I open behind the curtains
To let in the most beautiful ultra light
You who knows this heart better than anyone else
A soul calls out singing enchantingly
In flash your blinding
brings salt to the eyes
crystal pearls flashing diamond silver
Mixed with golden sunlight
paints a rainbow of colours
laced with angel rays shines out with love
The brightest blinding treasure truly a warm gift
my dad,
my father.
climb up mountains,
he'd go farther.
hiking hills,
working hard.
paying bills
paying rent.
without that.
we'd be bent.
fixing things
that needed fixing.
breaking things
that need breaking.
my dad,
my father.
you run far,
he'd run farther.
First, we mine, then we craft, LETS MINECRAFT!!
I gave you every chance
I trusted and I believed in you
~ was I asking too much?
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
She stands like Everest—jaw-dropping, distant, sublime—
No timid plea will ever bridge that height.
Yet the one who climbs with tender steps and earnest heart
May trace her warmth through courage’s light.
You stumble on your words—your voice betrays your desire,
Each awkward phrase fuels your hope to try anew.
Like a climber training on icy slopes, you rise again from slip and fall,
For each earnest reach builds strength inside you.
She may seem unattainable, aloof behind her lofty snow,
Still, effort carves a pathway where affection slowly grows.
One gentle gesture after another—steady, brave, sincere—
Becomes the rope that binds your hearts in close repose.
As the mountaineer knows: summits yield to those who persist,
Each step endured, each setback met with grit.
Likewise, a heart is won not by luck—but by steadfast, caring climb,
For in love and heights alike, those who try never quit.
(Cabin Sunset, summer 2025)
The Heat of the Moment
Settling into our new mountain cabin,
Dogs and humans equally overheated
In the shadeless August afternoon,
The only way to be is naked.
Stuff strewn around
Bed to one side, kitchen the other,
Camp chairs with panting dogs
On an old Persian rug in-between.
Cabin with unfinished interior
Waits for insulation, paneling and flooring,
But in this moment nothing is missing
Except maybe a fan.
No water we haven’t brought,
Nor power not in some kind of rechargeable battery,
Yet we find a strong signal FM station
Playing one classic rock song after another.
And it takes me back to another time
Living as a 70’s teen in the suburbs when FM was king,
Then in the 80’s as a young man off grid in the hills
When a stack of cassettes was all we had or wanted.
Those youthful times, family and friends are long gone
And yet here I am in old age,
Living the good life again with new family and friends
Still rocking on, out of time, out mind.
(8/10/25)
mauve mountain shadows
creep across verdant valley ~
purple moon rises
(August Full Moon – Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest)
As I fondled my plunder
A wind from down under
Got caught on the breeze
It wafted and floated
But still I felt bloated
And dropped to my knees
As it tore me asunder
I recalled days of thunder
What'd help to appease
My stomach just rumbled
In agony mumbled
Some TUMS if you please
Took more than two rolls
Prayers read from dead scrolls
To cure this disease
But then belly now loaded
The wind then exploded...
And blew bark off the trees
waking to dewfresh morn
wet grass bare feet
a hot cup of coffee
sun on my face
dusty scent of roses
star lily sweet
breathe in fresh mountain air
my favorite place!
MOON OVER THE MOUNTAIN*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The moon ascends, a silver coin tossed into the well of sky.
Its glow spills over jagged peaks,
softening their rugged edges.
I stand beneath the moon’s glow, pondering my own ascent~
those moments when I climbed, when I faltered,
and when I stood still, lost in the beauty of the struggle.
*Cendrine Marrouat published this poem at Haiku Shack (creativeramblings.com) in June, 2025. It is my original creation.
You have been assigned your mountain
In order to show others that it can be moved
Often you are set in your ways
This will not move the mountain
You have been assigned a mountain
You need to grow
This will show
The power of your weakness
That can be turned into a strength
Dissatisfaction is the key to progress
Doing what others don’t do can
Open up a fountain of reality that
Can show you that the mountain can be moved!
You have been assigned a mountain
You need to grow
This will show
The power of your weakness
That can be turned into a strength
Mark Frank
Copyright 2025
There is an old goat named Billy
who finds the altitude chilly
and with insufficient grippage
to prevent downhill slippage
may fall off the mountain but will he?
Mesmerised to watch marvellous Mountain View
with charismatic charms of CASCADE
on continuous free fall.
Sun is down bidding bye to fading twilight.
Evening is slowly merging to turquoise night.
Descent nascent crescent Moon peeps
with shimmering glaze.
A SERPENTINE silhouette spreads over starry tapestry
with a MYRIAD of blue sapphires twinkling on hazy NEBULA
under enchanting LUNAR panorama.
Vibrant waterfall is dancing frolic
in opulence of aqua flow
from chasms of rigid mountain
to LILT in mellifluous tune
as if to entertain night farmament
staying in silent mode.
Small stones broken from rocks to SLITHER.
Serene sublime night to resonate
with rhythmic dynamic waterfall.
Off and on water droplets sparkling
in PHOSPHORUS glow reflected
by soft soothing Moon beam.
Me floating on dream
drinking dormant desires.
A lady I knew travelled the world
looking for the perfect mountain,
the most pleasing shape that
would attract her uplifted eyes.
She was an atheist, perhaps
in her own way she was looking for God.
Many mountains came close to perfection,
but none were impeccable enough for her.
Sitting on rocking chairs
on a cabin porch in West Virgina,
she confided all this to me.
It was a fine day,
snowy cumulus clouds,
rose like mountain ranges
in a backdrop of deep cerulean, blue.
One tall cloud was particularly outstanding.
As she looked up, she gasped,
in a low voice exclaimed, "God."
Then and there,
her spirit found its perfect mountain.
I slept at the foot of the mountain,
There’s cheese in the trap waiting,
Bait out the prey,
Counting out every second it’s taking.
Haven’t ate in several days,
In a week.
Listen for the snap,
Now there’s dinner in the trap waiting.
I forgot my second language,
Guess I have nothing worth saying.
Thank god for this dinner,
Practice patience by leaving my plate untouched,
I haven’t finished or even begun praying.
Blue meats,
I need my flames for American Spirits and Marlboro’s I’ve been partaking in.
S K Y
in my pocket holds
eu
PHO
ric elves who
forgot they need to plant
pumpkins and peas
s ~ K ~ y
Y
y
in my pocket lets
l o
O
s E
coloured clouds
landing on
your lap of
aloe aloneness
sky in my pocket weaves
wings on acorn ankles
reminding I can swiftly fly to
macadamia mountains high
sky in my pocket sighs
sunlight, then rains crystal
tropical tears into our empty bucket
to quench a thirsty
Love
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