poetry to me, illustrated with pastoral or whimsical art. One such favorite is the book Gather Up, Gather in written by M.C. Helldorfer and illustrated by Judy Pedersen. This pretty book, subtitled A Book of Seasons, begins a poetic narration with Autumn and ends there again.

Here is just a bit that appeals to me, as autumn is hidden beneath a blanket of snow:

"Just like that
the trees are bare.
The geese have flown,
and children are home by fires.
The grapes are jam,
and pumpkins, pie.

Gather up, gather in,
gather close tonight:
Winter slips in."

photos by Aisling, November 2007

Poetry Thursday - An October Song

night rain is falling
wind is moving through the leaves
an October song

~ haiku by Aisling October, 2007

We woke to the first frost of the season. This will be the day I look for the windshield scraper, bring the green tomatoes in to ripen on the counter, and share my first frost-in-the-garden photos of the year.

photos 1) Maple leaf on the grass;2) Alchemilla Mollis (Lady's Mantle) 3) Weather-worn Pink Cosmos 4) Pink Zinnia glazed in frost 5) Yellow marigold

Poetry Thursday - This Autumn Day

I was pleased to find a few moments to take photos on this busy autumn day. This poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay expresses the deep joy that one can find in nature. Is this joy more poignant in Autumn, because we know that winter will soon be here? It's very late in the evening, but I have another load or two of laundry before I can go to bed, or some family members will have "nothing to wear" tomorrow! *grin* I'm tired and sleep is calling my name, but waiting for laundry has given me an opportunity to share a poem by a favorite poet. I hope you enjoy it!

God's World

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists, that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,
But never knew I this;
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart, -- Lord, I do fear
Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me, -- let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call. ~ by Edna St. Vincent Millay

photos by Aisling, October 17, 2007 1) Leaves on the fiesta maple 2) Haiku taking a walk; 3) other leaves on the Fiesta Maple

Poetry Thursday - October

A child looking at ruins

grows younger but cold

and wants to wake to a new name

I have been younger in October

than in all the months of spring

walnut and may leaves the color

of shoulders at the end of summer

a month that has been to the mountain

and become light there

the long grass lies pointing uphill

even in death for a reason

that none of us knows

and the wren laughs in the early shade now

come again shining glance in your good time

naked air late morning

my love is for lightness

of touch foot feather

the day is yet one more yellow leaf

and without turning I kiss the light

by an old well on the last of the month

gathering wild rose hips

in the sun

by W.S. Merwin, The Love of October

I think these thoughts about October are beautifully expressed. Someone please remind me to kiss the light by an old well on the last of the month, and to gather wild rose hips in the sun!

photos by Aisling, October 2007 1) Galliardia and Coreopsis in the evening light 2) Wild Rose Hips on the back hill

Poetry Thursday - Sijo (Again!)

Taking a couple of weeks off of Poetry Thursday was apparently not a very good idea. Rather than picking up with my next child's "namesake" poetry, I accidentally researched Sijo again and wrote another. I thought things sounded awfully familiar, but since several of these Asian poetry styles are similar, I didn't realize my mistake until this evening. Since I wrote this today, I will go ahead and share it, and begin with Tanka next week. (If I post Sijo for three times in a row, start to worry about me! *grin*)

So, with all of that said, here is my second attempt at Sijo:

Oh swift running time slow down; I'm leaving unfinished days behind.
I will sit beneath the elm tree, and rest my eyes for a while.
Let the wild grape vines grow, and tie me to this earth while I dream.

~ Aisling, Sept. 20, 2007

I read the following Sijo on the aforementioned website. It takes my breath away.

Oh that I might capture the essence of this deep midwinter night

And fold it softly into the waft of a spring-moon quilt

Then fondly uncoil it the night my beloved returns.
~ Hwang Chin-i (1522-1565) most revered female Korean classical poet

photo by Aisling, September 20, 2007, late summer re-bloom