Summer Sonnet: River-WomanAwakened! I returned a stream in Spring
to flow and grow on nature’s snowmelt milk.
I came to be of earth and sky (...a fling),
my sire a winter storm. Like liquid silk
emerging, I was born; a water-child.
Between two banks I nestled with my dreams
and bloomed a gAnGLy creek ‘til solstice. Wild
I played— not meek but sleek....
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Categories:
river, earth, freedom, growth, life,
Form: Sonnet
Born For This
I’m born a stream with winter’s thaw.
On swiftness from steep slopes I draw.
Beneath the sun, I gather steam.
With winter’s thaw, I’m born a stream.
I warmer grow as on I run.
I gather steam beneath the sun.
With river kin I’ll likely flow.
As on I run, I warmer grow.
I may grow wide; I may grow thin.
I’ll likely...
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Categories:
river,
Form: Quatrain
Waterfallwhitewater appeared
a rumbling roar filled the air
the waterfall’s near
...
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Categories:
nature, river, water,
Form: Senryu
Writing Like the Dickens
It’s so hard to start
Brain and pen, poles apart
Yet two lines in, the pace quickens
Soon you’re writing like the dickens
Thoughts stream in and out your head
...
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Categories:
bird, flying, river, words,
Form: Couplet
Follow the flow of the TeesFollow the flow of the Tees
Meet the folk whose sweat
and tears shaped the land,
brought in the bounty,
shifted the steel to build
Better places.
Follow the flow of the Tees.
Meet the people who fish
in peace. Look for a seal or two.
See them bobbing, watching you
watching them. Observe them catching the
rays of the sun on the...
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Categories:
river, animal, appreciation, culture, fishing,
Form: Free verse
Life On The RiverA balance in life can solve the riddle.
To find the balance, start in the middle.
Distractions from the banks may lead us wrong.
Go with the flow where the current is strong.
The banks are sirens calling to our ears,
offering us pleasures relieving fears.
The emotion of love, the fear of pain,
tossing and turning, driving us insane.
Too much...
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Categories:
river, addiction, adventure, beauty, freedom,
Form: Sonnet
Matsuo Basho: English translations of Haku about Summer 1Matsuo Basho: English translations of haiku about summer, life, sun, sunshine, sunlight, melons, willows, rain, rivers, hats, shade, sad, sadness.
Such coolness
when shouldered:
the summer’s first melon.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
A wicker basket
shields the coolness
of the first melon.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Morning dew:
the muddy melon
exudes coolness.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Early summer...
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Categories:
horse, life, river, sad,
Form: Haiku
Matsuo Basho English Translations: Spring 1Matsuo Basho Haiku: English Translations of haiku about seasons, spring, rain, moon, flowers, blossoms, wind, river, etc.
Blame the rainy season
for my absence,
old friend Moon.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
For yet a little while,
the pale moon
floating among blossoms...
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Moon past full:
darkness
increasing.
—Matsuo Basho, translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch
Spring rains
so heavy
they overflow...
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Categories:
flower, moon, rain, river,
Form: Haiku
Misty River Rainbowsthe river disappeared
into a misty maze
as rainbow gardens grew
and bowed their pretty heads
like flowers in the rain...
written July 6, 2025 for Nette Onclaud's
Some Kind of Misty contest...
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Categories:
river, allusion,
Form: Free verse
A river
Jasmine aroma
riding the evening winds
Blinds draw them inside
Arms are intertwined
Water collects
in the high hills
Looking for a gate
to melt its thrill
Rain joins
beating many a thorn
They clash and unite
A river is born
___________
5 July 2025...
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Categories:
river, image, imagery, metaphor,
Form: Verse
Possum
Categories:
animal, baby, mother, river,
Form: Haiku
Wordless PeaceThe river moves but never dies,
It carries all it cannot keep.
Beneath its glass, the silence lies,
A cradle where the old dreams sleep.
I watch it wind through stone and silt,
A silver ribbon pulled by time.
It bears the weight of love and guilt,
And every joy we failed to climb.
I see my face in trembling glass,
A thousand selves...
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Categories:
river, emotions, introspection, metaphor, peace,
Form: Rhyme
Hungry Bearbear wading in the stream
bear grabs a jumping salmon
bear feeds his hunger
...
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Categories:
river, animal, fish, fishing, food,
Form: Haiku
In the CradleForged in the cradle of crumbling stone,
The river murmured like an elder's song,
A silver thread through earth’s old bones,
Unraveling what never should belong.
Like lightning shaped in liquid skin,
It laced through logs and shattered pride,
No war was waged against the din,
Just gentle strength that slipped beside.
Over time, I’ve clung to rigid dreams,
Iron branches in...
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Categories:
river, growth, identity, introspection, life,
Form: Rhyme
Stepping Stones Standing
step stones across stream
look easy to pick and tread
some were raised upright
wanting to be idolised ~
as landfall stands for the soul...
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Categories:
river,
Form: Tanka
Specific Types of River Poems
Definition | What is River in Poetry?
Poems Related to River
tributary, estuary, stream, run, creek, brook, rivulet, course, watercourse, branch, rill, beck, runnel,