Summer Swim, #Poem,#Rimas Dissolutas

Cool blue water engulfing me,

Makes me feel weightless and light,

Floating, flowing, reflective blue,

Summertime pool, a source of joy.

Now have your choice of lake or sea,

Rippling, trickling, sparkling bright,

Fluid movement created new,

Entertaining now as a toy.

Shifting, wobbling and sliding free,

Spectrum of blue hues to the sight,

Circling you and caressing you,

Nature’s playland for a lithe koi.

Like that fish, it is my realm too,

Bobbling and floating as a buoy.

© Susan Joy Clark 2021

This was written for Go Dog Go Cafe’s challenge to write a rimas dissolutas form poem. Below is a quote from Go Dog Go Cafe’s page which was taken from Brewer’s poetry dictionary.

“Popular with 12th and 13th-century French poets, rimas dissolutas is a poem that rhymes and doesn’t rhyme. For instance, each stanza contains no end rhymes, but each line in each stanza rhymes with the corresponding line in the next stanza–sometimes employing an envoi at the end. There are no rules for meter, line length, or syllables–except that it should be consistent from stanza to stanza.”

Midsummer Tanka Trifecta, #Haikai Challenge

Photo by Marc Zimmer on Unsplash

the rain spritzes down,

leaving drops on lily leaves,

showering the plants,

providing wet nourishment,

shifting from spritz to downpour.

the strawberry moon

hovers majestically,

a giant pink orb

gleaming roseate brightness

in a purple-gray sky.

in her bright glory,

she looms peculiarly large

as seen just above

the ancient Acropolis,

seeming out of proportion.

sPhoto by Jesse Schoff on Unsplash

sun glares light and heat

as moisture drips down my back,

car is now sauna,

dogs lie outside unmoving,

sidewalk is now frying pan.

© Susan Joy Clark 2021

This is a response to Frank J. Tassone’s haikai challenge, where we were challenged to write a haikai poem of our choice on one of three possible themes or a combination: midsummer rain, strawberry supermoon or smoldering heat. Perhaps, I did too much, but I wrote three tanka poems and one of them is a double tanka.

Outside My Window, #Double Ennead

Rose from my garden

This month, for Carrot Ranch Literary Community, Colleen M. Chesebro challenges us to write a double ennead poem on a topic of our choice in 99 syllables, then reduce to a 48 syllable form, then 24 syllables and finally to a 12 syllable haiku. Here is my entry.

Double ennead form, 99 syllables

clouds like spun sugar in

periwinkle sky,

a tree’s outline in shadow in sunny grass,

white butterflies flying

above rose bushes.

golden yellow lilies

peeking out among

all of the green foliage in the garden,

red Japanese maple

branches wave gently.

a little brown sparrow

hops about in grass,

then flutters over to perch on the fence,

these are the sights I see

outside my window.

48 syllables, 4-7-5 stanza trio

spun sugar clouds

in a periwinkle sky,

butterflies flying.

yellow gold lilies

among the green foliage,

red maple branches,

small brown sparrow

flutters to perch on the fence,

outside my window.

24 syllables, (6-6-6-6,) 1 stanza

spun sugar clouds

in periwinkle sky,

butterflies and lilies,

sights outside my window

12 syllable haiku, short-long-short

spun sugar clouds

above white butterflies

and gold lilies.

© Susan Joy Clark 2021

The Ferris Wheel, #Poem, #Lai Poem

Photo by Hannah Morgan on Unsplash

Riding up on high,

Into a blue sky,

So fun.

People strolling by,

Below eagle’s eye,

In sun.

Feels like I could fly,

The descent is nigh,

I’m done.

© Susan Joy Clark 2021

This was written for Go Dog Go Cafe’s challenge to write a poem in lai form. The description below of the form was taken from their page.

Today’s poetry form is called Lai Poetry. From Brewer,

A nine-line poem or stanza that uses an “a” and “b” rhyme following this pattern: aabaabaab. The lines with an “a” rhyme use 5 syllables; the “b” rhyme lines have 2 syllables.

Wildlife Whisperer (Or Not), #Haibun, #Haiku

Today, as we greet the summer, the clouds look like puffs of cotton in a field of blue. Deep pink roses bloom in the garden, and yellow coreopsis peek out from among green growth along the picket fence. As I stand on the steps, a brown blur moves in my peripheral vision, taking shelter in the shrubs. I think it is a chipmunk, but a part of me thinks my eyes deceive me.

I slowly descend the steps and spot a small bunny hopping along the neighbor’s property across the street. I stalk him in my slippers, trying not to appear stalker-ish, hoping he will submit to be the subject of my photography. I plod across the street without looking towards the creature. I have the leisure to do so as there is no traffic at the moment. My bunny is not an easy photography subject. He leaps, jaunting his hindquarters with its white tail into the air, as he moves further from me. I satisfy myself with a distant shot, a lot of zoom and a grainy photo.

little brown bunny

seeks white clover to nibble

and freedom from view

I think back to two days ago, walking Luce around the block. Lately, I spot deer almost every time I walk in our suburban neighborhood.

A deer in my front yard, but not the same deer from my story.

I spotted a deer grazing in a neighbor’s yard. He and I make eye contact, while Luce concerns himself with sniffing things close to the ground. The deer is a youth perhaps, lacking both the spots of a fawn and the antlers of a buck. We stand a few feet apart, and he does not move away from me. I speak to him very soothingly as we look at one another, “Hello honey. You are very nice. Don’t worry about Luce. I don’t think he’ll even bark.” I was wrong. Luce turns his head towards the deer, and he does bark. I step over the curb into the street with Luce to keep the peace between us.

A little ways down the street, Luce and I return to the path and continue our way down the hill. I make small talk with a couple across the street, also walking a small dog. I mention the deer, unconscious of what is happening behind me. “It follows you,” the wife said. The deer had been following in my footsteps, taking the path behind me. I made a friend, it seems. Perhaps, if I had been dog-less, it would eat from my hand?

a peaceful young deer

shows no fear of human friend,

an unexpected friendship.

© Susan Joy Clark 2021

Me with Luce, a dog I care for from time to time.

This was written for dVerse’s Monday haibun challenge, with the requirement to make some mention of or reference to the summer solstice. I really enjoy the haibun form. This is the longest one I’ve written so far, and the first time to include more than one haiku.