attached
to its twig
by a wiry
petiole
lucky leaf
twirls
like a pinwheel
in the
breeze
Categories:
petiole, dance, tree, wind,
Form: Imagism
Tended with diligent care and toiling
Prayed for against pest attack so severe
Being nurtured by God’s bountiful grace
Our church gardens* are flourishing indeed.
Abundant green and leafy vegetables
Sway healthily exuding their nutrients:
Camote, alugbati, and sili
Likewise, ampalaya, talong, okra.
Herbarium corner shouts vim and vigor
Since herbs serve with supplements’ readiness
There’s aloe vera; here’s serpentina
Sambong on the right; herbabuena, too.
Hedged with bamboos are ornamental plants
Vines and ivies find solace in their nook
Robust bushes, “fortune” and “welcome” reign
As shrubs of pink petiole and red gold peep.
Blest to be refreshed from these garden sites
I then linger near the acasia tree
Savoring oxygen breathed out freely
Thanking the Creator for flora-wealth.
Such is our Botanical Ministry
Offering sweet replenishment from stress
With greeneries’ beauty of wellness strength
Toward invigorating service-bliss.
*Jeremiah 29:5 …Plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
June 11, 2020
4th place, "Garden" Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Dear Heart; judged on 6/13/2020.
Categories:
petiole, blessing, christian, creation, garden,
Form: Blank verse
Dancing upon the shifting crystal stage
The leaf is destined to dance the dance of the river
Aimlessly floating, turning, twirling
Its petiole dampened by the clear water
Washing over the cheerful green blade
Filtering through its veins
Exultant, is it not?
To be enraptured by the rhythm of the current
A journey so captivating and volatile
When all is transient, its colour is held
When all is uncertain, its colour is held
Applauding, the riverside grass flutters in the wind
When fortitude is as fabricated as a fairy tale
And emptiness as enduring as an epitaph
Anthocyanin arises
Drop by drop, dirtied by drab dye
Holding its colour, the leaf was beautiful
Corrupted, the leaf is free
Submitting to the sketch of the stream
The leaf cavorts, blade contorts
World distorts
Current gains speed
None can impede
The crystalline stampede
River churning
Violently turning
Of solace yearning
Embracing the call of the river, at the call of the land
Surrendering its identity
Will I still be "me" by the time I reach the sea?
Categories:
petiole, autumn, change, life, metaphor,
Form: Free verse
As summer ends, fall's panoply unfolds
first frost uncovers autumn’s brilliant tone
of red, yellow, orange and antique gold.
Bright butterflies flit among flowers bold
asters white and yellow by nature sown
as summer ends, fall's panoply unfolds.
From host branches, leaves break at petiole
descending earthward by fickle wind thrown
to wrap the earth in red, yellow and gold.
With days growing short and nights growing cold
bare limbs of aspen and maple bemoan
summer’s end as fall's panoply unfolds.
Gaunt trees line the west ridge as north wind takes hold
sunset silhouettes each standing alone
neath red, yellow, orange and antique gold.
A murder of black crows gathers to scold
grey clouds looming, too soon snow will enthrone
as autumn ends, winter’s beauty unfolds
white snow and shadow conceal autumn’s gold.
10/7/2019
Categories:
petiole, autumn,
Form: Villanelle
A pretty large pumpkin
Light orange red dome
A greenish hand holding the petiole
Is there a green soul
It's a little obscure
The halloween moon is
just a slim crescent
Roots and branches are a giant spiderweb
holding a spooky silhouette
On that flat stone behind
what is that, a cat?
Paper thin melted gold
laying its magic on harvested field
An illusion of elegy
The palm tree in that corner
suddenly starts swaying
Faint moonlight
makes it mysterious
when a grandfather figure says
the towering tree looks up at the
halloween moon
and is dizzy
Looking at the
half unreadable landscape
an owl seated on a cornice
Flies into the mist of
halloween moon
_________________________
September 28, 2019
Halloween Moon Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Chantelle Anne Cooke
Categories:
petiole, halloween,
Form: Free verse
AUTUMN TREES~~
Swoosh----------
the lightly cool yet ever warm breeze
Dancing are the...
Aspen
Baldcypress
Black Tupelo
Japanese Maple
Red Maple
Sassafras
Sourwood
Sugar Maple
Sweetgum
autumn trees;
leaves blowing in t he wind;
colors so brilliant;
seems to pollinate my eyes;
I rub them so hard,
because of my allergies;
autumn trees;
sprinkling drops of microscopic spores;
ever so pungent I can't believe so..
As I sneeze catching a whip of these;
Autumn trees, brightly colored leaves;
The blade as the wind blows fans me;
The leaf's petiole it's leafstalk connects to the branch tree;
autumn trees;
leaves blowing in t he wind;
colors so brilliant;
seems to pollinate my eyes;
sprinkling drops of microscopic spores;
ever so pungent I can't believe so..
As I sneeze catching a whip of these;
leaves blowing in t he wind;
autumn trees;
09/10/18
Written by James Edward Lee Sr.©2018
Categories:
petiole, analogy, appreciation, symbolism, tree,
Form: Free verse
Iris blue waves o'er glazed lens roll
As glossy petals overshadow fibrous petiole
Azure film painted on organic console
Beneath, imperfect tract, shaded hue, droll
Briny solution foams under plastic scroll
Tinted tufts surge, o'er white corners bubbly air hole
Sparkling amethyst streams, on surface stroll
Sunlight glints, more radiant beams does dole
Artifice sculpts each, prim, orbital hole
But shallow breakers intermittently crash shoal
With contact, undulating friction shearing toll
Underneath surface a duller shade unfolds
Below fault lines, denser, steeper gradient does troll
But incognito interloper does deeper strains parole
Sentient vein sealed, glittering folio cover to extol
Categories:
petiole, art, beauty, blue,
Form: Rhyme