*

*
Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash. Leonard Cohen

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Journey

source
 The longest journey
Is measured not by miles
But traveled within

It's Amazing What Soup Can Do

photo credit: Bob Adelman, 1965  
One flap of a butterfly's wings
One can of soup
What is too small
to make a difference?
What if
Warhol had painted Scott Towels instead?
The grocery had been out of tomato
but had plenty of vegetable?
A rutabaga caught his eye?
Could tampons be
Pop Art?
What if
a can of tomato soup
had been donated to a soup kitchen?
What is the difference
between art
and a hungry child
getting a meal?

submitted for The Mag 106

Monday, February 27, 2012

Mousedroppings


Squeaking softly or
Scritching and squealing loudly
She writes her own tale!

Tidbits of a life
Lolamouse writes her own tale
Leaving Mousedroppings
LOLAMOUSE WRITES HER OWN TALE
Leaving Mousedroppings
Lolamouse writes her own tale
Tidbits of a life

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 28 – February 28th – Theme or Word: YOUR BLOG NAME FORM: Haiku + Form of your Wish

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Of Tea and Names

"Teatime" from Ella's Edge
The day she couldn't find her name
started out like any other day
She made the coffee
kissed the husband
sent the kids off to school
and then realized it was missing

At first she thought she had simply left it
with the car keys
but no

She searched under the newspaper
in her coat pockets
and sweater drawer
even in the trashcan
but it wasn't anywhere

She tried to remember the last time
she had seen it
It was some time between her wedding 
and the last time she had finished a cup of tea
while it was still warm

"If I were a name, where would I be?"
she said to herself
then searched the dryer 
and found three lost socks
but no name

She considered taking out an ad
but couldn't decide on an appropriate reward
for finding a name
or, for that matter, how she could be sure
she would recognize it as hers 
and didn't want to take in the wrong one

After some thought 
she decided she needed a new name
The old one probably didn't fit any way

She began her search for a name
right after she brewed a pot of tea
and finished an entire cup

The Girl Who Loved Winter Redux

photo by RedFraction
 It had been too long
since she had last walked in the cold
The grey sky burned with longing
Icicles
reached out their warm fingers to welcome her
Snowflakes
like butterfly kisses
found her nose, her cheeks, her eyelids
and finally, her hungry tongue
The wind
an impassioned lover
bit her neck
pulled at her clothes
left her raw and pink and glistening
The girl who loved Winter
flew with the snow angels.

submitted for We Write Poems, Prompt #95, The Other Side of Nature

Let Us Not Forget

 
From depths of despair
We rise again with new hope
Let us not forget

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 27 – February 27th – Theme: Paint the Image
Photo Clicked by Siva of: Siva's Art Work
(image shows the gates at Jewish Memorial at former Dachau Concentration Camp)

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Give



We have but little
Little but some for us all
All willingly share
Share with others what you get
Get back more than what you give

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 26 – February 26th – Theme: Paint the Image
Inspirational Image from: Google Images, Author: Unknown








Tell Me

I want you to tell me about every person you’ve ever been in love with.
Tell me how they failed you or
how you failed them.
I want you to tell me that each one of them
even at their best
could never compare with me
even at my worst.
Baby, tell me
that you knew love
but you never knew god
before you made love to me
(or is that putting words in your mouth?)
Don't tell me I'm perfect;
Tell me how you love every one of my faults
because it's mine.
Tell me how even when I'm on my knees
it's you who's begging.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Mary's Mixed Bag

(prompt was to take a first line from a poem and riff on it. I chose "Asking Too Much" by Andrea Gibson)


Friday, February 24, 2012

Cult-ure

Come join us
We will give you love
and your thoughts

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 25 – February 25th – Theme or Word: Cult Form: - Haiku 
(structure: 3-5-3) 

Bump


source
 T-shirt clad belly
Over ripe fruit stretches cloth
Grape bursting its skin
Bump. Pillow. Book stand. Child.
She can not fit in school desk.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Dream Walking


Synesthesia
Synesthesia by jaynecp on polyvore.com

In dream walks each night
    I see bird song, hear sun set
    Awaken and mourn

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 24 – February 24th – Words: Dream Walks Thanks to Rachana Shakyawar of Humming Today because the phrase 'Dream Walks' was coined from her poem

Pretty Is


Andrej Pejic


Pretty is as pretty does
but you
You're some kinda pretty, baby
And pretty does what pretty wants

You could rip my heart clean outta my chest
and nail it to the wall
I'd call it art, baby

You could tear all the pages right outta my favorite books
and burn them to make a fire
I'd thank you
for keeping us warm

Yeah
You're that kind of pretty, baby

You could steal all my money
my clothes
my drugs
I'd just kiss your sweet cheek
for cleaning out the clutter

Pretty is as pretty does
but you
You're mighty pretty, baby
and everything you do
is right pretty too.

so much depends

so much depends
upon

a pink lined dip
stick

drizzled with morning
urine

atop the white
sink.


submitted for Poetry Jam, "So Much Depends Upon... "

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Joy of Giving

source
  The joy of giving
Bringing warmth to a cold heart
Soup for hungry souls

Soup for hungry souls
Steaming bowls of nourishment
They may feed others

They may feed others
What goes around comes around
The joy of giving

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 23 – February 23rd – Theme: Joy of Giving Form: (ABC, CDE, EFA) - Haiku

Trying To Be Koi

Another attempt at painting. This time it was acrylics. I loved the buttery feel of doing the blue background, and the green lily pads seemed to go smoothy, but I had fits with the fish! The orange (I mixed red and yellow paint) was totally transparent on the background (I thought acrylics were opaque-guess not!) and when I added gel medium to thicken it, it was like working with peanut butter! My poor koi were gloppy and I was not happy with them. So I went back to an old standby stamping technique--embossing--and covered those babies with gold embossing. Not great, but I can live with them now. I think my craft room (and my lungs) are filled with some sort of toxic fumes now, though. That acrylic paint made a really nasty smell when heated with an embossing gun! Tips for future projects any of you art people out there?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Dancer

Floor beneath her feet
Bare toes caress wooden planks
Spring in her spirit

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 22 – February 22nd – Theme: Paint the Image...

Photo Clicked by Enosh of: Enosh Bansode Photography

Monday, February 20, 2012

The Last Phone Booth on Earth

image: epic mahoney
The last phone booth on Earth
is in a forgettable town
on a nondescript street
Perhaps that is why it still exists

The last phone booth on Earth
lost its phone book long ago
its metal cord hangs bare
from the wall

The last phone booth on Earth
is a glass cocoon
People crawl inside to talk
on cell phones
more often than on the pay phone
Some emerge as butterflies
some remain caterpillars
and some crawl back out
appearing to have died inside

The last phone booth on Earth
still has fingerprints
at the top and bottom
from dozens of college kids
climbing inside

The last phone booth on Earth
always disappoints
those looking for coins inside its silvery mouth
only to find stale wads of gum

In the last phone booth on Earth
the phone is ringing
It's for you.

submitted for The Mag 105

Dedication



Book's dedication
A gift from my grandmother
Love of poetry

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 21 – February 21st – Theme: Dedication

Sunday, February 19, 2012

For Joey, Who Let Me Borrow Her Jacket



Your given name was Barbara
but I don't think I ever heard anyone ever use it
not even the grown-ups
Joey fit you much better anyway
like the tight Levis and
rocker T shirts 
and the denim jacket you always wore

I remember your voice
Low and gravelly
from smoking too much
way back in the seventh grade

You hung with the girls
even the boys were afraid of
but had the prettiest grey eyes
and a cute crooked smile
when you laughed
which wasn't often

We had nothing much in common
except by chance one class
where I let you copy my papers
so you could get a good grade
and you let me borrow your jacket
one afternoon when it was cold
and told me to keep it until the next day

It had the faint sweet smell of marijuana
and the feel of your confidence
I wore that jacket
like a suit of armor
and after that day
the taunts and threats of middle school
never touched me again.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Open Link Monday

Imagine Better

photo by astridle
 Imagine better
Than what life was yesterday
Perhaps it will be

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 20 – February 20th – Quote: Live out of your imagination, not your history

No Place Like Home

source
 Tap your red heels Dorothy
There is no place like home
Cause home just isn't home no more
You wonder where it's gone

The farm you used to live on
Your uncle sold the land
There's rows of houses now
Where rows of wheat were wont to stand

The local grocery store
Became a giant megamart
And your poor Auntie Em
Can barely push the plastic cart

The farmhands you so loved
Well, they all lost their jobs
They wait for unemployment checks
and became drunken slobs

Professor Marvel's wagon
Was taken by the bank
They had to repossess it
When his show went in the tank

Miss Gulch is in a nursing home
She chased a dog and tripped
She fell down in her garden
Now she's got a broken hip

So if you come back Dorothy
Home's not like it was before
You may say to Toto
We're not in Kansas anymore!

Tiny Miracles

photo by lolamouse
 Purple crocus heads
Push skyward through white snow drifts
Triumph of the sun

Red breasted robin
Chatters, nags, pecks, and complains
I can't help but laugh

Cherry blossom buds
Like strawberry jelly beans
Offer Spring's sweetness



Saturday, February 18, 2012

Spring, Battle Creek Cypress Swamp

image source
 Tiny spring peepers
Chirp love songs from the Cypress
Bull frog bass back beat

Mayapple leaves spread
Catching cool raindrops falling
Umbrellas for toads

Ethereal mist
Blankets buds, warbler takes wing
Traveler on Earth

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 19 – February 19th – Theme: Seasons Type: Kigo

Friday, February 17, 2012

Just Enough

There, the children starve
Here, the children are obese
Where is just enough?

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 18 – February 18th – Theme or Word: Famine

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Wait

We are dependent
Like dry flowers for spring rain
We must wait and hope

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 17 – February 17th – Theme or Word: Wait + Paint the Image
Inspirational Image Clicked by Anand of: Apple Blossom's Photography

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Do No Harm

 I walk the boards among the Cypress.
The air smells of wet earth and decaying leaves.
If I take the time to see them, I find mud turtles, box turtles, green frogs.
Woodpecker holes dot the holly trees.
The creek dances through Cypress knees.
An intruder breaks my reverie.

Plastic bottle floats
Open mouthed, filled with water
A dead, bloated fish

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 16 – February 16th – Theme or Word: Sin Form: Haibun

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Thank You

I was empty 
as a dead man's calendar
when you started scribbling in the squares
Thank you
for reminding me
how good wet paint feels
under my fingers
for showing me
it was okay to scream
even if no one was listening
or if everyone was
Your passion
your heart
runs through my blood
and colors my days
This is just to say
Thank you.

Happy Valentine's Day

Keep Smiling

When you've been kicked low
When you've landed in the mud
I'll still be with you

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 15 – February 15th – Theme: Paint the Image
Inspirational Image from: Google Images, Author: Unknown

Monday, February 13, 2012

Bon Voyage!

 When we fell in love
We not only rocked the boat
We sank the whole ship!


Holding hands, we jumped
Our life boat was each other
And we rode the waves.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Happy Birthday

He's holding the moon
A smile shines like the sun
Future bright as stars

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 13 – February 13th – Theme: Paint the Image
What a beautiful smile by my Nephew Ashik, Today is his 2nd Birthday :-) Photo Clicked by Someone is Special of Few Miles

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Purr

photo courtesy of Talon
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, soft is your fur
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, stroke it, you purr
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, eyes are like jewels
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, break all my rules
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, dangerous claws
Oh what you do with your Pussy Cat paws!
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, sandpaper kisses
Is there no place that your little tongue misses?
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, teeth that can bite
Don't think you will, but then maybe you might
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, too quick to hiss
A scratch by your ear and it's Pussy Cat bliss
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, it's all been said
Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat warm in my bed.

Ruby Red Cherries

Bright burgundy orbs
Crimson juice bleeds sticky sweet
Lips stained cerise blush
RUBY RED CHERRIES
Lips stained cerise blush
Crimson juice bleeds sticky sweet
Bright burgundy orbs


Friday, February 10, 2012

Reflections


Look into my eyes
Do you see me or just a
reflection of you?


Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 11 – February 11th – Theme: Paint the Image
Inspirational Image by: Narayana Nethralaya

Never the Sun (inspired by Patti Smith's Because the Night)




It starts as a whisper
your fingers teasing the keys
then becomes more insistent
as the strokes plead for more
The day is deaf
to the night's music.

Angels disguised as fireflies
hold lanterns to our window as
chordal intensity
and a persistent bass thrum 
set the rhythm
The night has begun
and because the night
speaks
in its own tongue
we answer back with ours
with notes only
the moon can hear
never the sun.

submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Peace and Noise

Thursday, February 9, 2012

When Lola Met Mr. Mouse


You laughed at my shirt
We stayed up all night talking
I wore your jacket

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 10 – February 10th – Theme: Write a Haiku describing about a Special day in your life...

Roses

a grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow
Don't bring me roses when I'm dead
Or jewels to wear upon my hand
What good to me in Earthen bed?
Don't bring me roses when I'm dead
Plant flowers with me now instead
Find seashell treasures in the sand
Don't bring me roses when I'm dead
Or jewels to wear upon my hand

submitted for The Mag 103

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Love Locks


To put locks on love
is like locking up the sea
Love needs room to flow


Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 9 – February 9th – Theme: Paint the Image
Photo Clicked by Siva of: Siva's Art Work

Roux 4 U!

My bloggie buddy Micael (aka Rabbit) is an awesome artist and has just opened a new website where he is selling his one-of-a kind creations of Roux, his adorable bunny character. Check it out and enter to win your very own, personally designed Roux! Tell him lolamouse sent you! Go! Do it! NOW!!!

click here to go to website

A Half-Baked Nursery Rhyme

Cake under your pillow, you'll dream of your groom
A bite of some cake, you're too big for the room

Let them eat cake when they haven't the bread
Say the wrong thing and it's off with your head

A slice with the baby, you bring the next cake
Poor Gretel was put in an oven to bake

You can't have your cake and then eat it too
Be a sweet little girl, and they will eat you!



Monday, February 6, 2012

Life Haiga


Understand the past
And hope for the future but
Live in the present


The Girl Who Loves Winter

photo by Richard Schear




The girl who loves Winter
sleeps with her windows open
She believes 
 the icicles hanging from the panes
keep her as safe as iron bars
The dregs of her chamomile tea
have been known to freeze during the night
This amuses the girl who loves Winter
and in the morning she licks clean the teacup
like a popsicle
The girl who loves Winter
 wears hoarfrost
whiter than baby's breath
in her black hair
She keeps a snowball in her freezer
for those times when
she feels sad and
needs something to hold against her heart

The girl who loves Winter
once had a lover
but his heat
melted the ice 
that was her home
his passion
the substance of 
her very self
The girl who loves Winter
found herself disappearing into
limpid puddles on the ground
so she had to send him away
but on her nightstand
next to a vase of dried flowers
The girl who loves Winter
keeps a jar
where she can see
his warm breath.


photo by MyWonderlandAsylum


Sunday, February 5, 2012

Thoughts on Thought

Do not think too much
Thought becomes ANALYSIS 
PARALYSIS, Dude.

or, as a wise Yoda says,

There is no
try.
Do, or do not.



Saturday, February 4, 2012

Friday, February 3, 2012

Hope

source

Seeds sprout in the dirt
Where hospital flowers died
Hope can bloom by chance


Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 4 – February 4th – Theme: Opposite Emotions

Tempt Me

source
Tempt me
You never know
the things I will
do
the places I will
go
if you tempt me
just so

Paint ice hot flames
around our bed
Dare me 
to enter
with a silent stare
and a guilty smile

Play me
slow smoky jazz sounds
with your eyes

Write me poems
with your tongue
down my neck 
to the small of my back
and dot the 'i' s 
with frost covered cherry blossoms

Tempt me
Master all of my senses
Take them from me
I confess 
I am no innocent
Use me

I am your canvas
I am your book
Bind me well
Keep me
tempted.


submitted for Imaginary Garden With Real Toads, Fireblossom Fridays, Temptation
Poetry Jam, Hot and Cold
Poets United, Vice Versa, Midnight Snack #5 (Sound/Silence; Guilt/Innocence)
dVerse Poets Pub, dVerse Poetics, Meeting the Bar, A Martian Sharpens His Knife


Thursday, February 2, 2012

Senescence

Mahogany hands
Grip a mahogany cane
Old bones like dry wood


28:06:42:12

Why do you wear that stupid man suit? *
Take it off and peek within
You might find the heart of a brute
Beating underneath your skin.

A ray of sunlight like a border
Hell and Heaven's wary truce
Come the night you sense disorder
Feel your rage come bursting loose.

You sneer at meaningless convention
Artifice in every face
Laughing off absurd pretension
Leaving you without a place

You've pared your life down to the bone
Are you afraid to die alone?


* actual line is "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" but I took some liberties to better fit the poem. from Donnie Darko, a most awesome, thought provoking movie with an adolescent Jake Gyllenhaal.

Mother

Warm, yielding, loving
Caring, protective, gentle
Claws at the ready



Haiku Challenge