Tag Archives: photography

The Place I Go To

Sometimes a prompt inspires me. That was my experience when I read Padraig O Tuama’s prompt– the one that arrives in my email inbox each week. After reading a poem by Jane Mead, O Tuama suggested describing a place you go to. I’m a beach goer–and this week offers low-tide walking beaches timed to fit in after I finish work each day. So instead of taking my daily walk around the neighborhood, I’m heading to the beach each afternoon–my favorite beach–to walk and breathe and appreciate this place not far from where I live.

Today I decided to go with a Haibun–that form that allows for some meandering prose followed by Haiku. And while the beach is always enough, it is such a delight when I come across something special. Today it was a wavy turban snail–one of those hearty sea creatures that thrives in the intertidal zone, a harsh place that is exposed during low tide.

The puzzle of tides keeps me guessing as I walk the shoreline. Familiarity interlaced with mystery, each day brings new treasures to discover. Fall, summers’s sister, opens space to breathe, mixes heat with edges of crispy coolness, feet immersed in the translucent turquoise only the sea can offer. This is my place, ordinarily extraordinary.

Wavy turban snail

Snuggled in the low tide pool

Today’s sea treasure

#lightandautumn #wavyturbansnail

#lowtide #writeout #view #light #place #haibun

Ode to the Sea: NPM25 Day 27

An Earth Day Prose Poem: NPM25 Day 22

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Sometimes Ocean roars in like a dragon, frothing and swirling, energy radiating from every salty drop, tossing boats, leveling cliffs, chasing swimmers to shore. Every scale and feather ripples in this self-induced storm, power is the name of the game. Other days Ocean is a mirror, calmly reflecting the world around, inviting bare feet, sand castle builders, and sunset seekers. Still waters run deep and Ocean is seldom still and often deep. Beneath the surface lies worlds unlike those we know on dry land. Curiosities are common. Ocean makes a home for the octopus who is a master of disguise, changing shape and color at will. Pelican skims the surf above, joined by its squadron overseeing the shoreline, pouches poised for a quick snack. Ocean reminds us that water is everything: power and life and home. Whether dragon or mirror, to preserve life on our planet Ocean requires our respect and protection. Now is our time to roar.

Life’s Lines: NPM25 Day 20

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Some days a prompt is meant to be reinterpreted. That was today for me. Susan at Verselove offered a prompt called Lingering Lines that was born of lines from plays, movies, music… Those lines that linger in your mind and replay themselves without you consciously pushing replay.

But for some reason, lingering lines became literal lines for me today. I spent some time at the Safari Park and it was the long lines of bamboo reaching for the sunlight that lingered in my mind…and inspired today’s poem.

Life’s Lines

Lines of cars

ants

scurrying

hurrying

to get somewhere

Lines of people

queuing

for tickets

for food

for the tram

for a look

Lines of light

penetrating

lingering

caressing

nature’s greens

breathing in

human

breathing out

life’s lines

grab on

hold on

embrace lines

that heal

@kd0602

Dreaming in Color: NPM25 Day 15

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Last night I woke up in a dream reaching for color. I could see it, just beyond my fingertips. Words pushed and pulled in my brain, like poetry chewing gum, stretching to capture the colors in that narrow slice of sky sandwiched between the black of night and the shadows of the ocean. Vermillion chased crimson and burgundy, playing tag with golden amber, marigold, and coral until the purples came out to close out the night. Violet swallowed lavender, fading into magenta before allowing indigo to close the colorful show. I tossed in the colors of the dreamy sunset, reveling in their taste and smell. I wrapped myself in the warmth dripping from my dreams, painting images visible only to my mind’s eye. Colors lullabied me back into slumber, settling me, soothing me, refreshing me. I slept. The morning dawned gray, color drained. But my brain danced with the colors lingering, tucked safely away to carry me into the day.

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

Imagine my surprise when my alarm went off this morning, with just a wisp of this dream still lingering and found today’s Verselove prompt. Brittany suggested writing a poem about color in nature. Did I manifest this prompt–or did she manifest my dream?

A prose poem seemed like the best vehicle to try to capture my dream search for color. And of course, I can’t resist including a sunset photo–one of my favorite things to photograph!

I Don’t Remember–A Photo Essay: NPM25 Day 11

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I don’t remember when I fell in love with wildflowers

Maybe it was when

I danced to the music of wild mustard

forehead to forehead

with great blue heron clapping the beat

Maybe it was when

the chorale of poppies

sang out the orange

a song I can’t help

but sing along

Maybe it was when she told me

I’d find globe lilies

at the second bench

and they bounced in the breezes

of Mt Diablo valley

I don’t remember when I fell in love with wildflowers

but today

I fell in love

all over again

@kd0602

Slow Down: NPM25 Day 10

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Today’s Verselove prompt was an invitation to look closely–something I find that my camera helps me do. So after a stroll through my camera roll, I found my inspiration.

Slow Motion

Fireworks explode

in greens, blues

purples

painting the sea

in still life

motion

in motion almost imperceptible

sea stirred

I remember

to slow down

and channel

my inner anemone

sunbathe in the shallow salt

water

soak up the sun

let the sea stir me into motion

And, when no one

is looking

throw out sparks

that bring

color

to the world

Poppy Love: NPM25 Day 7

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When Erica over at Verselove offered an invitation to write about flowers, I knew immediately that I would write about the California state flower: the golden poppy. Poppy’s feel like my alter ego–they open up in the warmth of the sun and close and duck their heads when the weather cools and the sky is cloudy.

On my first day back in the classroom after a week away for spring break, I knew I wasn’t up for the technicalities of crafting a villanelle. Instead I opted for the simplicity and constraint of an etheree: a ten line poem that begins with one syllable and builds to ten in that tenth line.

Ode to the California Golden Poppy

Pop

of gold

on roadsides

California

golden poppies sing

delicate beautiful

dancing in the warm breezes

It’s spring! I’m here! Pay attention!

Carpets of gold ignite the hillsides

pure California sun in a blossom

@kd0602

Where I’m From: NPM25 Day 6

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Where I’m from poems are tried and true in the writing project circles where I spend my time. So when Stacey at Verselove shared Where I’m From, Again as today’s post, it felt familiar.

I decided to try a very short form today…a Haiku. Can I express some aspect of where I am from in just 17 syllables? Here goes…

Where I’m From: Moonlight Beach version

walking sandy shores

osprey soar, egrets wait — breathe

in sea, breathe out home.

Thinking Through My Lens

Tag Archives: photography

The Place I Go To

Ode to the Sea: NPM25 Day 27

An Earth Day Prose Poem: NPM25 Day 22

Life’s Lines: NPM25 Day 20

Dreaming in Color: NPM25 Day 15

I Don’t Remember–A Photo Essay: NPM25 Day 11

Slow Down: NPM25 Day 10

Poppy Love: NPM25 Day 7

Where I’m From: NPM25 Day 6

Roadtrip: NPM25 Day 4