BUTTERFLY SUMMER TOLD YOU SO
Silkily cocooned Blossom turned to fruit Past to the future
Segmented caterpillar Weather warms up in degrees Told you so, did you listen
Fluttering angel Alas, summer's here Oh no! So, what now
A single star softens
above cold stone,
where quiet shadows steal across the lawn.
A lone sprout
stands tall—
waiting to greet the ghostly glimmer of dawn.
With petals frozen in pure repose,
it whispers the memory of winter’s weathered white.
A pale, pristine thing,
subdued,
breathing its beauty into the bitter night.
Submission date:July 19, 2026
lake of ash
tears like cheery blooms
drowning in a lake of ash
you are the sunrise
petals rise from water grave
hope breathes through golden seams
Header Note
Sponsor: sotto Poet
Poetry Contest Theme : Issa Kobayashi Inspired Poetry Contest
Haiku about a small drop of water creating a big change
Date of Submission: July,10 ,2026
CHERRY PETAL FALLS
Cherry petal falls
One drop catches morning light
Tears turn into joy
Coin for Zoltar
On carnival night the bulbs burned low and gold,
I stood before Zoltar's wooden chest,
Turbaned prophet, tall with painted eyes of cold,
Yet burning like a secret fate confessed.
I dropped a coin of sorrow in his slot,
Heard gears hum soft beneath the dreaming glass,
My heart sprang open, unlocked by what time could not:
A flood of cherished memories let loose at last.
"Speak," I whispered to the oracle of wood,
"Can dreams wear flesh? Can lost hearts meet?"
His crystal gaze weighed all I could,
Then night ignited, warm beneath my feet.
And there, oh there, my beloved stepped through light,
A sunrise stitched in human skin,
My face bloomed, cherry blossoms after rain at night,
Joy spilling out like wine from cup to chin.
His smile, an enchanted lantern in the dark,
Wrapped my soul in velvet, dream-soft, true,
We danced on air, our laughter left a spark
That turned the harsh world into something new.
Reality may bite, but Zoltar knows this art:
Hope's a coin we spend against despair.
So I stand here still, beneath his watchful heart,
One coin of sorrow gone, one coin of hope still there.
Frozen Blossom
Cold lips, sun-kissed.
Rose-crimson comes to life,
unfolding bliss,
opening aperture -
hear the rapture.
The tint of snow, bright-red.
Frozen sunset
in ev-e-ry petal.
She shivers, with delight,
anticipates
animated brushstrokes
fondling velvet.
Revival, early Spring -
sings angel wings,
tinged with silver detox.
As she breathes out,
she warms inner stamen,
awakening
potent place in Eden.
Frozen blossom,
fragile in dormant state -
latent shatter,
but she is beautiful,
and capable
of weathering the snow.
A blushing bride
with wedding veil, of white,
in April’s hold.
Espoused daren’t let her
out of his sight.
Frozen blossom can still thrive well, indeed
Since God always refreshes by His grace*
Letting plants to grow along goodness-breed
Toward fruition-bliss despite dearth-filled days.
Against grievousness’ pain of coldness-strain
Frozen blossom can still thrive well, indeed
While divine warmth’s reign brightens faith’s terrain
For kindness-gain propelled by loving deed.
With care that nurtures sweet partnership-seed
Against challenges of bitterness’ ail
Frozen blossom can still thrive well, indeed
Beautifying radiant hearts to prevail.
Reared in the garden of triumph’s delight
Along thanksgiving cheer yon prayer creed
Weeding-out callousness midst vibrant light
Frozen blossom can still thrive well, indeed.
*1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
May 3, 2026
2nd place, "This or That, Vol 38" Poetry Writing Contest
Sponsored by Edward Ibeh; judged on 5/14/2026
At the tip of the reclined jade bough,
ornate with fine filigree of emerald foliage,
a floral lattice in the love-laced sapling
blossomed as a flower with a fervent flair.
On the weary wings of the arctic wind
the wilted petals of my florid longing
blew away in the winter of discontent
to the cold cauldron of nowhere.
As my yearning turned into glacial vacuity
in the freezing darkness of the arctic pathway,
I walked forsaken over the frozen flower
along the gelid trail of frigid memory.
I felt the poignant crunch of the flower,
for, then every step was an articulation
of my fragile brittle feeling congealed.
Yet, even if the bruised beauty
got treaded upon the fallen blossom
in the snowstorm raged meadow
I painted its shape-shifted insignia
on the cinnabar canvas of togetherness lost.
In the twilight zone it would glisten
with the patina of residual florid rapture
within our opalescent inner sanctum,
the garden of our real home still verdant,
where the frozen blossom would bloom again.
May’s blossom on the bush was my delight.
Her birth came soonest of all the flowers’.
When was it that she first beheld sun’s light?
Did it fall on her in dawn’s first hours?
I wonder how she felt when sudden rain
fell, pounding her before her blossoming,
and did she know how short would be her reign
once she’d emerged to greet the world in spring?
An unexpected snowfall came one day
before her sister roses could join her.
How strange it was to have that freeze in May.
I could almost hear it – her silent brrr -
as she – poor, frozen blossom in the snow -
no more would feel her rosy life force flow.
When winter blows a chill and freezing breeze.
Stripping the blushes from the autumn rose.
A flower awaits in silence and pleads.
Now cold and encased in white icy woes.
Her gentle petals dressed in softest hue;
Held tight within a harsh crystalline grasp.
Perfect jewel twinkling with morning dew.
A love that the season cannot unmask.
She waits patiently for spring to appear.
Cold on the outside but alive within.
Listening to each song she longs to hear.
Content to bloom her fragrant life again.
My love waits faithfully for Spring to show.
Frigidly wrapped up in winter's white glow.
A glass-winged rose upon a stem of wire,
Suspended in the amber breath of night,
It keeps the phantom image of its fire,
A trapped, electric, ultraviolet light.
The petals shatter into silent screams,
Of diamond-dust that tastes of distant stars,
While roots are drinking up the melted dreams,
And ticking time is locked behind cold bars.
The sun, a faded photo of yellow,
Dares not to break the brittle silver spell,
In this breath, the frozen world grows mellow,
And ringing in the silence, a cracked bell.
A crimson pulse inside a sapphire cage,
A secret frozen on a winter stage.
Flowing streams whisper low,
A lifeless flower, fading in thought.
Souls of blossoms quietly wait
For the warmth of the sun once sought.
A lone goose drifts along
The silent Fuji River’s embrace,
Carrying echoes of hope
Through time and empty space.
Spring, the season I love comes along
Green shoots now sprouts from verdant trees
Soft breeze kiss bystanders` cheeks
Sweet sunshine streams with grace
New life starts to shine
Flowers blossom
In gardens
With bright
Hues
It’s march 1st
Day one of spring
The birds are chirping
The wasps and bees are buzzing
The flowers are blossoming
The mammals are awakening
I am too
I am returning from my winter hibernation
I have shed the skin of my past life
I am chirping
I am buzzing
I am blossoming
I am awakening
I am spring
March is the month that is gift wrapped,
Covered in blossom and ribbons of rainbows
We shed layers of coats in a
Seasonal pass the parcel of
Jumpers and cardies.
I see a puddle from the muddle
Of spring sunshine and rain,
Such a shame
I no longer have wellies
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