Photography – Page 106 – Poetry, Short Prose and Walking

Zany – A Six Sentence Story

It was a mistake telling George about those aliens who wanted me to hop on board their flying saucer for some zany experiments.

George explained to me that my aliens either were delusions or they were demons monkeying with me and he didn’t care which I picked as long as I didn’t believe there were actual aliens out there since any rational person knows they couldn’t exist and they wouldn’t exist if they wanted to.

He’s usually right, and so I picked the demonic monkeys.

That’s when a flying saucer popped in front of us and a squeaky voiced alien asked George if he would like to hop in for some nice experiments.

I gave them both an all-knowing smile.

As George hopped in he told me I would have to gaslight myself until he got back.

Linked to GirlieOnTheEdge’s Six Sentence Stories with the prompt word “zany”.

GirlieOnTheEdge Denise Farley's six-sentence-stories icon — GirlieOnTheEdge Denise Farley’s six-sentence-stories icon

Our Feathered Friends

Linked to Cosmic Photo Challenge where Dale offers the theme of “our feathered friends”. The birds above are evident, and noisy. You might miss the ones below. They are nearly in the center, wading, who knows why, across the lagoon.

Also linked to Trent P. McDonald’s The Weekly Smile. It has been a beautiful week in Northbrook, Illinois. I was able to walk about Somme Woods and Skokie Lagoons Forest Preserves, enough to put a smile on my face.

True

The cloudy image on the lake
Comes from the gracious morning light
We left the darkness of the night,
Became aware of what’s at stake.
We now renew, rejoice, remake,
Reflect on what we know as true.
Our part seems small, like morning dew,
But later when the victory’s won
We may find out it was well done
And fully know and be known too.

Linked to Ronovan Writes Decima Poetry Challenge with the word “true” appearing as one of the rhyme words in the c stanza. The full pattern is abbaaccddc.

Ronovan's Decima Poetry Challenge Image — Ronovan’s Decima Poetry Challenge Image

Seagulls

Attracted by the morning sun
And by the people who
Toss wondrous crumbs into the sky
That every bird with brains must try.
What else is there to do?

This is why I don't feed the birds, but I love it when others do. — This is why I don’t feed the birds, but I love it when others do.

A Wet Weekend

Today, I’m glad and feeling fine.
My thoughts are cloud-free clear.
Tomorrow rain may soak my roots
Nourishing those fresh young shoots
While I am standing here.

Linked to Cosmic Photo Challenge where Dale offers the theme of “a wet weekend”. My weekend was more like the photo below than the one above, but they both have water in them.

Also linked to Trent P. McDonald’s The Weekly Smile. I have been taking this past week morning walks starting around 5:15 AM to watch the sun rise in Techny Park (Northbrook, Illinois). Watching it rise through the trees and then being reflected on the pond has made me smile.

Reflected Sunrise

Morning sun in neighbor’s window,
Pond reflects the cloudy sky.
Should I search, distort the season,
Expose the surface, buttress reason?
Look. Stay true. Don’t fear the why.

Wind

A steward cares for what he does
Not own. And if we'd dare unwind
The miracle, perhaps we’d find
The sorry tale of who he was.
He left that, who knows where, because
The Spirit’s wind blew long ago.
Why did it come? He does not know.
He’s glad, more glad than anything
That used to make him smile or sing -
Across his life such breath would blow.

Linked to Ronovan Writes Décima Poetry Challenge. The prompt word is “wind” to be used as the rhyme in the second or third line of this ten-line poetic form having eight syllables per line and a rhyme pattern of abbaaccddc. I used it as “unwind” in the second line.

Forces of Nature

Linked to Cosmic Photo Challenge where Dale offers the theme of “forces of nature”. The top photo is a storm coming in on the Atlantic Ocean and the bottom is Tennessee in the fall.

Also linked to Trent P. McDonald’s The weekly Smile. We took a road trip from Florida to Illinois over the past three days going from very hot and humid to still hot weather. On the way there we stopped at a beautiful rest area in Tennessee around the Cumberland Gap on Route 24. It brought back memories which made me smile. The photo below was taken in the fall a few years ago of that rest area heading south. Last Saturday we were on the other side heading north.

Story

Oh, that is a blessed story.
Defeated, now arise, renew,
Unchained, inspired, come ride on through
Darkened, deadly territory.
Everlasting praise and glory - 
How light prepares the morning's run
And nighttime rivals daytime's sun.
Breathing freely and rejoicing
Singing words we all are voicing
This story ends. It's never done.

Linked the Ronovan Writes where the theme is to use “story” and an A or C rhyme in a Décima, a 10-line poem in 8-syllable lines with rhyme scheme ABBAACCDDC with optional stanza break after the fourth line.

The illustrations are some of my photos while walking in the neighborhoods of Miami Beach. They may or may not relate to the poem depending on your imagination.

Facing Change

The change I’d face began to dawn
Though hidden by dark cloudy seas,
A flood with opportunities
That I would miss when I moved on.

They vanished when they saw I'd gone.
Why did I leave them? I don’t know.
I watched and waited, wanted so
To make it right, at last renew,
Have something in my hand that’s true,
But in the end I let them go.