A Castaway No More (Poem)

Trudging through a haze 
Sunlight reflecting off the sand 
Thankful paradise’s a season 
Not another land 

Sunscreen, water, all I need 
surrounded by my kin 
Who carry off my worries 
With slow breaths out and in 

Noisy sea gulls gather first 
Dinner bells for beach 
In choppy flight they nab
My memories from the breeze 

Some futures fallen to the sand 
Some past floats out to sea 
Crabs battle round’ like drunken knights 
To feast upon a dream

Then out beyond the crashing waves 
Pelicans valiantly dive 
surfacing with time or two 
Then nodding to the sky 

A few more breaths and I can rest
A simple animal 
just laying, warming, napping 
on this sandy shore 

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Response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #502

A Sign (Nature Poem)

The trees were the first sign 
All over the world, in waves 
Turning bluer than the skies 
 
Then came the budless spring 
The leafless summer 
Many wouldn’t recover 

AI combed numbers
Brilliant minds analyzed 
Soft hearts heard the whispers

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My Response to: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge # 501

What Lives In Darkness (Haiku)

She’ll never roam down
She knows what lives in darkness 
-but it seeks, and climbs 

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Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge # 492

Right From Wrong (Haiku Poem)

Brother always says
right from wrong is obvious
my past says different

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Response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #490

Life Erupts (Poem)

Life erupts like rash 
From empty dust, coating stone
Scarring Earth with hope  

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My Response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #488

Nature Holds (Poem)

Nature holds the soul 
In love, in fear, disbelief 
Amoral beauty 

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My Response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge # 487

Wilderness (Poem)

We are finite vessels
And so are the bags we can carry

So when I wandered into wilderness 
Anxious Mother
gave me 2 peanut butter jars and trail mix - "nonperishable" she promised
Thoughtful Father 
gave me 4 waters bottles - "refillable" he reminded 
Wise Brother
gave me an edible plant guide - "rely on nature" he suggested  
A generous friend
gave me 4 match boxes - "for tough times" she directed  

All this I packed 
inside my bag,
adding in my jacket.
I zipped it up, and lifted -
Just right I decided.
Then I put on my boots
Ready to begin

My mother, father, brother and friend 
all took pictures 
as they wished me well
I smiled as naturally as I could
Trying to ensure 
We'd focus on the possible good

Repeated words, and good lucks
Let us know the time had come 
For me to turn, and walk alone
Into the wilderness 

.....Within 2 weeks my nonperishable food was eaten 
.....My clean water was drank- and dirty water made me sicker 
.....My days were spent searching for plants 
smooth leaves - but NOT too smooth
One mistake - and I was sicker
.....Within 4 weeks my matches were black and ash
shivering, made me sicker
.....Within 5 weeks I was too weak to walk 
Hiding out under sheltering rock

I had sifted through my body
Poured out my entire bag
I had nothing left.....
To get up 
would only make me sicker 

But one last spot 
somewhere inside
suddenly unlocked 
and to my surprise
Whispered words, and smiling eyes 
From someone who I'd left behind 
Long ago
And had no idea that I'd wandered here
Had packed in me, what was now most dear - 

They picked me up
And day by day  
They opened book, promised fruit 
Started fire from 2 sticks 
Made my water clean again

Sickness passed where strength grew
I could survive the wilderness 
and now I knew

We are finite vessels
And so are the bags we can carry
But thankfully, and graciously, 
love is like our soul 
made infinitely small, so finites can hold 

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My Response to: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge # 486

Lures (Poem)

Bright lures line our path   
"Take a bite into new life"
Conscience gifts us sight 

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My Response to: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Photo Challenge # 485

The Perfect Spot (Poem)

Oh, what a perfect spot!
Now only to be still,
so guileless leaves 
don't reveal
"he's hiding over here!"

But I've got to get a peak, 
to see who is about.
Oh no, there's Bobby
looking round,
I better duck,
heart pound, pound, pounds. 

Hunkered down,
knees pressed in dirt.
Anxious ears awaiting fate, 
Bobby yells
he celebrates! 
But voice is distant, 
down by the lake. 

That means there's time to rise,
loudly whisper, give a wave. 
Share a smile with my Mom - "aren't I sneaky" 
it proclaims.

I duck back down,
muffle giggles.
I won't come out 
till Mom shouts "Dinner!"

Bobby, Lucy, Jeff, and Sue
around the campfire will ask for clues. 
Giving up - they’ll claim they "know”,
they'll “find me quick tomorrow".

When all our fires are extinguished, 
I’ll lay in quiet moonlight glow, 
all tucked in trunk next to Mom
I'll whisper, "they still don't know!"

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My Response to: Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Photo Challenge #484

Buttons (Poem)

Little kids lose buttons -
Smart mamas keep extra.

They'll have thread to match 
Each shirt, each pants. 
An instinctive spot 
Beneath a lamp.
A sewing box from decades past, 
Organized but still a mess.

They'll have scissors dedicated
To creating lengths they've estimated.
Clever family tricks 
For needle threading.
A plain or pretty little thimble, 
Reminding fingertips, "never be fearful"

Little kids lose buttons - 
But mamas keep extra.

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My Response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’s Photo Challenge #483