Blue Teapot

Little blue teapot:
a toy a child forgot
sits waiting for the day
the child returns to play.

Found this in the yard the other day.

Quinzaine

Thought I'd play around with a new form today. So here are a couple quinzaines.

Quinzaine : The name comes from the French word meaning 15, quinze, describing the total number of syllables. There are three lines with 7/5/3 syllables. The first line is a statement, followed by two questions.


The palm leaves move with the wind.
How many are there?
How much wind?


Father has gone to the store.
When will he return?
What's for sale?


Grandma made yummy cookies.
How many for me?
Just one left!?

Quiet

Early morning, not ready to stir.
Others, still in bed, breathe softly.
The fan moves air along the walls.
Birds make calls to one another.
Leaves rustle in a soft breeze.
Bugs vibrate in search of mates.
Even in the morning's stillness,
Life is sound.



So I wrote yesterday, but I forgot to post. Ah well, at least I'm still writing during my vacation if not quite keeping up with posts.

St. George Street

Walking on the street,
people go around
as we amble,
browsing storefronts.

Chocolate shops,
ice cream parlors,
pizza dens, and
open air grilles

call us inside.
Smells wafting out
convince us to
take a long look.

We leave with a
pound of pralines
and caramel
for later.


We visited St. Augustine, FL today and walked along St. George. It's part historic district, part tourist trap, and part unique shops. It's a place I've visited a few times over the years, since it's close to my grandparents' place. If you're ever in northeast FL, I recommend it.

Missing You

We're spending our days miles away. No matter how far, you're in my heart. Just sing me a song, and all night long you will be with me in my dreams.

Gentle Haiku

an evening breeze
gently moving through palm leaves
caressing my cheek

Interrogation

You know him?
   Who?
You ever see him now?
  What's going on?
Said he said he'd done something?
  He said that?
What happened?
  Was it Monday yet?
Why?
  Can I talk?
Promise?


Lines found in Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

Lullaby

Go to sleep, little baby.
Go to sleep, my dear. 
Mama's here, little baby.
There's nothing to fear.

Winkin, blinkin, and nod
Are waiting for you to come play.
Lay down and rest your bod,
Sleep off the cares of day.

Mama's here to watch you, 
And keep you close all night.
Mama will always love you.
So now, little dear, sleep tight.


The other day I felt the urge to wrote a lullaby. This is it. Not terrible, but it's a good thing babies don't critique poetry.

April Approaches

I know I've been super lax lately with my poetry writing. Well, April is fast approaching, and so it will be Poem-a-Day time again. April is National Poetry Month. I'm gearing up: writing down some prompts, ideas, and starts to poems. I've also joined the blog roll at BlogHer. There is more information about NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) as they organize it and a link to the prompts page. Oh goodness, this'll be exciting. Wish me luck!

No Dumping

Outside,
in the middle of town,
there's a creek
and a few trees.

Scattered about
between fallen branches
and leaves,
there's Trash:

styrofoam cup
plastic bottle
aluminum foil pan
and paper bags of all sizes.

"No Dumping" - you must have missed the sign.
Didn't somebody ever show you how to use a trash can?

Water gives life to this planet.
Water gives life to you.
All you give the water
is your disrespect and your refuse.

Water doesn't come
from out of the faucet.
It isn't magic or modern sciene
bringing you refreshment.

Water does come
from out of the ground.
It flows through rivers and creeks,
just like this one.

It's not just the beauty you damage.
It's not just the environment you hurt.
You endanger your own life
when you pollute the water.

Earth will survive us.
Eventually every human will die,
and we will no longer be a
parasitic problem.


There is a creek near my house similar to the one described, and while walking the dog yesterday, I just felt compelled to write something.

SOPA and PIPA: Bad for the internet, and your blog

Normally this blog only features poetry. However, I feel that this issue affects any artist who uses the internet.

Today, the US Congress is considering two bills the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). If either bill passes, it could fundamentally change the way the internet works. Corporations could shut down any website which they claim infringes on their profits. It would make it difficult to run any website with user-gernerated content (any blog, any forum, any social website) unless you have a lot of money to defend your website.

I'm asking every US citizen, please go to these websites and take action! Sign petitions, email your representatives, call their offices.

You can enter your ZIP code into Wikipedia, and it will tell you how to call your representatives:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Sign Google's petition:
https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Fill out the forms here to email your representative:
http://americancensorship.org/
(be sure to fill out both "SOPA Strike" and "Send an Email to Congress")

These bills are dangerous.

Knackebrod

Add the flour
mix the dough,
knead it til
it's ready to go
off to the side
to proof for a while.
I hope these make
my boyfriend smile.
Roll left and right,

roll up and down,
flatten the dough,
make it round.
4 minutes this side,
2 minutes that.
The crackly bread
is oh so flat.
With some herring
or a bit of cheese,
the knackebrod
is sure to please.


Knackebrod translates to "crackly bread" from Swedish. In English speaking countries, they are commonly known as rye crackers, and Wasa is (I believe) the best selling brand of crispbread. My boyfriend is Swedish and loves pickled herring and cheese with rye crackers. I'm not so into the herring, but cheese and crackers is great.

Boxes

Everything that

represents your life,

you daily routine

and special events,

packed up in boxes.

Cardboard and tape hold

your life together,

Somewhat jumbled up.

Eventually

you'll find what you need.

But it's only stuff,

even if it is

sentimental stuff.

Enjoy the people

moving stuff with you.

I know I've been gone for a while, but life got a bit busy. We moved on Yule this year. It made the whole holiday season quite odd. I didn't cook anything; traditionally I make rum cakes and divinity as well as helping out with a gingerbread house. My dad is quite talented at gingerbread house construction. Decorations were limited to a wreath on the front door and few holiday-themed rubber duckies. All presents were handmade by me, which I loved doing, but that meant no shopping in any of the decorated stores. We were busy preparing to move and then getting ourselves there. There are quite a few boxes left, but there is a sense of normalcy forming. In any case, I'm happy to be back writing and posting. Hope everyone had lovely holidays and best wishes for getting your new year started out well.