Susan Clark

Creative Life, Poetry

Waves, #Trimeric

Waves roll into shore,

Stirring up cool, white foam,

Then recede back into the ocean

To hit the shore once more.

Stirring up cool, white foam,

Frothing milky white,

Trailing bubbles across the sand.

Then recede back into the ocean,

Like bathwater flowing down the drain,

As sands shift underfoot.

To roll into shore once more,

Rolling, gathering momentum from afar

Impacting the shore with its power.

This was written for dVerse’s trimeric poetry challenge. Their page defines the trimeric form this way:

1. Trimeric has 4 stanzas
2. The first stanza has 4 lines
3. The other three stanzas have 3 lines each
4. The first line of each stanza is a refrain of the corresponding line in the first stanza (so 2nd stanza starts with the second line, third stanza starts with the third line, etc.).
5. The sequence of lines, then, is abcd, b – -, c – -, d – -.

Here is a little background behind my creative process for this one. I wasn’t sure of a subject at first, so I thought I’d do my own “photo prompt” and perused unsplash.com for a photo I liked. I selected the ocean pic above. As I thought about it, I realized the form really suited the subject of waves, as the repetitions seemed to suit that in and out feeling.

Creative Life, It's a Doggy Dog World, Photography

Fluffy Cuties in Black and White, #CBWC

I may be a step ahead (not sure) but this post is for Cee Neuner’s Black and White Photo Challenge with a Pets or Stuffed Animals theme.

None of these cuties pictured are my own pets, but in my animal care business, I come across dogs and cats in a variety of breeds (and breed mixes.) They may not be my pets, but I love them as if they were. Here are just a few of my animal friends.

Franco — It’s less complicated to call him a cockapoo,
but he’s actually a mix of four small breeds.

Luce, a Brittany spaniel and dachshund mix

People often ask me what my favorite breed is (of dogs especially.) With all of these lovable cuties, it is hard to choose. Of these photos, which is your favorite?

Creative Life, Poetry

Synchronized Swimmers, #Haibun, #Haiku

A trickling waterfall creates a soothing soundtrack as I walk along the edge of the koi pond. The pale koi and deep bronzed goldfish weave in and out of one another’s paths, darting undercover of the lily pads and then emerging again into the center where I can observe them. They are graceful, arcing and twisting their lithe bodies, like water ballerinas … synchronized swimmers. And once in a while, in the midst of their performance, they seem to be arranged in perfect symmetry.

the koi and goldfish

align themselves in the pond,

warm-toned symmetry

On My Plate

Five Things Tuesday — Favorite Food Aromas

Dr. Tanya of Salted Caramel challenges us to share about food aromas we enjoy. I decided to list two sweet and three savory aromas. It can be hard to narrow them down — especially when you enjoy so many foods — but here are a few favorites.

Vanilla

Vanilla may often be accused of being “plain vanilla,” but it is really a great flavor and has a wonderful aroma when baking. Even a bottle of vanilla extract has an aroma so enticing that, as a child, I begged my mother for a taste. Of course, I was disappointed that, unsweetened, it was so bitter. It’s so interesting that two of our favorite flavors for sweets, vanilla and chocolate, start out bitter.

Chocolate

As nice as vanilla is, if given a choice between vanilla and chocolate or almost any other sweet flavor and chocolate, I’ll always opt for chocolate. Baking chocolate goodies have a wonderful, rich aroma. I wonder if workers in the Hershey factory ever tire of the fragrance? I used to pass a Nabisco factory in Hawthorne, New Jersey and smell Oreos and other goodies baking as I drove past. Sadly, this location will no longer be making cookies.

And on to the savory …

Basil

A good friend of mine once shared me how he was bothered by the scent of basil. How? I love the aroma of basil in cooking or directly from this plant and fragrant herb. Cuisine-wise, I don’t think you can get more of a concentrated basil taste or aroma than in pesto, one of my favorite things. I’m so happy when I snip fresh basil from the herb garden, toss it in the food processor with some pine nuts, parmesan, salt and olive oil … bingo, pesto!

Garlic

Garlic may seem like a strange one to list as it’s considered a stinky scent when referring to someone’s breath. Perhaps, we don’t like it to linger on a person’s breath, but when you’re a fan of garlic, the aroma of garlic in cooking is really tempting and wonderful. Garlic is in so many recipes for cuisine of different ethnic heritage. It’s no wonder. It add so much flavor. After the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, garlic was one of the foods the Hebrews longed to have again.

Rosemary

Rosemary is another herbal scent I love. I adore it on some roasted potatoes or a pan of roasted veggies. Aside from salt and pepper, it may be the only other seasoning needed to add a boost in flavor.

I know there are so many other aromas I could name … like peppermint or lemon, but I was limited to five. Do you agree with my choices? What are your favorites?

Creative Life, Poetry

Poetry in Motion

Like a ship’s maidenhead

reimagined

for a machine on wheels,

she is poised

for action,

knees bent like those

of a diver,

gracefully streamlined

in art nouveau design.

She is, seemingly,

a type of female Mercury,

a goddess of speed,

wings tilted upwards

as well as her chin,

holding forth a

wheel

as though the wind

will turn it.

Though frozen

and still

in sculpted metal,

she is full

of motion.

This poem was written for a dVerse Poetics challenge, where we were challenged to choose one of 12 minimalistic photos by Glenn A. Buttkus for poetic inspiration. Glenn is a poet who contributes to dVerse challenge and also has a site for his minimalistic photography.