A force of nature, with a heart so grand,
She walked this earth, a light in the land.
Our Auntie Dana, fierce and free,
Like the hammerhead shark she loved to see.
She navigated life's deepest, darkest seas,
Finding solace and strength on her bended knees.
In the Bible, her compass, she found her way,
Guiding her through each and everyday.
For her three boys, her love knew no bound,
In their triumphs, her greatest joy was found.
Then came the grandkids, a new chapter to start,
Each one a treasure held close to her heart.
Aunt to so many and mother to all,
With laughter and cheer,
she banished our sorrows, our every fear.
Her witty humor, her infectious grin,
A beacon of warmth, from deep within.
Though she faced tempests and trials unkind.
A beautiful spirit, she left behind.
So let her memory live, a whisper on the breeze,
Among the vibrant, sunlit, whispering trees.
A testament to a beautiful, brave, and loving heart,
From which we never, ever, have to part.
Love you Aunt Dana, We will miss you!
Categories:
hammerhead, beautiful, cry, death, faith,
Form: Elegy
Shark Week Serenade
It’s Shark Week—let the ocean roar,
A celebration through the tide,
I plunge where blue horizons soar
And let my fascination glide.
Sharks in spotlights, strong and sleek,
Legends in the swirling brine,
They prowl the depths we dare not seek,
With power ancient, fierce, divine.
I marvel at the hammerhead,
The tiger shark in graceful sweep,
The gentle giant’s silent thread—
In every fin, my passions leap.
This week, the world will tune to see
Their mystery, their daring lore,
But I have loved them silently
Long before the cameras bore.
Reefs and kelp beds come alive,
Rainbow fish and jellies, too,
Yet sharks, relentless, fierce, survive—
Ocean’s guardians, proud and true.
With every episode and tale,
I feel my heart swept out to sea;
O sharks, beyond the spray and gale,
Your wild spirit lives in me.
Categories:
hammerhead, ocean,
Form: Free verse
the seahorses grazed in a field undersea
the jellyfish wobbled at the party
the starfish in their constellations went
the clams secretive tight lipped and silent
the hammerhead sharks did the DIY
the clown fish entertained as they swam by
the plankton ruled undersea in their gangs
the octopuses spent too long shaking hands
the crabs on the side their day they spent
the lobsters approached in a pincer movement
the sea urchins loitered dishevelled and poor
while the oysters enjoyed everything and all
Categories:
hammerhead, animal, fish, fun, humorous,
Form: Light Verse
Over the rainbow
never alone with ourselves
there's no other me
(Jeff Beck)
Categories:
hammerhead, age, appreciation, blessing, character,
Form: Haiku
Fake pyrotechnics bloom inside plastic strips.
The night gets colder
as Christmas carols limp on.
I slip away from the dull concert
into the unlit zoo,
sure that among the sculptured
caves and enclosures
beasts pace their plots.
Close by a large animal looms.
I smell the weight of it, a matted moonlight
awake under a thick pelt.
Eyes spy each other through electric bodies.
A restless prowler coughs,
fearful Impressions escape their enclosures
to hunt upon dark lost paths.
I have seen enough, or rather
I have not seen but sensed,
a curious peril nosing my presence.
Grizzly Bear or Bogey beast -
hard to tell.
Behind me
I hear children still singing…
a 1000 pound Hammerhead shark
swims past my cringing mind
on its way back to an unlit aquarium.
Categories:
hammerhead, poetry,
Form: Free verse
She’s a lyrical dame with a sexy refrain
Creeping cat-like out of the dark,
Crossing the high bridge, the wind at her back,
On the hunt like a hammerhead shark.
She caters fetishes, routine and ritual,
Plus a few that are rather unique.
She’ll treat your fever with high-grade medicinals
On the banks of the fabled French Creek.
She performs all the obvious favors
That involve the way a vixen behaves.
And when you crave a particular flavor
She consents like a rented-out slave.
She’s a practical dame with a sorry refrain
Slinking sideways into your bed.
Making hard things simple as summer rain
While clearing the space in your head.
And should you consider the hand she’d been dealt
When her pimp turned her out on the strip,
Consenting transactions are all well and good,
But you might also leave her a tip.
Categories:
hammerhead, allegory, society,
Form: Lyric
little hammerhead
pecking the front porch pillar
downy woodpecker
Categories:
hammerhead, bird, nature,
Form: Haiku
little hammerhead
pecking the front porch pillar
downy woodpecker
Categories:
hammerhead, bird, nature,
Form: Haiku
Spanish moss draping old oaks
Sea bird sanctuaries with lookout platforms
Storks, pelicans and seagulls cry for attention
Hammerhead sharks cruise the Gulf Stream
Hurricane-vulnerable, small cottages
Home to stock car races, bikers
Antique auto enthusiasts
Surfers line the east horizon
Unpredictable waves
Undertow, sand crabs and sea turtle eggs
Let's leave our footprints
In fine, white sand
Collect angel-wing shells
Listen to beach-side church bells
When we visit
Ormond Beach
*Written November 5, 2016 for Janis Thompson's "My Kind of Town" contest that was judged 11/10/2016.
Categories:
hammerhead, home,
Form: Verse
Body surfing on the Atlantic Coast
A towering wave was headed my way
The challenge of which I sure planned to boast
Already I was thinking what I might say
Caught it far out, rode thirty feet toward shore
In four-foot water I rose joyfully
My friends on the beach were in an uproar
So I took a deep bow so gratefully
Just why my friends were going on and on
Gave me pause ‘cause it wasn’t my best ride
Against me a sleek figure brushed upon
Was stunned to say the least, I must confide
Had a dolphin chosen to ride with me?
‘Twas then I saw swimmers fleeing the sea
Just as the Coast Guard pulled me to safety
A shark revealed its hammerhead to me
*Entry for Joe’s “Twisted Minds” contest
Categories:
hammerhead, sea, me, me,
Form: Narrative
Under the Broken Moon
your eyes meet mine
liquid to a silver spoon
late night cab ride
Amy Winehouse on repeat
with each minute, my hear skips a beat
candle light scents linger
as well as your smooth long fingers
up and down my bare back
like clockwise
you attack
my neck, like a vampire
under the broken moon
with eyes, black and dark
a hammerhead shark
obscure and mysterious
you circle me, your prey
I think of the ways, you will contort
my body, and have your way
melting, slowly, into your muscular
body, until the whispers
soak into the next day
under the broken moon
In the hallway, I hear a creak
silent slumber betrayed
be not my loves defeat
eyes wide, silent, still
minutes drag like hours
none to be spared
I bite my lip
struggle to hold back a
deep moan, as you
pull my long brown hair
under the broken moon
Categories:
hammerhead, adventure, girlfriend-boyfriend, imagination, life,
Form: Free verse