Could that ruby-throated hummingbird be God?
Fanning smiles-igniting sighs in brief thimbles of time.
To help temper the graying emptiness of our swirling lives.
Then just as quickly God flits away with our pinkish sighs.
Leaving twin pits of black and blue endless emptiness.
in her humble home
a mirror reminds her life
does not tarry long
once she was beautifully
young now old and aged wiser
regret does not stay
as she wanders a new path
she will not find peace
amongst winter wildflowers~
at last crossing the threshold
the ruby palace
is cloaked by starry cosmos
found by those who dream
i wander back home
a ruby scarf on the hook
the mirror holds light
winter waiting at the door
i stand before going in
ruby-cold winter~
I wander old rooms searching
for what once felt like home;
the mirror keeps reflecting
the one regret I still hold
Line of inquiry:
“to veil light we cloaked it in bliss
then intellect and lower mind
fused together as magnetism
in form where truth we seek to find”
Dandelion dance of ego blown away
Indigo trials within your lack of faith
Soul seeking spiritual known to pray
Ruby red redemption shown to save
Onyx times when one is lost or blind
Beckoning blues hazel hoping to find
Inner indigo strength of sound mind
Noble robe of repenting ritual’s time
Ghosting thoughts of fear of death
Entertaining hearts of spiritual wealth
Green Garden of Eden given again
Opal tears of joy in forgiven silver sin
Old ruby glasses
warmed the world to match my wish,
softened every edge.
Staining the panes guilty red,
with light beaming inside me.
I don smart glasses
to smooth away awkward things
with bright white captions—
names, prices, warnings, labels—
until all is declared shamed.
Yet nothing has changed.
The older glass and new code
serve the same old eye.
persuade the incoming light
to return what it answered.
A tree becomes mine:
memory, fear, weather, want,
all falling on it.
The lens never changed the tree;
The bark shows my fingerprints.
Once I took them off.
The world refused to explain
itself to my eyes.
It had yet to find an eye
that could see without glasses
Collum Lune Haiku 3/5/3 words
ruby-throated hummingbird
drinking tiger lily's sweet nectar....
heat dries dew
You've hardly noticed me, not yet.
Don't worry, my love, I'm not upset.
One day you will and never forget.
Tell me darling dear, have I got your ear?
Guess what? I know everything about you.
All I do is think about you.
I cannot live one day without you,
Yes, you my darling dear, look in your rear-view mirror.
I'll smother you in my wet embrace.
As your trembling outline, my fingers trace,
I'll curl your toes and lick your face.
Oh, my darling dear, why must you shake in fear?
I could tell by the way you looked at me,
that you knew that it was only me,
the true love of your life, eternally.
Why, my darling dear, did you choose to disappear?
You left me. I can't believe you could,
poor little me, so misunderstood.
Don't worry. I made a puppet out of wood
who looks like you, darling dear, and I'm the puppeteer.
red ladybug crawling on my polished shoe
spring ruby ~ black dots dance
[ FIRST PLACEMENT:
Standard Contest
March 26 ]
We all wanted to inherit Aunt Ida’s ruby choker.
It is gorgeously set with rubies, emeralds and diamonds.
Are they real or fakes? Someone asked. .
Carol, a very annoying in-law.
She should have no right to this gorgeous piece.
We lied and told her they are all faux gems.
We know better.
But we know another thing about this relative.
She is a thief, so lying to her was easy.
I would wear it anyway, she told us.
Aunt Ida always cautioned us to never wear it to bed.
Our cousin Lulu inherited it.
Wore it to bed.
Was found the next day, deceased.
That’s when we decided Carol should have it.
We told her it would be good luck to wear it to bed.
My Aunt Ruby was a bingo fanatic.
Every Friday she'd get her hair done ~
a visit to the 'Strands To Go' salon.
She left feeling like a graceful queen.
Friday nights were sacred at the bingo hall.
She'd pull out her money from her purse
and buy as many bingo cards as possible
then head to her favourite table to wait.
She'd light a cigarette to calm the nerves
and say a little prayer hoping to win big.
Someone had to win the jackpot ~ why not her.
She prepared her dabber and braced herself.
The bingo caller was always right on time.
Her cards always ready and perfectly aligned.
She waited with bated breath for numbers called
loud and clear as they possibly could be.
And so it was that every week on Friday,
Aunt Ruby spent her time doing what she loved best:
smoking, dabbing, and chatting among other devotees
... even coming home odd times with some cash winnings.
AP: 1st place 2025
Written: August 28, 2025, for contest Sponsored by: Joseph May
***********
building celestial diamond — eolith fog glamor
yet not every flame is meant to last
there were no sacred vows, oaths, or clamor
just the gentle whisper of a love we outgrew
amber breezes carry dancing embers
not every farewell requires a curtain drawn
ruby leaves drift slowly, tracing days' tempers
while breeze sings dulcet songs on the worn trees
kindling leaves mumbled nostalgia’s orchestral pulse
akin to the gentle blinking of newborn stars
the harvest moon glows with ancestral impulse
casting shadows shaped such as memories
fallen gold blends with ivory joy
where owls sing hymns in a minor key
hope flickers in the silence of every decoy
as roots hold secrets only the night can view
"It's RUBY TUESDAY night" declared Charlie.
Why do yer call it that when it's ruby murray for curry?" retorts Steve.
"It's coz we 'ave it on Tuesdays that's why mate" replies Charlie.
Steve shakes his head "But Charlie, we do 'ave it on Saturday nights too."
Charlie laughs."Last one your ANGIE cooked, my guts felt like WILD HORSES were stampeding inside and lets say it wasn't quiet the TUMBLIN' DICE coming out the other end either."
"Too much info there Charlie boy and if she hears yer say that you'll get more than a clip round the ear, bunch of fives more like. You still helping me decorate Jades bedroom this weekend? She wants us to PAINT IT BLACK" asks Steve.
"Black? ain't that gonna be dark and make it feel smaller?" Charlie asks.
Steve sighs "Yeah, probably, it's her space so she can have it. Not my choice but YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT even in yer own house when yer surrounded by HONKY TONK WOMEN. Anyway, gotta get this splinter out that's UNDER MY THUMB from sanding down the skirting. Sort that, grab a beer and play THE ROLLING STONES cd the Mrs got for me birthday. See ya later mate".
Ballad for Ruby and the Dice"
Angie, she whispered through cigarette haze,
The ghost of a name from my wilder days.
Under my thumb, I thought hearts would stay,
But wild winds never learn how to obey.
Paint it black, I told the sky that night,
When Ruby Tuesday danced out of sight.
She wore her sorrow like lipstick red,
And left my dreams tangled in the bed.
You can't always get what you want, they said,
So I drank to the dice and rolled love instead.
Tumblin’ dice down an old jukebox floor,
Each roll a prayer, or a closing door.
Wild horses couldn’t drag me back
To the innocence lost on that lonesome track.
Where honky tonk women sway and spin,
And hearts are traded like whiskey and sin.
Now I hum their names in the barroom light,
Angie, Ruby, and every midnight.
Chasing echoes in the songs they sung—
Still under my thumb, but forever young.
Let me know if you'd like it turned into a song or set to a blues rhythm!
Down here on Ruby Lane
Sitting looking at the rain
Looking at my glass of red
Thinking what I haven’t said
If through negligence some changes
Shuffle here with rearrangements
Nothing’s changed its all the same
Changes die on Ruby Lane
From the dullest land of mad
I have come to get some bread
And some wine I need to take
Just to have a little break
Cause I can afford it now
No one’s here to disallow
They don’t care neither do I
Could it be I’ve come to die
In this place that’s fine by me
Where I laughingly can see
Sunny spots through drops of rain
Down here on Ruby Lane.
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