My Pad or Yours? #SoCS

 

My dear, how sad 

you look today.

Put down your load,

come out to play! 

The sun is high,

the breeze is soft,

tickling my wings,

carried aloft

I soar! 

I see it now

and wonder how

you can resist

another tryst

with life.

The twinkle waits

deep in your eye,

the hint of smile

lingering by,

So why

do you hesitate? 

Come closer, yes

and now you see

how grand a day

you’d spend with me

in Paradise.

Spread your wings high,

come with me-fly! 

The moonbeams wait,

we can’t be late

this time!

Ocean waves crash

and mountains peak

thrills standing by

for those who seek

them out.

 We’ll sip the dew

from a rose petal,

the red of course,

oh why settle

for the pink?

Come along now,

please don’t tarry!

Today is the day

 Toad will marry

Miss Frog.

It will be grand,

the pond will sing,

the faeries dance,

the spiders swing

from silken strands.

And then, when spent

we languid lie

beneath the moon,

where fireflies 

like

lanterns glow.

Now aren’t you glad

you came outside,

leaving shadows

instead to hide

in plain sight?

What fun to leave

our cares behind

 spinning, whirling

our minds unwind!

Shall we do this 

every day?

We’ll make a date,

coordinate-

Oh say!

My name’s Whisper.

What’s yours?

CKP copyright words and photos 2021

This post brought to you by Linda Hill’s #SoCS prompt. Visit the link to her blog for more great posts.

Nothing From Nothing/#SoCs

 

Ode to What Is

Before we flew 

we broke the code

and thus into

the unknown rode

on gossamer wings,

such lovely things

we saw along the way.

Stardust Faeries, 

goo goo dolls,

buffalo swarms

Martian spitballs!

We ne’er did stop

to smell the toads

or wonder at 

pink nematodes,

too focused on 

the unseen treasure.

We watched it pass

without a measure 

of regret.

Laughing, crying,

we left the dying 

to float away,

forgot to say,

“Farewell, so sorry!”

Nothing learned, 

everything lost,

no one dared to

count the cost

of reckless life.

No good could come

of human mis-living

Existence can be 

so unforgiving.

We wrote the book

of our own demise

with swords dipped in 

 the blood of the wise.

Click.

Suicide mode on,

gone the old ideal,

forgetting all that

we knew as

beautiful and real.

We fell so quickly,

our wings how they flamed,

more vicious and base

as all others we blamed. 

Into the barren 

wasteland we strode,

hungry, thirsty as

the truth of it flowed

over our souls like

a river of fire,

gone the desire

for more.

                                                                         Ashes to ashes,

the mountains to dust,

cities to rubble,

progress to rust. 

We fell to our knees

at the edge of the pool-

a silvery lake

so welcoming, cool.

“You can only drink,”

she said, melancholy,

“if you face the reflection

that shows you the folly

of its path.”

We thought it would be easy

and clamored for the drink,

until the monstrous truth 

dragged us to the brink 

of stark reality.

Delusion,

Confusion,

Anger,

Sin!

Tracing hideous scars

upon our skin. 

Wailing, screaming and 

gnashing of teeth

as most descended

to their graves beneath.

All but a few

had failed the test,

and

whispered a prayer

to forgive the rest.

Then drinking our fill, 

 but not one drop more,

we fell upon the ashen shore

as a gentle rain echoed happily,

the distant strains of a prophecy…..

CKP Copyright words and images 2021

This post brought to you by Linda Hill’s SoCS prompt Check out her blog for other great posts and to get the rules if you would like to join in! 

One Man’s Delight/#1LinerWednesday

My Dad’s birthday was Monday. He would have been 85. It’s been nearly a year since he passed. There is just so much to miss about the enigmatic hero that he was in my life. The one certain thing he gave us was love. I knew he loved me, always. From bringing me tinkling glasses of ice water in the middle of the night to teaching me how to shoot hoops or spin a boy’s football yoyo I got during the gift exchange at school because they ran out of ‘girl gifts’. 🤦‍♀️ I could write a book (someday I will) about my life with Daddy, but for now I just want to honor him with something he loved most. Fun, whimsy and humor. 

One of my favorite memories of him is of us sitting on the front porch at my Grandpa’s house up in Mountain Home, Arkansas where we went every Summer for vacation. Our legs dangled over the edge of the warm wood and the night was dark but for the stars and fireflies-so many fireflies to chase! He was singing his repertoire of little ‘ditties’ to my brother and I.  Right now I can only recall his favorite from the Wright Root Beer commercial which later became swallowed up when Frank Wright joined with Roy Allen to form A&W. You can research it if you like but there is precious little to be found about Wright’s business, based out of New Orleans, LA. They also brewed and distributed Dr Nut, which was available until around 1970. Despite an exhaustive search I could not find an audio for this jingle but here are the words as I recall:

Wright root beer, Wright root beer, 

The best drink in town..

Open a bottle

(finger in cheek he makes a ‘pop’ sound)

and drink it on down.

It’s tasty, delicious and flavorful too,

Wright, root beer, Wright root beer,

the best drink for you. 

There were others but I can’t remember anything but the delight these times brought to me. He also sang ‘Kaw liga’ and ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ to me. But his favorite ballad back then was ‘Running Bear’. Here are some of my memories. I’ll always miss you, Daddy. 🤗❤️

And then there was his love for the Man in Black. He and my Mom both loved John and June, and when someone bought him John’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ album for Christmas, we listened to it all day long. This was the family favorite. 

If I could have one more day….💔

Faeries at Twilight

Over the past year it has been a struggle for most of us to feel encouraged, hopeful or positive. I personally lost a career, another ‘familiar life’ and a beloved parent. We are still not in an ideal situation as my husband’s health takes the forefront of our thoughts and activities. 

We are blessed to have family around us. Their love is healing and comforting; but we long to be on our own again, living a simple uncluttered life and a return to good health. As is my practice, I find peace in the world around me, the non chaotic busyness of the natural world. My walks are my meditation, the breath of Earth fills me with energy and her children whisper the promise of hope. If they can hope in the face of certain devastation, who am I to give in to despair? 

Each day she shows me the bright spot….

Every time I go outside, something miraculous happens. Whether it is finding feathers 🪶 or watching the bees and butterflies as they court the blossoms that parade across the Summer landscape, each miracle restores peace to my soul. The saddest thing is knowing most people never bother to see these things, to understand how healing Nature is and to protect the gifts that have always been ours for the taking. 

Violet hues in morning light

Signs and promises

I collect a few..

Bright shining faces

In surprising places

Tiny elegance

Never before seen wonders-

things that amuse..

And astound! 

My first ever encounter with a hummingbird moth. I never even knew such a creature existed. 

It was magical. I think it was the closest feeling I’ve had to seeing a faerie. I had just gone out to take some trash and there it was, flitting among the Naked Ladies that had opportunistically grown up from the small space between two driveways.

Every movement created different colors and impressions.

 

It is moments like these that keep me going, that restore my hope in the survival of our world. 

She knows not of her plight 

her life, nectar and flight,

humble miracle in pink and gray

whispering at the end of the day

I hold my breath lest she hear

and flutter away in fear.

Would that I could hold such magic

to drive away the dark and tragic

moments that threaten to consume

such joy beneath the fear that they exhume.

She leaves, I sigh

and whisper goodbye,

thankful,

hopeful,

Blessed.

Our beautiful, magnificent, tenacious Earth. If only we teach those that follow to appreciate her gifts and protect her life. 

Gentle…

 There is hope, there is healing, there is love. 

 

Peace, Love and Catfish #ThursdayDoors

 Hi All, 

I’m stepping up my game this week. Two posts in one week is a new record for me. I’d love to return to normal eventually. 

In keeping with what appears to be a theme with me, my doors are often just the tip of the iceberg for my post content and today is no exception. 

We were invited to join family and friends for a camping excursion at the Platte River. In our life raising children we have camped many ways-tents mostly with a few cabin events. As we get older, tenting is less desirable but cabins with primitive setups outside are the best. This place measures top of the scale for me and the cabin chosen was in a perfect spot. It was on a hill overlooking the lake with a short path to a beautiful grassy hollow where hammocks could be hung and there was a cool breeze in the shade. A few more steps to the lake and you could cast your line.  Everyone caught catfish, including moi! It was my first time to actually fish and even though I hurled the rod at the hubs to reel him in, it was a respectable fish. Sadly, it was catch and release only. Everyone kept hooking a fish and after awhile we joked that it must be the same two fish who were thrill seekers coming back again and again. 😜😂

Here are a few images from our Sunday fun day excursion, complete with a hike to a rather small waterfall that was situated in a lovely spot.

For more great doors posts, be sure to visit our host Dan Antion’s place! 

This was a most important door. 

Such a peaceful setting

One of my favorite guys! ❤️

This guy is an ace fisherman.

Our event planner and resident sweetheart.

Haaaaayyyy..

Paw Paw tales

This was a bodacious fire! 

Got corn?

The firemaster! 

She put together an awesome selection of possibilities for our ‘hobo packs’. So yummy! 

This one was mine! Yeah, I had to have a friend set him free. 

Our fishing spot. 

They heard my Cheeze It bag rustle. 🤦‍♀️

Beautiful new winged friend

Okay, more doors. The cabin was ‘modern’ but rustic enough for me.

This is where the coffee and yummies happen. 

My favorite door-the great  ‘out’doors. 😀

Beautiful Japanese beetle landed on the hammock beside us.

We found the trickle-I mean-waterfall! 

Enough to dip one’s toes into.

And such a beautiful place

My hiking partners. 

Lead onward men, lead on…