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An Earth Day Prose Poem: NPM25 Day 22

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.

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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.

Roadtrip: NPM25 Day 4

Hope Unfeathered: NPM25 Day 3

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Today’s Verselove prompt comes from Denise. She encouraged us to borrow some rhyming words to craft a poem of our choice.

Rhyme is one of those techniques I mostly stay far away from. Rhythm, yes. Word play? I’m in. But rhyme challenges me–it feels too forced or too trite or just too obvious.

But in the spirit of trying and working to craft something meaningful, I turned to Emily Dickinson and her very well known poem, “Hope” is the Thing with Feathers and borrowed some rhyming words–as well as using her title as inspiration on the slant for my title.

An afternoon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium under the influence of the sea–both inside the aquarium and outside in the wilds of the magnificent Monterey Bay provided the content: jellies, the giant Pacific octopus, the grumpy looking moray eel to name just a few.

Hope Unfeathered

In depths of blue

another world appears

breaths unbodied

inside out tears

Spiraling within an octopus soul

rages a tentacled suctioning storm

transformational power of the rainbow

a palette of colors from cooling to warm

Some float and bob

unnoticed unheard

hope unfeathered

fantastical creatures, marine mammals, and birds

Under the spell of the sea

wild wet weirdly wonderful

I splash in the mystery of extremity

so much to explore–just the ocean and me

@kd0602

Orts: SOL25 Day 29

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“Ort, ort” That’s the sound of sea lions. In my family, we’ve taken to calling them orts (which also means if we’re not sure from a distance whether it’s a sea lion or a seal, ort works for either).

Today while walking on our usual beach, we encountered this sea lion…who almost seemed to pose as I worked to capture this photo.

Unfortunately, this beautiful animal was probably this close to shore because it is experiencing negative effects from the algae bloom along the coast. I just heard a news report on our local NPR station explaining that the algae bloom produces a neurotoxin that harms sea life. Sea World has been rescuing sea lions and trying to save them.

I loved getting to watch this sea lion up close and was happy that it didn’t seem to be beached. When I stopped to photograph, it was swimming in the waves and walking along the shore–which also let me try my hand at some action photography. On my way back, I noticed it out a bit further in the water–I hope that is a good sign!

Algae blooms have become a regular occurrence on our beaches. At worst, we experience lots of sea life deaths. At best, we get spectacular bioluminescence displays where the beach lights up at night as the waves crash.

I’m grateful to live where I get to experience nature’s wonder and beauty…and understand that there will be some bad things that come with the spectacular sightings. I also know that it is important to protect our natural resources–and foster a love for nature and help children learn to take care of these spaces.

Yesterday a sea star, today an ort…what will tomorrow bring?