Long Ladybug Poems

A a 	big A little a
                   What words start with the letter A
    ...

Read More

These are my modern English translations of Takaha Shugyo haiku and tanka...

hatogata horarete ichiju haya mebuku

A single tree
with a heart carved into its trunk
blossoms prematurely
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

dôkefuku nugazu tentômushi no...

Read More

Here I am sitting on the ground looking all around
Here I am sitting on the ground extending my empty cup
and hoping that I could get some luck
The afternoon is far gone and everyone must be...

Read More

my grandmother’s name is Verna

some look at her and see section 8, welfare checks, abuse and neglect

they see insufficiency, ignorant independency, a trench-condemned wreck 

no collegiate education, no high-school diploma, they see a lack of...

Read More

I think my dorm room may have a ladybug infestation. You know why I think this? Because I am usually, when in my dorm room, surrounded by ladybugs. I go to sleep with them. I...

Read More

The wood misunderstood the knife, the ax, the scythe
though for centuries it had sheltered man and should not
have misunderstood man's intent.

Wind chimes sublime mime melodies wordless tones
without rhyme noting not the passing of time.

The endless...

Read More

Wide, blue pools reflect cotton-ball clouds drifting across a canvas of endless sky. A blade of grass, a towering giant in a sun-dappled jungle, whispers secrets only explorers with bare feet can hear. A ladybug,...

Read More

See them crawling out of the mound walking in a straight line, one set is going to East, the other to the West, carrying little particles of food in their mouth and moving  with...

Read More

(a flash fiction piece)

My brother (Brice) left university, 6 months ago, like millions of other students, to shelter from COVID. After years away Mr. Annoying was back in MY world, bickeringly close and way too...

Read More

I was poised to take a picture of a ladybug when she turned around and said, 
“Do you mind!  
It’s impolite to take a picture of a lady from behind!”

“I hope you know…” she...

Read More

Colepatra kissed and shrunk me down to microscopic size
please believe this phenomena cuz these lips refrain from lies
metamorphosis transformed mine human manly guise
while strolling one spring day me vision turned to compound eyes
unfettered vesicles uttered...

Read More

Early in the morning when the air was lying still
A ladybug was right outside, on my window sill.
"What the hell you looking at? I hope you get your fill. 
Get on you little redhead, go...

Read More

It seems to me I have two types of dreams as through my life I stroll…
The first are the dreams I make…over which I have a modicum of control.

Dreams I work on every day…dreams that...

Read More

Today is World Gratitude Day…so…as you head out of your door…remind yourself of all the things in your life…you are grateful for.

Those moments or things that bring a smile to your face…that keep you grounded…and...

Read More

I lollygag as much as I can
As I travel from meadow to prairie
Grandma packs me a lunch
Knowing she will not see me for hours
It is 1960. She is not frightened I will be found dead
Kidnappers...

Read More

Through the years they loved holding hands…it made their love feel brand new.
Whenever they were asked why they answered…it’s just something that we do.

Crossing streets, at the movies…on long walks across the sands
If you are...

Read More

In the depth of your arms, time lays down its dreams softly,
Under the velvet of the moment, every burden turns into a silent thorn.
Oceans of trials I traverse, when I find solace and purpose,
In the...

Read More

Written: April 09, 2025, for contest sponsored by Brian Strand

                 *********************

sometimes there's soft sludge
a harsh grip that creeps in...

Read More

There in the night of flight, 
I blew upon the dandelion seeds of hope,
Crossing universes that became a rope,
One day in this lifetime
The waters of synchronicity rhymed,
To know you so true
A path once laced with...

Read More

Two unexpected moments…the first…a deer…without even a calling card
stopped by for a visit at the cabin…just showed up in our yard.

She was quiet, calm…a bit reserved…she didn’t make a fuss.
We happened to notice her…around the...

Read More

There is a a purity born into every baby…an innocence that runs deep…I imagine every parent feels it whenever they watch their baby sleep.

We not only see it in the way they sleep…but in the...

Read More

She gives me a sassy knowing dare me grin as she begins to devour her ladybug sandwich.
I watch her crown nod up and down in rhythmic quiet as she eats in gargantuous bites.
In fascinated horror,...

Read More

She remembers her parents taking her to her window every night
telling her…”No matter how old you grow…no matter where you are.
before you go to bed each night promise us…you’ll make a wish upon a star.”

But...

Read More

ETERNAL recollected memories 
Despite the mists of EVERLASTING time.
Four years have passed so slowly.
BOUNDLESS scenes recorded.
Thus I still reminisce…..

The garden was pure delight,
The evening scent spread afar.
I wondered if I could have 
A moment of...

Read More

Oftentimes in writing poems I tend to glorify
the ladybug…the bumble bee and, of course, the butterfly.

In so doing I’ve ignored the moth…
I thought perhaps because they fly at night might be the reason why.
but haven’t...

Read More